I went for a run ... with my ENTIRE family.
Yup, it was pretty sweet.
As most of you are aware, my bride recently completed the Couch-to-5K program and ran her first 5K. The program worked so well for her that she thought it would be perfect to use to get our two heathens kids more active.
Our kiddos are active ... to a point. Jayson plays baseball nearly year round and mixes in some basketball when he can't get on the ball field. Haylee plays soccer, does gymnastics and cartwheels around the kitchen. But when they aren't doing those activities, they are generally at home, on the couch watching TV or playing video games.
My bride and I want our kids to learn to live a fun, healthy, active lifestyle early on and not wait until their much older when it becomes much harder to adapt and embrace like some people I know. (Not naming any names, but their initials are Jay Stancil. :-D )
So, about two hours after dinner, we went to the high school track for our first workout as a family.
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| The kids did run the Kids Half Marathon at the Secret City Half last November. Jayson got the running bug then. |
We started out together, but as the workout progressed, we ended up in pairs - Jayson and I running together and Haylee and my bride together. In all, the first workout lasted 30 minutes. It began with 5 minutes of brisk walking followed by alternating between 1 minute of jogging and 1.5 minutes of walking for a 20-minute period before wrapping up with a 5-minute cool down walk.
Couch-to-5K is not a hard program and is perfect for beginners. Both kids survived with Jayson going 1.84 miles and Haylee 1.7 miles during their first workout. Haylee's not too sold on this running thing, but Jayson appears ready to come back for more. Of course, we've told Jayson this will help him out a lot in playing baseball, so that was an easy sell.
Plans are to have workout on Friday, and we'll see how this goes. I look forward to the day when I can run a 5K with my kids. That day looks to be coming closer and closer.
Happy running!
Love this Jay! Exactly why I try to be a role model and better influence for my kids
ReplyDeleteLike it or not, kids will learn from their parents. So, if you want your child to be active, you must be active. Can't agree with you more, Jeannie
DeleteThat's so awesome. My 6 year old will run a little with me, but mainly he would rather ride his bike while I run! I don't think that's bad at all. He wanted to run/walk 1 mile the other day so we went to the park and walk/run around the marked course. We too started off Alternating walking, then running. He finished a whole mile. Our local running club puts on a kids running program, last year my son did the 1/4 mile blitz, this year he thought he wanted to do 1 mile, he has decided he should only do the 1/2 breeze, and practice this leading up to June 14th! I think it's a) awesome he already knows his limits b) he WANTS to run. My 6 year old is the only other member of my family that runs. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great! I'm pleased my son wants to run. He wants to improve himself, which makes me happy.
DeleteHe asked me once what a marathon relay was, and after explaining it to him, he said, "You and I need to do that some time." I so look forward to that day.
Great story! Tell Haylee it will really help her out in soccer. My 13year old is a runner and has great speed on the soccer tem to be the sweeper(Deffens). My youngest is 9 and can almost outrun all the 10 year olds in his offense position! Running with me and each other and with the Cross Country team has really helped them in soccer a lot!
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