It’s tough being a dad. I never put much thought into it until I had kids. Looking back on it, I don’t think I’ve very good at it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and try to raise them the best I know how (my wife is the pro and keeps this ship from sinking). I’m not the wise elder and consider myself the cool, fun dad – it’s my personality. I’m not a great philosopher (in fact I hated philosphy – Descartes was simply insane) and I’m more of an irrational thinker. I have to work hard at keeping myself out of trouble by not thinking through my answers. Where conventional wisdom has failed me, running education has stepped in to bail me out.

On Sondays, when my son and I share some quality one-on-one time, I’ve tried to weave in some parental advice without lecturing. The easiest way of doing this is applying it to what we’ve doing – exercise. From what I’ve learned through running, I can know apply to my newly found wisdom.

Goals
Every young adult needs to know they can accomplish any goal if they set their mind to it. We live in a pretty hilly area. The downhills were no problem for my son on his bike. It was the uphills I would lose him on. While encouragement could coax him for a period of time, it was applied wisdom that seemed to do the trick. Instead of looking at the goal as this long distance we needed to travel, I broke it up into a bunch of much smaller goals that looked attainable without much effort. This is the same trick I think we all use in our running. Instead of looking at a marathon as the full 26.2 miles – you break it up into miles, 5Ks or halves. This tricks your mind into attaining smaller goals while whittling away the longer goal.

Fortitude
When your younger or under duress, the path of least resistance is a natural instinct. It’s not until you test yourself and battle through adversity until you can see what you’re really able to do. We’re back at the Home Hill and he’s almost to the 2nd to last goal. I try and remind him that if he can just keep pushing through to the next goal that it will get flat (that and the fact that I’m going to keep going). He struggles to the top and with a bead of sweat making it’s way down his cheek, he smiles. “That wasn’t too bad, dad.” “It never is,” I remind him. We all have mental walls we need to break down and until you take out the hammer and give it a couple of whacks, you’ll never know what’s on the other side.

While I may not be a scholarly individual, there still are some life lessons to be taught. It’s just the medium that needed to be tweaked. Don’t be afraid to share your knowledge with others. It just might make the difference in somebody’s life.

RMFR

“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”
- Fred Lebow

Amen!!! I plan to have this quote engraved on my ash urn (which will be in the shape of a running shoe).

“I lost my first race at school and I was so jealous when the winner received a puppet that I said to myself, ‘I will carry on until I win a puppet.’”
- Svetlana Masterkova, World record holder in the women’s mile (4:12.56) and Olympic great

All I need is a medal but who knows what would happen if a puppet was waiting for me at the finish. In fact, let’s put puppets behind the corrals. I would rather run from a puppet than into it’s waiting arms.

OK. I’m running the other day and a runner pops out in front of me about a 1/4 mile up the hill. I love it when runners appear in front of me because it stirs the competitive drive in me and pushes me a little harder than I may normally go (if you need the whole scoop, check out the Bunny Post here).

This guy was a Hare. I was near the end of my run and I didn’t have that final push in me. What I did notice was this guy was little. I’m 6′-2″ and this guy had to be all of 5′-6″ with a slight build – maybe a buck thirty. Point is, this guys turnover was incredible. Absolutely flying up the hill. I’m pretty confident up hills but I could never hit that guys pace.

That got me thinking. Besides the obvious advantages, I’m guessing the smaller you are the quicker you can run (to a point). The physical pounding the body takes has to be way less than the torque I put on my joints. Personally I know that I’m much faster at 200 pounds than I was at 270. Let’s be honest, NOBODY is quick at 270!!! I found some height and weights of some notable runners:

Emile Zatopek – 5-8 1/2″, 154 lbs. (average size)
Kip Keino – 5′-9″/146 lbs. (9% below average)
Sebastian Coe – 5′-10″, 120 lbs.(over 20% below average)
Linford Christie – 6′-2 1/2″, 170 lbs. (10% below average)
Ingrid Kristiansen – 5′-6 1/2″, 128 lbs. (4% below average)
Tatyana Kazankina – 5′-3 1/2″, 110 lbs. (6% below average)
Grete Waitz – 5′-6 1/2″, 110lbs (17% below average)
*From Weight and Performance article.

I think common sense tells us this premise is right on. It’s just interesting to look at the facts. I have seen a couple of Clydesdales hauling ass in a couple of races but you don’t ever see many elite Clydesdales.

RMFR

“When I was 14 or 15, my brother tried to encourage me by giving me a pair of running shoes. But I threw them away because I was so used to running with bare feet and they were too heavy.”
- Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopian distance great

And to think, I thought I couldn’t run another step unless I got orthotics!!!

“Running is the classical road to self-consciousness, self-awareness and self-reliance. Independence is the outstanding characteristic of the runner. He learns the harsh reality of his physical and mental limitations when he runs. He learns that personal commitment, sacrifice and determination are his only means to betterment. Runners only get promoted through self-conquest.”
– Noel Carrol

“We used to have field days there. That’s where I ran my first race. I beat a boy and he pushed me down. I guess that’s how it all started.”
– Joan Benoit Samuelson, pointing out the Cottage Farms School, Maine, to a visitor

How would you like to be that guy now? Pushing Joan Benoit Samuelson!!! Not a story you want to tell your grandchildren.

“When I was 12 or 13, the first day I went out, there was a mile cross country race on and they said, ‘You can’t compete, you’re too young,’ because it was a race with 18-year-olds and like that, and I cried, literally cried, because they wouldn’t let me run the race. So they said, ‘Okay,’ and I beat all these guys who were 18 and over, because I wanted to accept the challenge.”
– Eamonn Coghlan

First of all, can you say run on sentence? Second, ever since I’ve been running, I’ve had the utmost respect for young runners. I remember running a 5K and busting my ass to keep up with a 12-year-old.

After the successful implementation of Sondays, I have a new day to add to my week.

My eldest son and I take to the roads and while I run, he rides his bike. He’s great company and the fact that he likes to talk a lot and has plenty to say means my job is to just run. Well, my youngest son was feeling left out. He’s 7 and can’t ride his bike well enough to go longer distances. Something had to be done so we’ve instituted Twosdays.

Twosdays start with a Pooh lap (Pooh’s his nickname but we’re not allowed to speak it in public). A .6 mile route that covers the borders of our neighborhood. He’ll run the whole way with me and we take it real easy to keep our time together fun. After returning back to the house, my older son and I head out for a longer distance – usually whatever I need to do for my mileage for that day. Two boys, two totally different but awesome experiences.

Now unlike Sondays, Twosday doesn’t have a set place in the week. Working long hours, we’ll try and get it in as many times a week as we can. If you haven’t brought your kids into your running routine yet, I highly suggest you try it. Remember, it’s about them, not you.

RMFR

“I wanted to be a hurdler or something. But when we had tryouts, I was afraid to try out that I just refused, kind of hung out in the back of the crowd hoping I wouldn’t get noticed. The last event was the mile. And the coaches said: ‘Porter hasn’t done anything yet.’ So there I was committed; enter Pat Porter, distance runner.”
– Pat Porter

Funny how we find ourselves in certain situations. I’m a firm believer that God has a plan for all of us and one way or the other, we end up in His hands.