This last weekend something happened that is quite rare for me. One of my girls wanted to go running with her Daddy. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity at all.
Aside from a few cameos at Park Run and the odd time around our home town, the girls don’t really go running with me. This is in no way my fault, I’d love them to be into running like I am. But the fact is that they do so much dancing and musical theatre that leaves little time for anything else.
GCSE running
Our eldest girl flirts with running. She will go an do a quick lap of the town when the mood strikes. I think this is more a part of her trying to shake off the stresses of her GCSEs than anything else. Although, she is studying PE at GCSE and part of her coursework is to work on a personal exercise program (PEP) and she’s chosen to put running into that.
The weekend before last our youngest, who is not yet 9, asked to go for a run with me after her Saturday dance classes. Of course, I enthusiastically said yes. When the time came she was no longer interested and I didn’t want to push it. She lazily said she would go with me next week.
Primary school running club
The primary school our youngest two girls attend run a Friday lunchtime running club. They both used to love that and went every week. But then they took up the cornet. Their allocated lunchtime free lesson was is Friday so they do that instead.
As much as I love the fact our girls all enjoy their dancing and theatre work there is a part of me that wishes they were more into running or maybe cycling. They’ve all, with the exception of V, had road bikes as one time or another. But, this quickly felt by the wayside as their dancing commitments grew. So, if there is ever an opportunity to get out for a run with any of them I’ll take it.
Pre-dance running
Little V kept her word about “going next week”. On Saturday morning we dropped D off at her 8.30 dance class and with Duke, we headed off to our local woodland trail. V’s dance class doesn’t start until 10a, so I thought there was plenty of time for a half hour trot.
She was going great and at a natural turning point, she opted to carry on. I knew that this would mean our total distance would be close to 5km and I didn’t want to push her too hard. But she just kept running. I think the fact we were off-road and the weather was lovely really helped her motivation.
Back to Park Run?
Whilst 5km in 36 minutes isn’t exactly fast, it’s certainly good for her. I had fun and so did V – that’s the important thing. She wants to make this a regular Saturday morning thing and I am only too happy to oblige. So, hopefully, she’ll want to go for a run every Saturday morning before dance class. It’ll sure get her warmed up for it.
Of course, come the school holidays (which also means a break from dance classes) I’ll be able to take them up the Dalby Forest and get them park running again. I’m sure the lure of ice cream and some time in the playground will help persuade them.
