Today I sprinted/ ran/jogged/walked the Broomfield Frank Shorter Race4Kids 5K with my daughter Riley. She is 8 and this was her first race of the season with plans to compete in the Bolder Boulder and IronKids triatholon in August. I wanted to keep the race fun and not stressful. So we set the goal of finishing the race without stopping, meaning no standing still or sitting.
What I found in "running" this race with her is that she (like many kids) only have two gears: balls out sprint, or slow walking to catch her breadth. When I tried to explain to her that we can run slowly, she looked at me like I was trying to tell her how to do it WRONG.
This made me reflect on how we grow up and even as adults approach life. Sometimes we are going so hard and so fast that we forget to slow down to take it all in. And in an effort to go so fast we have to stop to deal with the pain (or other ailments) and we can't enjoy the moment.
We did find by the last 2K of the race that we could "run/jog" a specific distance. From one set of cones to the next, and then walk quickly as a recovery on the next set of cones and this helped to keep the pace, but still allowed us to enjoy the really beautiful day and the time as mom and daughter. She did SPRINT across the finish line at the end, ahead of me, but waited at the end for me to cross and gave me high five.
I am sure our next steps in training will have their challenges, but for today, we met our goal to finish, without stopping, and hopefully going at a pace that will allowed us to enjoy the race and remember our time together.
Next planned race is another 5K next weekend with both kids and the dog....lord help me - Canine Classic 5K in Boulder.
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