Forums >Look What I Can Do!>I'm creating a monster!
rectumdamnnearkilledem
So by the end of Summer it was clear our kid had been slacking on the back of the tandem and making his dad do the lion's share of the work for months. When we went out on our individual bikes maybe a month ago he was dying after a couple of miles and poking along and whining and moaning. These were the same sorts of rides he was doing in the Spring with a lot more apparent fitness. An 11 year old boy shouldn't be having his ass handed to him by his chubby, almost-40 mom.
I got to thinking that it's high time he really give running a serious go--there's no faking fitness with running. He is descended from several generations of really strong distance runners on his dad's side and has the slight build and strong/healthy lungs that don't come from my side of the family. He also has his dad's massive ribcage (which looks sorta out-of-place on DS--DH has an overall larger build with broad shoulders and big quads to balance the barrel chest). This was taken late last Spring:
So Dane and I have been running for just a couple of weeks. Some of these runs have been made up of more walking than running, but I let him decide how long he wants to run before taking short walk breaks and he's figured-out rapidly that if he keeps a moderate pace that he can run a lot further. For a very long time he didn't want to take up running at all, and claimed that he'd get tired too fast. Well, I've seen what constituted running in the past...formerly his "run" was more of a sprint.
He's a quick learner. He's learned that talking too much while running = side aches. Tonight talking a blue streak (about the usual...video game, zombies, weapons...video games with zombies and weapons, etc.) while running didn't seem to have any negative effect on him. We ran 2.1 miles and only walked <.1 of that and only because we saw 2 little dogs loose and didn't want to encourage them to run further from their people.
I promised him that when he could consistently run 2 miles without stopping that we'd start doing the "Zombies, Run!" workouts. I figured this wouldn't be for at least another month. Now I'm thinking by mid-Oct. I'm going to have to find some better portable external speakers for my iPhone. Sheesh.
I don't think there's a chance in Hell that I'll keep up with him when we do his goal Turkey Trot, either. I give it a month before I'll be begging him to wait for me every few blocks.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Yes, you have! (Created a monster). That's awesome. As dad to three boys who are now running, and with no prodding from their dad, I know how cool it is.
Oh, and yes, just a matter of time till he takes you to school, so to speak!
- Joe
We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.
I'm actually glad, really. One of us needs to be fast. I'm glad I'll have a cheerleader waiting for me at the finish.
One day at a time
You will have so much fun watching him pass grown men, lol! That's been one of my favorite things about seeing my kids (boy AND girl) run in races.
He's gonna be one of those kids that make people like me curse under my breath as they glide by me!
12-week layoff
I love your little monster! I wish I could convince my little rugrat to love running. She's also 11, and enjoys softball and soccer, but I just can't get her to want to go for a run. She will go, under high protest, about once a week, and she smokes me easily. We have an awesome park with miles and miles of trails near out house, and she had a better time trail running, but we don't do that without hubby because it's isolated, and has campgrounds with possibly scary people. Not to mention the wild pigs and snakes.
Good for you and Dane!
old woman w/hobby
Good for you zoom!
steph
Not to mention the wild pigs and snakes. Good for you and Dane!
Not to mention the wild pigs and snakes.
But do you have scary spiders? Those would bother me more than pigs and snakes. Dane, too!
I woke up still so proud of him. I think about how long it took me to run 2 miles non-stop...it was a LOT longer than 2 weeks, that's for certain! I'm really enjoying seeing him embrace healthy things that he seems to have a natural affinity for. He also just started trombone and is taking to it like his uncle did. Part of him enjoying running is likely due to my pointing out to him that running would make him a stronger trombone player, since he'd have better lung-power.
#artbydmcbride
Better start saving now for those future Olympic trials!
Runners run
Ha, no fear of that. He hates having people watch him and should have started running 5 years ago for that.
Oh, he's not too old to have started running! At his age, kids should just be having fun. Most of the outstanding runners I know up here started in middle school, and that level were not blazing fast.
not bad for mile 25
Yay for running and trombone playing (not simultaneously)!
But do you have scary spiders? Those would bother me more than pigs and snakes. Dane, too! I woke up still so proud of him. I think about how long it took me to run 2 miles non-stop...it was a LOT longer than 2 weeks, that's for certain! I'm really enjoying seeing him embrace healthy things that he seems to have a natural affinity for. He also just started trombone and is taking to it like his uncle did. Part of him enjoying running is likely due to my pointing out to him that running would make him a stronger trombone player, since he'd have better lung-power.
Yes, huge scary spiders! We make my husband go first; usually he takes a stick to knock the low webs down, but he forgot his stick this weekend. At one point in the run, he was doing the ninja spider dance, while my daughter was screaming behind me because the spider on Daddy was traumitizing for her. I didn't know who to help, so I just laughed. The spider was about the size of my husband's hand. Shudder!
We'll encourage marching band if he wants to keep playing...which requires a lot more coordination than I possess, for certain! He's already wanting one of these to use for "heckling" at cyclocross races, since we won't let him bring his $900 rental trombone.
The spider was about the size of my husband's hand. Shudder!
I would have been crying and running in the opposite direction. *shudder* We have had black widows confirmed in our county, as well as brown recluse. Kill. me. now!