We had in the most part a mild winter. Many days in February and even into March hit 40+ degrees. Well on the weekend of March 4th Mother Nature decided it was time to bring winter back into full effect with morning temperatures hovering around 20 with plenty of cold wind. But hey, who doesn’t want to go run a road race when its 20 degrees outside with wind?!
Sitting in the truck with the heat on high, we wait till the last minute to head over to the start line. My wife and I make sure our boys have their gloves, hats, every possible layer they can and make sure their shoes are tied.
The gun goes off and my 11 year old, Jack, takes off weaving in and around people. He is becoming quite the runner and has the desire to push himself harder and harder with running. My wife pops her headphones into her ears and takes off. Then there is me and Tyler. Skipping across the starting line laughing, he is ready to go. So we run and we walk. He is doing a great job but I won’t bore you with the details of every mile. Maybe a quarter mile to go (1 lap around the track I tell him) he looks at me and tells me “you know dad, I’m not like you and Jack, I don’t like to push myself. I kind of just want to run/walk at whatever feels good at that moment.” So we slow the pace down some more and go across the finish line side by side. We are greeted by my oldest and my wife.
A little bragging is in order here…. Jack ran his best 5K and finished second in his age group. Tyler finished his first 5K and ran most of it.
Ok fast forward to the other night. Picking Tyler up from school he is telling me about his day and what he did in gym class and which spirit stick he wants next and he did at recorder group that night as well as his design plans for a tree fort he wants to build this summer. Then he pauses and the following conversation takes place…..
Tyler: Remember that 5K race we did a couple weeks back?
Me: Yes. Are you ready to do another one?
Tyler: Maybe but I think you pushed me to unreasonable terms in that race.
Me: Speechless
Unreasonable terms?!?!?! Sounds like a parenting fail. I didn’t push him to the point of trying to catch his breath, nor did he feel nauseous at any time. Nothing hurt throughout the run. He wasn’t crying at any point and for the most part kept talking to me about which dogs he’s going to have in his tiny house he is going to build. So what was unreasonable? But like he said during the race, he wants to run or walk at whatever feels good and no more than that. So maybe in the next race he wants to walk more of it instead of running more of it. Either way it is better than sitting on the couch playing XBOX.
I think many adults feel this way. Many don’t go to a gym or even workout because it is believed that unless you push yourself hard and many times too hard, you won’t see results and you are just wasting your time. Just look at social media. There are tons pictures and videos of people pushing their bodies past their limits in order to improve their health and fitness. Walk into your local gym and you will find people doing the same and preaching the same. There is nothing wrong with wanting to push yourself that hard. But if you look you will also see those people that are there getting in something more than sitting on the couch. They’re riding the bike, walking on the treadmill (not sprinting at a 15 degree incline at 10 mph) and doing total body circuits. They are improving their body and health by just getting active. You can find countless success stories from people who have reduced their blood pressure, been taken off cholesterol medications and have lost a lot of weigh just from walking…not sprinting or flipping monster tires. They just walk and elevate their heart rate some and burn calories.
So maybe you’re not the type that wants to get all extreme during your workout. Then don’t… but do workout!
