Staying active as a family

As a family we have always tried to remain active. When I met my husband we chose mountain biking and climbing over movies and restaurants. We continued this even after we had children. Too often families bond over these activities which are not very active and contain some not so healthy food choices. Both of our children have been hiked with since they were babies and then they began hiking along when they were able to walk on their own. Both of my children were also pushed in a jogger, and then a double jogger stroller since 7 weeks of age. 

Last weekend I was schedule to race a 5K that I like to participate in annually. I was talking about it with my son on Friday evening. To my surprise, he looked at me and said "mom, can I race with you?" Well, one can imagine my heart soared because in the past he would walk a few blocks and complain he didn't want to got any further. One thing about us as a family is we try to teach our children to never quit on anything they try to accomplish. So I was actually a bit afraid of failure on this one. Reluctantly, I signed him up the next morning and we approached the starting line. 

Now, you might look at my little guy and wonder how old he is? He is 6 years old and just finished first grade. As we began the race I talked with my son about breathing, keeping a pace, and saving all of his energy for running this to completion. A few times, he decided to run back and forth in front of runners with my apologies each time or he would skip and jump around. I encourage him every step of the way because I was just so proud I didn't want him to quit. 

I expected to walk quite a bit and get finished in about 45-50 minutes. We got to mile one in 11:07, mile 2 in 23:03, and we crossed the finish line in 35:19. My husband was almost not prepared to take a picture because he didn't expect us so soon. My son held my hand a few times during the run, he got a cramp once after guzzling water at the first stand, he decided he had to go #2 at mile 1.2, (seriously), but he never complained, he never gave up, and he never quit. My son was my hero that day. He reminded me that what I do in fitness everyday, what food choices I make every day, that he is watching. Make sure you are setting a good healthy example for your children. They will always remember these times, way more than another trip to the movies or a restaurant. I could not be more proud as a parent.