The 9-year-old had stayed up with me to watch the Olympics. We watched the women race the 5000 meters. He asked when he could run. I said he could try running with me. We would just go for a short run, not 5000 meters, but I would be happy to try the next morning. He agreed.
Then morning came and he snuggled with me on the couch. “I don’t want to go, mom.” Why not? He thought about it. Then he changed his mind. He said he could try. So, after breakfast, we got ready. He put on a long sleeve shirt, despite it being 75 degrees out. He didn’t put on socks (I insisted he put them on). Figuring out running gear is a process.
I aimed to do a short loop, about a mile total. We would run to his sister’s preschool and back. We darted around the construction at the end of our street, and down a hill. Once we turned onto the quieter back street, though, he said he had to stop and “relax” a bit. So we walked. He told me he wasn’t good at this. I said everyone has to take walk breaks at the beginning. We would start running again at the next light pole. We did. Around the corner. Another walk break on the hill. “Mom, I’m the worst person to run with.” No, not at all. It was easier for me because I’d been running 12 years. It was tough at the beginning. “Do you take walk breaks?” Sometimes — like if I’m going up a tough hill, or during that really hot half marathon at the beginning of the summer. Everything is hard when you start, just like swimming. Once, you couldn’t swim 100 meters. Now you can. Someday, someday soon, you will run faster than me.
And so we kept going. Walk, run, walk run. Back up the hill to home. We turned the corner and he was feeling the surge when you see the end in sight. Unfortunately, this inspired him to dart across the road without looking, which set me howling (people speed down our street a lot). “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said. “I did everything wrong.”
We have to be careful crossing the street, I said. But I would like to run again with you. Would you? He said he would. So we will.
Love this!
love it! i dream of one day running with my daughter 🙂
I went for a run with my daughter this spring. We went about 1/2 a mile. She’d sprint really fast and then wait for me to catch up. I only ended up having to carry her for about a block. Good thing she’s only 40 lbs! I hope we get to go again this fall when it’s a little cooler, and I really cannot wait until she swims well enough to do that with me too…. if she will deign to. 🙂
@omdg- I know, it’s probably a narrow window of time when the kids are capable of exercising with us, yet still want to! I could not carry my 9-year-old so it was good he made it under his own power…
This is great! I keep pinning things about helping children develop a growth mindset. What you did with him is a great real life example.
What a great story. It seems like he was really asking for your approval and you gave it to him beautifully. Hope you have many more fun runs/walks/talks with him.
Our kiddo started at about age 9 with the couch-to-5k app. Now the family does a 10km run once a week, and he has to go slow to keep pace with us! We still have many of te same grumblings, though, to get out the door – but he loves the way it makes him feel. Our family started out going to an indoor track so we could all run at our own pace but still be together.