Family 5K

I have several friends that already participate in 5K’s with their family, and many of which belong to running clubs or groups. I also have many friends that would love to walk or run with their kids, but don’t know where to start. Some kids are excited to participate in a run with their parents or buddies, and there are others that just might rather sit it out. You can make it fun by having a plan, setting a goal, and making it something special that you are doing together with them. Make it a family goal for the year that you will find a 5K and sign up. Realize that they might be resistant at first, but after you go out several times and they feel good, it should become easier.

Here in Florida, we have perfect weather for being outside right now. It is beautiful. My son loves to be active and be outside, but I can’t say he was overly excited when I told him we were going to do a 5K together. I found a simple plan online that starts off gradual and I didn’t make him feel pressured to run the entire time. I said we would walk and jog, and do what felt comfortable the first time. The program I found online was a 12 week program that I adjusted for us. My son is athletic and likes to run, but the structured running around the neighborhood, obviously wasn’t as fun as running around the backyard. The first time we went out, we alternated jogging for one minute and walking for one minute. We did this five times, so we jogged a total of five minutes. Get to know your child and decide if this would be super easy for them, or possibly a challenge. This will help you decide how quickly you can progress with more jogging intervals and how far out you should plan to run your actual 5K.

During our first time out, we talked about several important things to remember while jogging. First, we always warm-up for about 5 minutes. This involves comfortable walking for 5 minutes before we start our jogging intervals. Warming up gets your muscles ready for what is to come. It gets the blood flowing and helps to prevent aches, pains, soreness and injuries. As we jogged, we discussed the following points on proper form for jogging to make it easier and safer for our joints.

Proper Form:

• Don’t drag your feet.
• Don’t hunch over with your shoulders.
• Try to keep good posture, with your back up tall and eyes looking ahead.
• Relax your shoulders.
• Arms stay at a 90 degree angle and don’t clench your hands.

We also talked about how we were feeling. I told him we should be feeling good but challenged. He said he could feel his heart beating during our walking intervals, which I explained is a normal feeling when you exercise. I love that he is learning while he is training. We also discussed that you don’t want to feel dizzy, nauseated or like you can’t get your breath. If you feel any of those, you need to slow down and take a break. At the end of our last jog cycle, we always cool down for at least 5-8 minutes, meaning we walk at a comfortable pace and let our breathing come back to normal. It is also good to do some stretches when you are done.

Every time we go out, he feels more comfortable. Sometimes I play music that he likes, and I have even let him bring a basketball, and he dribbled throughout the entire walk/jog. We talk about different things to help the time pass, which is fun. It does pass very quickly and now he actually asks to go out and train for our 5K. He likes to know how many minutes he jogged each time and if it was more than the previous time.

On the actual morning of the 5K, make sure you experience all the activities at the event. The experience of the day will be so rewarding for them.

Go for it! Find a local 5K that looks like fun for you and your family and sign up. It is a great way to get healthy, spend some quality time together and support a good cause.

Enjoy!
Kelley