One of the things I think about a lot is what kind of example I'm setting for my son. I know his first years are so important in establishing healthy habits. In fact, he was one of the huge motivators to getting my health under control. I want him to have a positive example.
Last week I was searching online for a local race. I haven't raced in close to a year and thought in preparation for the upcoming marathon it would benefit me to get one under my belt. I happened to have my son in my lap while I searched, and as I was explaining to him what I was looking for he got very excited.
"I want to run a race!", he said.
He has asked me to race before, but I haven't been able to find one that allows kids his age. Most of the kid races seem to start at kindergarten level. My son will be 3 on Friday. I went ahead an looked around a bit and came across a local race that didn't have any age restrictions.
I called the race director and confirmed that my 3 year old could run. The "race" is 1/4 of a mile, which she explained might be difficult for his age, but he would be welcome to try.
The excitement is building:
He is SO excited about the race. We drove his race registration to the post office to mail off and he immediately told the man behind the counter all about his upcoming race. Since then he has started stopping random people to brag about the race he is going to run.
As he marks off days on the calender, counting down on race day (which is 10-10-10) he tells me he needs to go out and "train" for his race. I didn't have any intention of pushing anything regarding the running, I figured its a "fun run" and should be treated as such. But, I figured it wouldn't hurt to honor his request and get some practice in just so he is familiar with the distance.
Last night we hit the track.
He EASILY ran the 1/4 mile and was ready for more. Judging from the smile on his face, he was definitely enjoying himself.
Just for fun:
We have no time expectations for this race, I'm not even concerned that he run the whole thing. I just want him to enjoy himself and his first "race" experience. I think it will be a great way to celebrate his birthday weekend!
