I got an email from my friend Charlie today telling me about the race his family did yesterday.  He and his wife and their three boys all ran, including his son who recently had brain surgery.  I think one of the best things you can do for your kids is model good health habits.  My daughter has been going on runs with my husband or me since she was an infant.  It’s now just a normal part of our routine, my husband usually pushes the jogging stroller and takes her to the park off the path where we run when they are at the end of their run.  The other day I was getting ready for my run and I asked her to get my running shoes for me, she came out of the closet wearing my shoes and hat and said “I’m ready to go running now!”

I hope that she enjoys running when she gets older but if not, that’s ok.  We’ll encourage her to find some physical activity that she does like, which shouldn’t be hard since she’s only 2 and wants to try everything.  So far she’s requested to go ice skating, play tennis, take swimming lessons, and learn karate.  And the good news is that she appears to have much more hand/eye coordination than her mother who abandoned all ball related sports and still managed to break bones and get quite bruised by running and cycling.

Here’s a good article about the importance of fitness and kids.

Here’s a good song for your kids’ mix, we like to play this and run around and well, wave our hands in the air, cock a doodle doodle do.

Sometimes peer pressure can be a good thing.  Like when your friends talk you into doing a race.  I did my first race because my friend Charlie convinced me to.   It was called the Groundhog race and was held in this series of underground storage areas, it was kind of a weird race but it was fun and it got me hooked on racing.

Over the years I’ve been talked into numerous races, like the 4th of July race, another one Charlie talked me into (and I in turn talked my mother into).  It was about as small scale as you can imagine.  The race organizers didn’t even spring for race numbers, everyone got their name written on a piece of paper stuffed into a baggie and you were supposed to pin that on your shirt.  And not even a ziploc baggie, an old school fold over closure kind.  They didn’t work so well and I’d say about half the people crossed the finish line with an empty baggie.  The funniest thing is that I found Charlie’s name near the finish line and my mom found mine.  The fire department was involved though their involvement consisted of holding a fire hose near the finish line that you could use to cool off.  Except the water coming out of it was as warm as bath water.  At the end each finisher got a popsicle.

Fortunately my friends and family are good sports and will generally agree to go along with one of the many things I propose with “hey doesn’t THIS sound like fun?”  My friend Joanna was a very good sport when I convinced her that driving 7 hours and doing our first triathlon would be loads of fun.  She hasn’t done a triathlon since though.  It’s easiest for me to venture outside my comfort zone if I have a little company and I like sharing new experiences with my friends and family.

If you are thinking of doing a race but need a little extra support, ask a friend to join you.  Everyone has at least one friend who is adventurous and willing to try something new.  Or maybe you’re that friend, so if someone says to you “hey doesn’t THIS sound like fun?” maybe it will be but you’ll never know unless you try.  Unless it’s a 1/2 marathon in freezing temperatures and 30 mile an hour winds, I can tell you right now, that is in no way fun.*

Here’s something for your running mix that will help you finish that last 1/2 mile or so.

*My brother and I did this race, my mother who can be swayed by peer pressure only so much was supposed to do the 5k but saw the conditions and refused to get out of the car saying “I’m 57 years old, I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do.”