As of three years ago I became a serious runner. I love running races, however I usually only run ones that provide medals at the end. Why? Because I love being rewarded for doing things that suck. Running does suck but I somehow developed a love for it.

This morning I decided to run a 5k with my girlfriend where we could run with our strollers. It was family friendly, lots of activities, bounce house, etc., sounds like fun right? Wrong!

For starters, it was a chilly 48 degrees and the route was along the lake. Anyone who lives or has visited Chicago knows the wind along the lake is BRUTAL! Also, I haven’t used my stroller in months, so I forgot how heavy that stupid thing is. Once I arrive and unload all the gear, here is the conversation that took place in my head:

Way to go genius, two of the three tires are flat!!! WTF?!! You should have prepared everything last night! What were you thinking!!? Great, Sebe’s nose is running – and NO wipes either! What should I do? Leave? No, that would make me a pansy! I can push 50 lbs of dead weight for 3 miles, I ran the marathon for Christ sake. Get your sh** together and stop talking to yourself, you look like an insane person.

After my pep talk with myself, I try to give the cranky pants (which I can’t blame him seeing how I woke him up early to come freeze his ass off) some cheerios and he catapults the bag, sending the cheerios flying. Great, now no snack.

I put my big girl pants on and headed toward the start line. The entire race was miserable, however I did finish, beat-down stroller and all. When we reached the finish line: no medal, no cheers, no nothing. Will I do this again next year? I think you know the answer. Note to self: buy a new effing stroller!