Breaking Barriers
- Brenda Tollefson
- Aug 14, 2015
- 4 min read
Being an outdoor enthusiast I definitely push my kids to break through their barriers beyond what they thought they were capable of. Many of my followers know that my son and I are training for our first half marathon. I’ve never ran an actual half marathon before, but I’ve certainly run 13 miles before. My son ran his first 5K last year and asked to do a marathon this year. I talked him down to a half, and he talked me into adding a mud run too (which I blogged about a couple months ago). He did an amazing job training for his mud run, but as soon as our runs started getting around 4.5 miles and we started having to get up at 4:30 am to beat the heat, I started getting a lot of resistance. Before registering us for the half marathon I asked him if he was sure that he still wanted to do it. He assured me that he did. That was the last chance for him to back out. Every time I think I might be pushing him too hard, he shows me that he really wants it. This is where I have to remind myself that I’m not just his mom; I’m his coach too. As parents we are always both. Our roll as their coach/parent really does determine how successful they will be at meeting their goals. This doesn’t just apply to sports either.
Training kids in sports teaches them so much! That applies to individual and team sports. When it comes to individual sports, they learn to push through their boundaries. They learn that they’re capable of more than they think they are. And they learn that with practice they will get better. These concepts are often some of the most difficult for children to learn because they can only truly be learned through doing. Kids (and adults) have to experience these things first-hand to really believe and understand the truth behind the concept. Most people will push themselves to a point, but when they have a friend or coach on the sidelines, they are able to break through that plateau they set for themselves. This is what happened with my son this week.
Training Trouble
We decided to start running at the park down the street this week instead of around the block. Our last run around the block was a rough. It’s a pain when you have to stop for traffic lights, run through sprinklers, and make sure your 7 year old isn’t too close to the road, so I decided that it would be better to run in the park. Our first run was awful! I mean it was so bad I sort of gave up on him. I know what he’s capable of and he was running SO slowly. I finally stopped and told him that I wasn’t going to wait for him anymore. I know he can keep up with me, he just didn’t feel like it. He wasn’t even maintaining a decent walking pace. I would have been fine with a slow pace. I’m doing this for him after all, not me. However, our plans have changed. We have a wedding to attend right after the race. I figure that we need to maintain a 14-15 minute/mile pace to have enough time to go home, change, and make it to the wedding. He was not even close to that pace. He spent the next 3 miles crying (literally), whining, and struggling to keep up. But he kept up. He broke through what he thought he was capable of and we finished off 6 miles with an average 16 min/mile pace. As much bickering as we did that morning and despite the dirty looks he gave me for the next hour or two, he brought it hard the next morning. In fact, the next morning (after bragging on him to the neighbors the day before), he brought it so hard that I was struggling to keep up with him. He shaved 15 minutes off our 6 mile run. Our last lap was just over a 12 minute pace. I couldn’t believe that I thought I may have been pushing him too hard only to get my butt kicked 2 days later.
After our run, I asked him what had changed. He said, “It’s just like you said mom. I didn’t think I could do it last time, but you didn’t stop and I still kept up. Then I knew I could do it.” (I’m not gonna lie. That made me a little teary eyed). I also pointed out to him that at the start of the summer he was struggling at 3 miles, but now he’s rockin’ 6 miles. This week we’ll be tacking on another mile to our runs. I expect there will be some resistance (mostly because he’ll be starting school this week too), but now I know he’ll power through it. Kids can definitely handle more than we think they can, and with a little nudge, they can exceed every expectation we throw at them. You don’t have to be a runner to get out and train. I would love to see more kids out shattering expectations in all sports.
Comments