One of my goals in making this health change was to be an example to my children. A month and a half ago, I discussed running in a local race with my son, and he seemed interested. He is 11 years old and I wanted to find something that would keep him active. My older two boys have always played sports, but Ryan preferred anything related to technology. He enjoys going outside, but I wanted to incorporate something that we could do together. We started training slowly. I was preparing to run a 10K and Ryan would run the Monster Mile. Slowly, he pushed his distance with each run. I was happy and hoped he continued to enjoy our training. I made it fun, and we challenged each other. Then, we decided to order costumes since it was a Halloween race. Ryan was excited as we chose a Doctor Who theme. He absolutely loves Doctor Who. As the costumes arrived, he became more excited. Finally, our last practice run came and he insisted on wearing his full costume to be sure he could run with it. Our neighbors got a few chuckles watching us run and joked about how he was getting ready for Halloween night.
Race Day arrived. Ryan and I woke up very early and got ready with our running gear and costumes. My wonderful husband also woke up early and drove us to the race and cheered us on. I was a little nervous as it was my first one in over a year and I usually run with a friend or family member. I lined up in my corral and waited for start. I turned on my music, got in my zone and felt great. One of the highlights was seeing my husband and son cheering me on about halfway through the race. I had a surge of adrenaline and PR’d (Personal Record) the race.
Now it was Ryan’s turn. He was excited. I loaned him my Nike watch to track his time, and he had it set to start. We line up and started out. Ryan was doing a great job! He tracked his time and if he felt like he needed to walk, he made sure it was only for 30 seconds. He pushed himself and I hung back as he crossed the finish line. I felt like crying. I was so proud of him for getting out of his comfort zone and taking on this challenge. He was so happy to get his medal and more excited to get the water and snacks at the end of the line. I was one very proud mom.
As we walked to the car, I talked with him about how he felt and would he like to try it again. He teasingly said, “No,” but then said he thought he would like to do another. Now we are looking to see what race we would like to try next. Ryan will always have the choice as to whether he wants to continue to run, but I am glad that by being an example, I have opened the door for him to participate in a healthy activity.
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