MOLD THE NEXT GENERATION

If they pace themselves and have fun, today's children can grow into tomorrow's dedicated athletes.

By Jeff Galloway

Today's kids are less physically fit than ever before. Why? Perhaps adults are to blame.  Have you ever encouraged a child to exercise?  As a young parent or babysitter, did you encourage long hours of TV and video games in order to have some peace and quiet?

Though we may be partly at fault, we can do something about it. Children naturally enjoy running games. And if they gradually increase the amount they run, with rest days in between, their bones, muscles and cardiovascular systems will improve quickly.  With your help, children will see that running brings positive rewards--if they pace themselves and have fun.

To inspire this younger generation, try some of the following suggestions from coaches and parents who have the best qualifications of all: they have raised children who, as adults, love to run.

Say "you're a runner." When you're around children who are playing tag or other running games, compliment their natural ability.  Remind them how good they feel during and after running.  Mention that running is one of the few activities where everyone can win.  Communicating this to youngsters may instill in them the belief that they were meant to run.

Have fun. Ensure success by staging short runs on fun courses.  Offer positive remarks and rewards.  Have a fun run around the block, for example.  When your child starts to huff and puff, walk for a while, then pick up the pace again when he or she is ready.  Celebrate with a frozen treat such as a fruit smoothie.  This postrun reward tells the youngsters they've earned it.

Consider team sports.  Kids who play team running sports from an early age will develop strength, endurance, confidence and coordination, which will provide an athletic advantage by junior high school. Also, team activities take the pressure of competition off while teaching cooperation. You may have to sample several different teams before your child feels at home.

Don't emphasize winning until age 13 or older.  Very few children who set age-group records in youth track stay with running into adulthood.  Often the talented ones who could potentially challenge the Kenyans in years to come are tired of running by high school, and they seldom run in college.  Even when a coach or parent isn't pushing, competitive rewards can drive kids to burn themselves out.  Plus running is a particularly introspective activity, which very few children have the maturity to appreciate.  So until they hit their teenage years, it's best to focus on the accomplishment of participating rather than winning.

Run with your kids.  In addition to encouraging running, planning family running events will help you bond with your children.  As our two teenagers move into more independent activities, my wife, Barbara, and I appreciate the two or three times each year that all four of us can enter the same event.  Every January, for example, we visit the Disney World Marathon, where we watch Brennan and Westin finish farther and farther ahead of us in the family 5-K.

Make a difference. Even if you don't have children or young relatives, you can still do your part.  Most schools, YMCAs and recreation programs welcome volunteer coaches for phys ed, track and cross-country.  By giving some of your time, you can help mold the next generation.

ONE RUNNER TO ANOTHER 

Hi Mark:

Just wanted to thank you for your running and exercise plan - it looks good.  My mother thinks I'm crazy, especially after I told her that you have me training for a 1/2 marathon.  I have a few questions before I get started.

I have access to a Bowflex.  That is good for the weight training, right?  Are there any special exercises I should do on that?  Also, I have a bike.  Can that go into the training too?  Or is it a totally different kind of work out?  Finally, running with my iPod is okay, right?  I like my rock and roll and the music seems to keep me going for longer.

I plan on starting the schedule you have for me, today.  I can't wait!  Thank you.

Becoming a runner is exciting, it signals a commitment to a healthier lifestyle.  You’ve asked a lot of great questions that many new runners would like to hear the answers to.

First off, I always run with my iPod, just use a little common sense and keep the volume at a level that allows you to hear what is going on around you.  When I first started running, I used to count songs as opposed to looking at my watch all the time - the minutes seemed go by faster that way.  An interesting point on music players, some races actually ban the use of them, although I have not been in a race yet where this was enforced.  If you plan on racing, check the race website to see if they are ok with you wearing an iPod during the event.

Most all of the running programs I design leave a couple of days a week for cross-training activities, a way to give your running muscles a rest while remaining active.  You can pretty much do any activity including cycling and weight training (not on the legs though).  Specifically, on cross-training days, I would avoid stair machines, step aerobics, weight training for the leg muscles (any other muscle group is fine like chest, arms or back), power walking-especially on a hilly course (a moderately-paced walk is fine and will aid in recovering from a long or tough run) and spinning classes in which you stand up on the pedals and push. As for the Bowflex, it is an excellent piece of equipment to use for resistance training.

Now, having said all this, and being a new runner, I recommend you focus more on the running and building your mileage over the next several weeks. Taking too much on at once can lead to burn-out, and then you’ll end up doing nothing.

And by the way, my mother thinks I’m crazy too.

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Coming into one’s own

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately--early morning runs by one's self are a great breeding ground for thoughts and ideas.  I've brought some of these thirty-minute reflections to a friend over the past week or so and they've turned into some wonderful, deeper-than-usual conversations.  My friend claims to be a better listener than a contributor, but believe me, she can give it just as good.

Our latest chew was about all of us as individuals and the notion that we never really stop growing into the people we are, we just continue to evolve, shedding layers of the "old us" to allow the "new us" to grow into place.  We talked about the idea of a person coming into "her own", a place where she is at peace with herself and who she is--the little things mattering much less than they used to, and grounded by a very strong sense that there is nothing in life she can't do.  A place, where as she put it, life is good.  As usual, I snuck in a running analogy, she went along with it.

I know runners, a lot of them, and I know many who have changed as people, since they became runners.  They're no longer doubters, they're believers, champions and winners, brimming with confidence, weary of cockiness.  They're overflowing with empathy, admiring the chosen few and cheering their hearts out for the rest of us.  They want so badly to take the struggles away from those that are struggling.

They're no longer spectators, they're high jumpers, setting the bar, only to fire themselves over it and then raise it even higher.  They no longer seek inspiration for they themselves are inspirational; they don’t need heros for they themselves are heroic.

They're life-long learners, students of their own bodies and abilities, learning a new lesson with each passing Sunday.

They're regular, every day people who know there is nothing that can't be achieved.  There is no distance too far, no hill too steep, no challenge too great.  They're dreamers and doers.  They no longer need a road map for they themselves create their own pathways.

And when you reach this point, as most runners do, indeed my friend is right, life is good.

Run for your life.

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