10k Training Update

I know I spend a lot of time talking about my running program, but today I want to focus on a different training program—my son’s!

As you probably already know if you read my blog with any regularity, my son, whom I refer to as DS#1 (for darling son #1) is a 10-year-old hockey player.  He also started running last summer.  I think at first it was because he and his brother are always in competition with each other to see who can be the best—at anything. 😉 DS#2 started running with me while DS#1 was away at camp, and when DS#1 came home, he had to prove that he could run, too.  😛

The funny thing is, DS#2 became bored of running pretty quickly, but DS#1 really got into it.  He told me he wanted to run a 5k, so I put him on the Hal Higdon training program, and he followed it religiously, until he ran a 5k in September.  Afterwards, he ran the Turkey Trot in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.  I was so proud of him for doing two 5ks in his first 4 months! That’s pretty good for a 10-year-old, I’d say.

After each of his 5ks, he indicated that he wanted to try for a 10k in 2013.  Over the Christmas holiday, I asked him if he was still interested, and he eagerly agreed.  I did some research and found a 10k on St. Patrick’s Day in our area, and then I pulled up the same 10k training program I used and figured out a training schedule.  I put it into a Word doc, all nice and pretty, lol, and then I showed it to him.  I asked him if he thought he could do it, and he answered “yes” without hesitation.

I’ll admit, I had my doubts about his ability to stick with the training program.  He’s a kid, after all, and it’s a pretty intense 8-week program, requiring three runs per week, as well as cross-training and even strength training!  The cross-training was actually pretty easy to work into the plan, since he plays hockey, and I was able to adjust Hal’s program slightly to ensure that any day on which he was supposed to do cross-training day would be a day he already had hockey.

As for the strength training, I was honestly planning on letting him slide on that, since he is only ten.  But to my surprise, he really took to it!  Perhaps it’s the testosterone in him that causes him to want to “bulk up.” 😉  Actually, though, I think it might be the fact that it is something he can do with his dad.  My husband (Jason) works quite a bit, and although he tries very hard to have quality time with his boys, it can be challenging.

Jason used to be captain of his high school football team, and also used to coach junior varsity football, so he seems to be pretty knowledgeable about strength training.  Over the last three weeks, he and DS#1 have been going out to the barn two to three times a week so that Jay can work with DS#1 using the weight set we have.

I love seeing them together. 🙂  They both seem to enjoy the father-son bonding time, and DS#1 seems to especially enjoy bragging to me about how much weight he can lift or press or whatever. In fact, he likes to ask me how much weight I do with my exercises, and then inform me that he can lift/press/whatever much more than me.  😛 (It’s true, he can! Kind of depresses me, actually…)

But beyond the cross-training and weight training, there’s still the running to contend with. Three times a week is a lot for the average person, I would say, but I think it’s definitely asking a lot of a ten-year-old hockey player who has school five days a week, plus homework, and is, you know, a kid. 😉 But my DS#1 is a focused kid, and he has not missed a run yet.  In fact, last week, he called me at work on Thursday afternoon to ask me if I thought it would be okay to move his scheduled run to the next day (Friday), since he had an unscheduled hockey practice that night.  I laughed and told him I most certainly did not expect him to run 2 miles before going to hockey practice!

This past Sunday was a milestone day for him: his long run for the week was 3.5 miles—the farthest he’s ever run!  He had to really work hard at the end, but he did the whole thing without stopping.

I was so proud of him.  And he was so proud of himself!  That was Superbowl Sunday, so we celebrated his big accomplishment with lasagna. 🙂

Tuesday, he had a two-mile run on the schedule, and, coincidentally, so did I!  I called him from work that afternoon and pointed out to him that we both had to run two miles that night, so we would need to plot out our use of the treadmill.  “Unless,” I added jokingly, “you want to run two miles down the road with me.”  To my surprise, he answered, “Okay.”  Did I mention it was in the mid-20s and snow was in the forecast? 😛 But my son was undaunted, and I rushed home from work to preserve as much daylight as I could.  My husband took a shot of us before he headed out:

I love him!!

When we started, the roads were somewhat snow-covered from previous snow, but not horribly so.  I wanted to get a picture of the two of us on the run, but I knew we were losing light quickly, so we stopped quickly right about 3/4 of a mile to snap a quick pic.

Aren’t we cute?

Right after we took that shot, the snow began to fall.  It was coming down pretty hard, with big fluffy flakes.  I asked DS#1 if he wanted to turn around, but he had no interest.  He just kept running.

At that point, we were running by the home of one of DS#1’s classmates. He waved and smiled as he went by, and I could tell he was feeling very proud of himself as he ran past his friend (and perhaps a little bit smug, lol!). 😉  I could also tell he was getting a bit tired, but there was no way he was going to stop in front of his friend, ha ha!

We turned around not long after, and the snow was really coming down.  I ran ahead of him so I could get a quick shot.

I really wish I had had my good camera for that shot, because I think it’s really a neat one. It says a lot without words, I think.

After he passed me, I turned around and took a shot of the snow before I started running again.

Not my best example of photography, ha ha, but it was using my iPhone and by the way—it was snowing!! 😛

After I ran to catch up with DS#1, he started huffing and puffing, and when I questioned him, he admitted that he was getting a cramp.  I tried to convince him to stop, but he wouldn’t, so I made him slow down a great deal.  That helped his cramp, but still helped his fragile little 10-year-old ego, and we were able to get back home, in the snow, with two miles of running under our belts.  When it was all done, he was able to cross another day off his schedule, well on his way to a 10k. 🙂

Thanks for reading!