Every year my kids are forced against their will by their PE teacher to do the “Fun Run.” Well, that’s not entirely true. My oldest absolutely loves it. Anything for the sake of competition, even if it puts his stomach in knots beforehand. My other two? Seems like they try to claim stuffy noses that won’t allow for proper diaphragmatic breathing.
Sorry. You’re going to school. I think you’ll figure the whole breathing thing out. Maybe stop fake holding your breath.
How it works: If you are in grades 2-4, it’s a mile around the track. Grade 5, three miles out on the road. (They are getting soft. “When I was a kid…..” we could do a 5 mile run in 5th grade. That’s another story for another time as I am still emotionally scarred that the person I was running with for 4.5 miles decided to dust me on the last 1/2 mile after I asked if we could walk for a second because I had a cramp. I started walking. She did not. Pretty sure I need to work through my resentments with @mobesha 25ish years later…)
Here’s my favorite part, now as a parent, watching this race: the start. You get a bunch of 2nd graders lined up. They are jostling for position (although no clue what that even means – it’s more like trying to be able to see one’s parent or sibling that is watching him or her but it’s not possible to see over the head of the person in front of him or her because….well at 3 foot 4 inches tall one can’t see over much). Finally Mrs. V holds up her little cap gun…”nope. Jacob you have to wait until I say go…Ella, you’re facing the wrong direction…Brady, stop picking Timothy’s nose”…Mrs V is a saint. And finally she says “GO” and fires the cap gun (which makes half the second graders freeze because they don’t know what that noise just was…maybe even a few start crying).
The other half? Oh they are GONE! All out effort. Full sprint. Some don’t know how to get in front of the person in front of them so they run on the infield grass but it doesn’t matter. They are winning. A little smile to their mom or dad or grandma or grandpa. The parents are screaming for their kid like this is the deciding factor as to whether they get that job or get an acceptance letter into college. And then…..
…the kids reach 50 meters in…of the 1600 meters. Some of them may even make it 100m (the first turn of the track). And now they are on the first straightaway. There are no parents lining that side of that part of the track. Parents voices are a little too distant. And so walking ensues or noticing that the track is made out of…is that crushed tire? Are those butterflies in the grass? I think it’s kind of cold out here….
Mrs V on the megaphone “KEEP MOVING…IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!”
It’s awesome to watch. The point is, we’ve all done what these kids do. We go out too hard too fast. We’ve done it in the local 5K run. 1 mile in and then you realize – so, I’m only a third of the way done? Or a 10 minute workout and you absolutely are crushing the first two minutes and then the coach yells out “8 more minutes to go!” and you wonder if the AED machine can actually revive you. Or the nutrition challenge that you signed up for and that first week…oh you are on point. You meal prepped for the whole week. You drank your water. Got your sleep. And then week 2 shows up…
We are really good at sprinting the first 50m so often. But what about the rest of the 1550 meters that you have left? I think of this as the gym slowly is moving towards opening up indoors…at some point…hopefully. But we have started outdoor class. The past 3 months have certainly been a change. Maybe we exercised. Maybe we didn’t. Maybe we managed stress. Maybe we didn’t. Maybe we ate well. Maybe we didn’t. But hey, we can do outdoor classes so let’s do ALL the things. Let’s load up the barbell since I haven’t touched one in 3 months, stress has been through the roof and fueling my body has….but it doesn’t matter! Let’s PR my back squat!!!
I get it. Trust me. I miss pull up rigs and rings and barbells as much as the next person. But remember the long game. Remember your goals. We all, I would argue, want to get strong and healthy and fit over the course of our LIVES. That’s not a 50m sprint by any means.
I know we have had to cancel many goal reviews over the last 3 months. Let’s get one on the calendar to review the past 3 months and plan for the next 3!