A Run With My Best Little Guy

After I finished the Jingle Bell 5k last weekend, my son, who is 7, asked if he could join me on my next run.  I, of course said yes, but didn't think he was too serious.

Today, after going to church and lunch, he said to me, "Can we run now?"

I was a little taken back and asked him if he was serious.  He said he was.  Ok, let's do it!

Mr. RWM wasn't home yet, so I dug out the jogging stroller.  This has been buried in the garage for quite some time.  It was dusty, and I can't even tell you how many spiders have made it their home.  Yuck!

I cleaned it up, got us water and we set out.  For 10 seconds.  It was here that I realized the tires were flat.  Seriously, I thought.  It is taking us longer to get moving than I was sure we would run.

Back to the house, got the pumps and, of course, the tires would not inflate.  I am not sure why, this was not the first time I inflated a tire.

Not wanting to disappoint my son, I called Elaine to see if my little one could hang out with her for what I though would be a short time.

Elaine was heading out but said I could use her jogger.  Great, we headed to her house.  What seemed like forever later, we finally started to run.

My son took off, which I expected.  I explained to him that going that fast was just gonna burn him out.  Plus, mommy is pushing a stroller with a 4 year old in it!  It has been a really long time since I had to do that.

He slowed down to a nice pace.  We were running a circle that was a half mile starting and ending at Elaine's.

It didn't take long for him to ask me how far we had gone.  Yup, son, just .03 miles.  He had thought we had gone much further.  Too funny.  This is when I thought he was almost done.

Boy was I wrong.  We made it back to our starting point and he wanted to keep going.  Sure, why not.

The second time around, he sped up just a bit and ran mostly in front of me.  I didn't mind.  I really liked watching him.  He looked back and smiled at me, a lot.  I couldn't get enough of it.

Back at Elaine's he grabbed some water and kept going.  I asked him how he felt and he was fine.  He found his groove and he was smiling.  What more does one want?

Every time we ran the loop, we had to interrupt a small basketball game.  A dad and his three sons.  The third time we passed by them, the dad told me how impressed he was that my guy was still running.  I am pretty sure my smile was so bright it blinded him.

When we rounded the corner we saw his best bud and he wanted to run with us.  This thrilled my son and he helped us finish up the last of our run.

I am happy to report that my son ran for two miles!  2.14 to be exact and it was the best run ever!

High five little man.  Great job!

I was so proud of him and he was so excited too!  He was smiling and jumping up and down and he couldn't wait to tell everyone.  He wants to run again and he even said he would like to do the next 5k with me.  Most likely the next 5k will be February 3.  It is called the Super 5k and it is the same course that I just PR'ed on.  It is a perfect first time race as it is flat and fast.

Today, my son totally put the mommy into Running While Mommy.  He inspired me and warmed my heart.  He had fun and to me, that is what running is all about.  It was nice to have that little reminder.

You can learn so much from your kids.  They are excited by life and all that is new.  Things that we may think don't matter are huge to them.  We need to stop and look and see what it is that amazes them.   We just might be amazed too.  We need to slow down, take a deep breath and just take it all in.  My son ran today and he didn't need music or even much conversation.  He just ran, smiled, looked around and smiled some more.

Trust me when I say, that I am not giving up music or running with friends.  But, how my son felt today does not just apply to running.  We can use that everyday in all that we do, especially, this time of year. There is so much hustle and bustle going on, and I have always hated it.  You will think I am crazy, but I look at Christmas shopping the same way I look at grocery shopping.  I make a list, go to the store and that is it.  Seriously, that is it.

After we were home, I asked my little guy what he thought about his run.  He said he loved it and it was fun but he didn't like the first few minutes.  Yup, that about sums it up every time we run, doesn't it?

I told him I was proud of him and that I hoped we would do it again.  "Of course we will mommy!", is what he said.  Big smile on this mama's face!

I hope you are all enjoying this season with family and friends.  I hope your running is making you happy.

If you run with your kids, I would love to hear all about it.  Let me know how you keep them from burn out and getting bored.  The excitement my son showed today was awesome and I don't want to over do it and make him not like running.

Run Strong, Think Big!