Kid's Point of View

You've heard a lot about my experience with running with my kids. I'd like you to have the opportunity to hear from my kids and what their experience has been like so far. So here it goes!

"I'm running in a 5k race with my teachers and with some of my fellow classmates. This is a very fun experience because it includes many adventures. The first time we practiced was very cool because we got to run together. The second day of practice was amazing because we ran in the rain. The rain gave us energy to run more than usual. By the time our practice ended, we were all really wet. On our third practice, seventh graders came and ran with us. We were all so sweaty. It was cool. I'm looking forward to practicing more so that I lose calories and get healthy." -Lizbeth

"I feel great when I'm running and doing exercise. I really like doing this experiment. The stretches we do really help me because the next day I don't feel sore. I feel very good and it's really fun. It's really fun because we also get to hang out with our friends. I feel really good and more healthy doing this. I thank Mrs. Perry and Ms. Asplund for this opportunity." - Emily

"One of my favorite things to do is run. Right now I'm practicing for a 3 mile race. I've been practicing with two teachers and some of my classmates. When I run I feel free and it's so nice feeling the wind while I run. Before I run, I do some stretches and after I run I do some more. The day after I run I feel energetic, in other words I feel great. I love to run because it's an active thing to do and it helps your body a lot. That's why it's one of my favorite things to do." -Cristy

It's a Richmond and Family Affair

Running with my kids has been awesome. If you read my first post on here, you will notice that the whole purpose in getting students to do a 5k with me was to improve health and to learn lessons on achieving goals. This has turned out to be so much more.

Each day we go to the neighborhood park to practice, there are always a few people out. There are parents and grandparents with their kids or people sitting outside of their houses seeing us walk by. They are starting to recognize our group that walks to the park from our school during the week. This past week, an older African American gentleman, who was there at the park with his grandchild, came up to be. He said, "I just want you to know that what you are doing with these kids is great. It's a good thing. Please keep doing it."  I didn't realize we were being watched. It felt so good to hear that. In a neighborhood where there is a lot of negativity, this bit of positivity was noticed. 

It was also great today to show up for today's workout and to see one of my students there with his family. His younger siblings were playing in the sand and parents, uncles, and cousins were there. While we were warming up, the boy's uncle asked if he could join in on our stretches. **of course!** Once we got started running, his other uncle joined in with us. His sister started running too! 

Also this first 5k experience, I only extended to my students. Well other students from our school have been showing up at the park. Even though they are not competing, they are showing up to run. We had one boy show up today and he ran the entire time. During the weekday practices, we typically have 2-3 extra kids show up and run. Kids from other classes also have asked about joining.

I think this running thing is going to have a bigger impact down the line. Word is getting out at school and kids are talking about it. Something is brewing in my thoughts, but I'll save it for now and share it another time. All I know right now that us running is good for our neighborhood and our families. Who thought running could make such an impact?

Sunday Practice

Today we had our first Sunday practice! Out of 14 kids participating in the 5K, 9 of the kids showed up to practice today!! I understand that the weekends are family time so I wasn't sure how many kids would show up. I was a little bit afraid because I showed up at the park at 3pm. This was when everyone was supposed to arrive. Only one kid was there. **Great** I waited for 10 minutes and they all started to stream in one by one.

I am so proud of the kids. They came decked out in their sweats and water bottles. Each one of them is jogging 50% of the time. They each have their own markers in the park where they start walking and when they stop. They are fabulous! We worked out for about 40 minutes today. They really showed their commitment and dedication today. Way to go team!

Practice #3 Complete

Today was a good day! Yes, it was! We completed our third practice today and by far it was the best! Last Wednesday, we had our first practice. It was cold and we didn't really know how the kids were going to respond after signing up to do this thing! 

The first practice we broke the kids into two groups; the faster runners and the slower joggers. One of my co-workers took the faster group and I took the slower group. That didn't work out so great. It turned into a chit chat of the days happenings. I knew that we needed essential practice. So it was time to strategize.

The second practice took place last Friday. It was pouring!!! I told the kids that the 5K was happening rain or shine. So our practices were going to be the same. This time, I broke up the groups and had them get with a running partner. That went better than Wednesday's practice. Yet, there were some partner pairs that hardly ran. They walked and talked. So yet again we needed another strategy.

Today I talked to my kids before leaving. I told them today was going to be an all on your own jog. They would have no partners. There goal was to run/jog the whole time. When their legs got tired, walk and rest, and get back to running/jogging. The kids did soooo well! They were really into it! I think running solo is the way to go.

I also saw great improvement in just 3 practices. I had kids who could only do walking the first two practices and they finally did some jogging. I had others who had perfect form the entire time. I talked to them about good jogging is kinda like doing "the pee pee dance." I know...weird. But the kids got what I meant. HA! It also helped a lot of kids keep from sprinting at first and not be able to do more running later. Metaphors are often the way to go to get what you want from kids. So on to Friday...

What is Kids to 5K?

Thank you first off for taking the time to visit! So now that you're here, you're probably wondering what we're doing here. Well it all began with my own personal journey to get fit. Since July 2011, I have been working out and attempting to be healthy. When I first started, I could barely walk around the track without severe leg pain. I didn't give up and kept working at it. Eventually I could walk multiple miles. On Thanksgiving Day, I decided to complete my first 5K. I walked nearly all of it. It was so rewarding to finish the race. It made me even more motivated to do it again and beat my time.

Fast forward to the present (January). I was talking to my class of 6th graders about facing difficulty. That's when I got the idea. Wouldn't it be great to have them join me? How awesome would it be to have them see me face my struggles head on! And not just see me improve, but also see themselves improve physically also.

The second reason I wanted to do this was because of the epidemic of childhood obesity. Our school is located in a high crime area. You drive down the streets and see evidence of drugs and gangs. Parks are not lush and green. It simply is not safe for kids to be out and playing.  What better way to get kids moving then to purposefully train for a 5K?

So that brings us to this blog. Follow along and take a peek into our journey to get my kids to run a 5K! :)