Dad...Can we go for a run with you????
Growing up I was never good in sports. I went out, but was never good. My dad was interested in motor sports and we spend a lot of time involved in that. School sports weren't all that important in my childhood or teenage years. My parents always encouraged me to go out and I thank them for that. Athletics taught me a lot about myself and about teamwork. Sports were good for me, but they really weren't that important.
When I became a parent, I decided very early on that I was not going to push my kids into any sport. This was the way in which I was raised. I am not going to be a parent who put more emphasis on sports than allowing a kid to be a kid. In a culture that is so focused on making your kid stand out as a star athlete in the hopes that they'll get a sports scholarship this may seem strange, but that's not how I want my kids to be raised. If my kids want to try something, ABSOLUTELY you can try it, but if you are going to do it, you are going to work hard at it. If you give it your best and you just aren't having fun doing it, at least you tried and we can call it a day. Participation in sports is supposed to be fun. When it stops being fun for the participant, that's when it's too much.
Obviously if you are reading this blog, you know that one my passions is running. I LOVE IT!!! I also love to get others involved in it. Sometimes I can be overly aggressive with my enthusiasm to get others involved and in that way I might be turning into "that person", but my kids I have and will not push them into it. A lot of what I do is weird and not for everyone. But there have been times that I've caught myself trying to get Mini Me to like running too and that's something that's really bothered me about myself.
Because my kids obviously know that I run a lot, my kids have asked me on numerous occasions to go with. I know that they just want to go to spend even just a few more minutes with me. Whenever they ask, I jump at the opportunity to take them out. This is something that I can share with my kids that's just me and them. I always get too nervous taking them out with the fear that I am pushing them to also love something that I love. It is something that goes through my mind every time.
When I came home last night Lil Red wanted to go out for a run. She's getting really passionate about it after a recent 5k that she ran and came in 5th in the 19 & Under (1st in the 12 & Under). Mini Me on the other hand isn't so passionate about it, but wants to go out for a short run most of the time. 99% of the run is spent with her whining about being out running which lessens the level of enjoyment for everyone. When she told me that she wanted to go out, I immediately declined to allow her to unless she wasn't going to whine (this has been a major problem in the past). We just recently moved to a town where there is a tremendous paved trail and I got the idea that she could ride her bike. We've never had this chance because the town that we came from was VERY hilly and didn't allow for anyone to ride their bikes very long. This would be the first time Mini Me would take her bike and Lil Red would run with me. This was going to be interesting.
Some things needed to be done around the house so us going out was going to happen later than we normally would have gone. 7:45pm or so came around and I knew it would get dark. To add a little bit of excitement for them I told them we could take headlamps "in case" it got dark. I knew approximately what time we would get done and knew we wouldn't need them, but we'll take them along "just in case".
We headed out and I was simply in awe of both of my girls. Lil Red did her thing. She would run, pick out her strategic walk break spots, drink, breathe and run. Mini Me, was in heaven. She just rode and looked around. She rode ahead and I would have to yell out for her to slow down, but she could just ride while still spending time with me. We went out 2 miles, drank from our water bottles, and just spent time together with each of them in their own element. At the 2 mile spot, we took a breather and threw on the headlamps as it was "starting to get dark".
Heading back I was flooded with a lot of emotions. This was the first time in a long time that I've spent exercising with my kids that someone hasn't spent a tremendous amount of time whining or complaining. It really was a proud moment for me. On our way back I gave them the option of going a little bit farther than we had planned...basically because I wanted to round out my number of miles for the day when combined with my miles from my morning run...and both jumped at it. I told them that we would going up a fairly steep hill and wanted to know if they were going to be able to handle. They both gave me the thumbs up and we headed up the street.
As I stated earlier, Mini Me is so much my daughter. Normally given an obstacle of a hill of this size she would step off the bike and tell me that she couldn't do it and just laid on the ground. Tonight something was different. On a single speed bike she pushed up the hill until she couldn't go on any more. Having run this hill it can be very difficult and I had an idea of what she was going through. As I approached her with her one foot on the ground, I shouted, "Both feet up! Let's go for a ride!" and with a gentle push on her back I was brought back to those days of pushing her in a jogging stroller as we made our way up the hill. The "WEEEEE" could probably be heard throughout the town. I don't know how many times within the next 1/10 mile she told me that she was trying to get all of the way up the hill but her legs hurt really bad. I knew exactly the burn she was talking about and told her that it was fine and we'd get her to the top.
We made it back home, also down the same hill, and got them all showered and ready for bed. I laid awake this morning just so proud of both of my girls. Lil Red is turning into an amazing athlete in soccer and distance running. She has such a passion for both that I never would have thought she would love. She loves to tell people about the farthest she's run of 5 miles (keep in mind that she's 9) and is showing me that what I've been teaching her she is retaining. Mini Me absolutely shocked me with what she did last night. She's normally the child who stops doing something if she's sweating and last night she really seemed to give it her all. This was by far the farthest bike ride of her life and not one complaint during the entire time. Maybe she's found her sport. Who knows.
I'm not writing this blog to say that I deserve some sort of award for taking my kids out on a run. I'm not writing this to brag about my kids accomplishments. I'm writing this to show that kids can blossom into amazing people and athletes if we let them choose what they want to do. I was really proud of both of my girls for just getting out and doing it.
Anyway, it's been a great summer so far and training is going "well". The heat has gotten to me a few times but I've rebounded with no ill effects. The Equalizer 24 hour is in approximately 94 days and training has begun.
Stay Strong, Run Long
Tha Messenjah.
When I became a parent, I decided very early on that I was not going to push my kids into any sport. This was the way in which I was raised. I am not going to be a parent who put more emphasis on sports than allowing a kid to be a kid. In a culture that is so focused on making your kid stand out as a star athlete in the hopes that they'll get a sports scholarship this may seem strange, but that's not how I want my kids to be raised. If my kids want to try something, ABSOLUTELY you can try it, but if you are going to do it, you are going to work hard at it. If you give it your best and you just aren't having fun doing it, at least you tried and we can call it a day. Participation in sports is supposed to be fun. When it stops being fun for the participant, that's when it's too much.
Obviously if you are reading this blog, you know that one my passions is running. I LOVE IT!!! I also love to get others involved in it. Sometimes I can be overly aggressive with my enthusiasm to get others involved and in that way I might be turning into "that person", but my kids I have and will not push them into it. A lot of what I do is weird and not for everyone. But there have been times that I've caught myself trying to get Mini Me to like running too and that's something that's really bothered me about myself.
Because my kids obviously know that I run a lot, my kids have asked me on numerous occasions to go with. I know that they just want to go to spend even just a few more minutes with me. Whenever they ask, I jump at the opportunity to take them out. This is something that I can share with my kids that's just me and them. I always get too nervous taking them out with the fear that I am pushing them to also love something that I love. It is something that goes through my mind every time.
When I came home last night Lil Red wanted to go out for a run. She's getting really passionate about it after a recent 5k that she ran and came in 5th in the 19 & Under (1st in the 12 & Under). Mini Me on the other hand isn't so passionate about it, but wants to go out for a short run most of the time. 99% of the run is spent with her whining about being out running which lessens the level of enjoyment for everyone. When she told me that she wanted to go out, I immediately declined to allow her to unless she wasn't going to whine (this has been a major problem in the past). We just recently moved to a town where there is a tremendous paved trail and I got the idea that she could ride her bike. We've never had this chance because the town that we came from was VERY hilly and didn't allow for anyone to ride their bikes very long. This would be the first time Mini Me would take her bike and Lil Red would run with me. This was going to be interesting.
Some things needed to be done around the house so us going out was going to happen later than we normally would have gone. 7:45pm or so came around and I knew it would get dark. To add a little bit of excitement for them I told them we could take headlamps "in case" it got dark. I knew approximately what time we would get done and knew we wouldn't need them, but we'll take them along "just in case".
We headed out and I was simply in awe of both of my girls. Lil Red did her thing. She would run, pick out her strategic walk break spots, drink, breathe and run. Mini Me, was in heaven. She just rode and looked around. She rode ahead and I would have to yell out for her to slow down, but she could just ride while still spending time with me. We went out 2 miles, drank from our water bottles, and just spent time together with each of them in their own element. At the 2 mile spot, we took a breather and threw on the headlamps as it was "starting to get dark".
Heading back I was flooded with a lot of emotions. This was the first time in a long time that I've spent exercising with my kids that someone hasn't spent a tremendous amount of time whining or complaining. It really was a proud moment for me. On our way back I gave them the option of going a little bit farther than we had planned...basically because I wanted to round out my number of miles for the day when combined with my miles from my morning run...and both jumped at it. I told them that we would going up a fairly steep hill and wanted to know if they were going to be able to handle. They both gave me the thumbs up and we headed up the street.
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| Headlamps and Helmets...Check!!! |
As I stated earlier, Mini Me is so much my daughter. Normally given an obstacle of a hill of this size she would step off the bike and tell me that she couldn't do it and just laid on the ground. Tonight something was different. On a single speed bike she pushed up the hill until she couldn't go on any more. Having run this hill it can be very difficult and I had an idea of what she was going through. As I approached her with her one foot on the ground, I shouted, "Both feet up! Let's go for a ride!" and with a gentle push on her back I was brought back to those days of pushing her in a jogging stroller as we made our way up the hill. The "WEEEEE" could probably be heard throughout the town. I don't know how many times within the next 1/10 mile she told me that she was trying to get all of the way up the hill but her legs hurt really bad. I knew exactly the burn she was talking about and told her that it was fine and we'd get her to the top.
We made it back home, also down the same hill, and got them all showered and ready for bed. I laid awake this morning just so proud of both of my girls. Lil Red is turning into an amazing athlete in soccer and distance running. She has such a passion for both that I never would have thought she would love. She loves to tell people about the farthest she's run of 5 miles (keep in mind that she's 9) and is showing me that what I've been teaching her she is retaining. Mini Me absolutely shocked me with what she did last night. She's normally the child who stops doing something if she's sweating and last night she really seemed to give it her all. This was by far the farthest bike ride of her life and not one complaint during the entire time. Maybe she's found her sport. Who knows.
I'm not writing this blog to say that I deserve some sort of award for taking my kids out on a run. I'm not writing this to brag about my kids accomplishments. I'm writing this to show that kids can blossom into amazing people and athletes if we let them choose what they want to do. I was really proud of both of my girls for just getting out and doing it.
Anyway, it's been a great summer so far and training is going "well". The heat has gotten to me a few times but I've rebounded with no ill effects. The Equalizer 24 hour is in approximately 94 days and training has begun.
Stay Strong, Run Long
Tha Messenjah.
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