A Family that Runs Together...

"Your child will follow your example, not your advice."

I've called upon that particular quote a number of times this week, for both a difficult situation as well as an exhilarating, joyful experience, and it served me well in guiding my parenting in both instances.

Running has become a very important part of my life, what defines me at the core when I strip down all the layers of what make up who I am.  I've gotten serious about my running, set some lofty goals, and that takes a certain amount of dedication to my training.  I will be the first to admit that, my first time around as I was training for Boston, I didn't establish enough balance.  When I decided that improving my marathon time was something I wanted to pursue, I knew I'd have to make some adjustments.  From the start, I wanted my kids to see me reaching for a goal, but I needed to be a better example of how to reach a goal while still fulfilling my responsibilities.  As I approach my third marathon in just over a year, I am feeling like I have created a balance that I can be proud of, and that was never more evident than it was yesterday, when Ashley, Mathew, and I ran a cold, hilly 5K together.

Ashley is a natural runner, and she is able to tackle 5K's with little preparation with a fair amount of ease.  Her athletic ability is really quite remarkable.  Mathew, on the other hand, is only eleven and was about to tackle his first 5K.  He'd spent the last few weeks on the treadmill, unable to get outside with the wintry weather we've had.  The fact that he stuck with it was the first indication that he was taking it pretty seriously.  When he mentioned hydrating the day before the race, because he'd heard Coach Rick talk about that and he never sees me without one of my big water bottles, it made my heart smile.  He'd been paying attention and was really trying to prepare himself well.  The only time I started to worry was when he came out of his bedroom at 11:00 PM the night before, worried and unable to sleep.

"What if I can't do it?  What if my cadence isn't high enough?  What if my steps are too big?!"

I walked him back to bed and called on all the advice I've gotten from Coach Rick when I've found myself in those very moments. I assured him that he would run well, that he was prepared, and all he had to do was run in the moment and not think too much.

As we stood on the start line, looking up at the hill that would start the race, I looked into their eyes and told them both to just have fun.  As I made my way along the course, it became apparent that this was not going to be an easy race by any means, with the cold and sizable hills, but never once did I worry or question their ability or resolve to finish tough.  I crossed the finish line at 22:47, and Ashley  followed at 28:21, followed by her brother a short four minutes later at 31:21.

There will be few experiences in life that will top the feeling of watching both of my kids cross the finish line with ear-to-ear grins.  The fact that we all took first place in our age groups was simply icing on the cake, because this was all about the experience, all about them seeing how exhilarating it is to not only run well and feel accomplished, but to share that feeling with people you love to the moon and back.