Tag: running

How I Managed a Half-Marathon Ride/Run with My Six-Year-Old

“Dad, you broke my legs! You broke my legs!” My six-year-old son accused me of me this the other day. No, I had not run him over with a car. I had not kicked him. I hadn’t even touched him. Against my wife’s recommendation, I had invited him to do a half-marathon-distance bike ride with a modest 655 feet of elevation gain, according to Strava, which was almost entirely dedicated to a short but significant hill toward the end. I ran while he rode his little one-speed bike, crashed twice, cut his knees, and apparently broke his legs on that final daunting climb to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. But it was a major success overall for both of us. For me: I never got angry or frustrated with my son (regretfully, I am not always patient with my kids when we do physical activities like exercise together—I get frustrated sometimes when I deal with their expected limitations and resulting complaints). For him: it was a major step. He felt like a champion afterward and had learned to push the limits of his mental and physical abilities. (I am actually not sure if a 13.1-mile bike ride with a decently large climb is a huge accomplishment for a six-year-old, but I was sure proud of him!)

Here are a few things that helped make this bike ride/run successful—along with a few things that could have made it better.

I ran while my son biked. I am running a trail marathon in Death Valley soon, and I have been struggling to find time for long training runs. I feel better about dedicating time to hours of exercise when I can make it daddy-son/daughter time. If I forced my son to run a half marathon with me at my pace, I surely would have broken his legs. He is getting a little too old for enjoying the jogging stroller, but he can bike, and as long as hills aren’t involved, his little legs can usually keep him moving faster than my pace. So I invited him to come. I had a healthy optimism that he could do the miles and even the hills up to my parents’ house if I was patient. My wife’s response: “There is no way!” Her comment was expected. Our six-year-old has proven himself to be a major wimp in physically taxing or painful experiences. I love him, but he would probably cry under the physical pain and impact of being hit with a paper airplane. But his wimpiness didn’t deter me.

I motivated (bribed) with Pokémon cards. “Do you want to go on a long bike ride!?” I like to provide my kids, every once in a while, with a reward for getting out of their comfort zones (i.e. a bribe, but I don’t love that term). Perhaps I should do this less, but a short discussion later, my boy and I had negotiated a deal in which I would buy him a couple Pokémon cards in exchange for him accomplishing the bike ride successfully, without giving up and with crying. When I was a kid, we bought and traded basketball cards or other sports cards. Times have changed, and the right motivation for my little guy was the prospect of being able to hold in his little hands two prized Pokémon cards he has been eyeing. In the end, due to his small complaints while summiting the small hill, he volunteered to only be entitled to one card (the coveted Vaporeon), not two, since he hadn’t conquered the hill without complete complaint. (He actually briefly started to cry, which technically voided our deal, but I felt justified in buying him the one card, which he now treasures hopefully more than he would have otherwise after the fun memory he made earning it.)

We had good company. My six-year-old is in love with our dog, a one-year-old vizsla. I had this trusty pup on a leash, which hopefully made the journey more fun for him and provided more motivation. It seemed to have this effect. Kids certainly benefit from the peer pressure of friends, and they also like to succeed among their peers, and I think maybe kids feel the same healthy pressure from their dogs. Maybe not. My boy also had me there as good, supportive company. I talked with him, encouraged him, and was there as his dad, one on one with him on a long bike ride where no other kids or people could interrupt. I’m sure this time and companionship has benefits to my boy that I don’t realize—and to me as well.

We dealt with some falls. My boy turned a corner on some sidewalk covered in pine needles. This was more of a danger than I had expected. The ground was almost as slick as ice, my boy’s wheels coming right out from under him. He had a meltdown, as expected, but I calmly held him and encouraged him to go forward and praised him when his little tears stopped falling and his little legs started turning again. I didn’t force him to be a man about it, but I didn’t coddle him. I think each kid needs the right balance of love and encouragement when they fight physical pain on adventures like this, and I believe I found the balance under the circumstances. On our way back, he had a second fall. He is not very skilled on his little bike (more reason to keep at it), and a small dip and rise in a dirt trail sent him back into the ground. His world had again fallen in, but I again gave this six-your-old (almost seven-year-old) the physical comfort he needed. I held him for a few moments while he cried, and then I gently pushed him along. Interestingly, if this fall had involved my five-year-old, no comfort beyond a “good job” would have been needed. Every kid is different, and I’m learning to be a better dad.

Strangely, when I gave him permission to give up, he found that second burst that propelled him beyond what he thought he could do. . . . I’ll take it.

I provided a good challenge with permission to fail. I talked up the hill, and every time we encountered a slight incline, my boy was sure that we had encountered the hill. “Is this the hill?!” When I kept answering that we had not reached “the hill,” he was a little distraught at first and probably rather demoralized over time. In retrospect, I think he had more determination to beat this hill than I realized and than he let on, but I didn’t push him to conquer the hill. I gave him permission to walk up the hill, which is fine and probably expected based on the fact that his one-speed bike isn’t really made for climbing. I really should get him a better bike with gears proper for summiting hills. When we finally reached the hill, I verbally encouraged him to do his best, but when he started to break down and cry, I didn’t push him. I told him it was totally fine to walk, and I even started walking with him—and this was before he announced that I had broken his legs. Something amazing happened. My little about-to-burst-into-tears-boy suddenly burst past me on his bike. I was blown away. Whenever I push this guy, he wants to freeze. Strangely, when I gave him permission to give up, he found that second burst that propelled him beyond what he thought he could do. Although he gave up about a minute later and wanted to cry again (it is a decently tough hill), he had shown more strength. I’ll take it.

A good destination and intermission. Any physically exhausting journey is more exciting and manageable if the end destination merits the pain. Grandma really knows how to pamper my kids, so my boy’s little legs likely found more strength when considering how much love she’d shower on him when we reached the top of the hill and arrived. The praise was perfect: “I can’t believe you biked all the way up here! That is so impressive!” We rested our legs and minds, benefited from Grandma’s usual offers for food and good cooking, and played dodgeball in the backyard with the rest of the kids, who met us there by car. My wife dropped them off. My more successful rides with my kids (or runs when they are passengers in a jogging stroller) usually include a great destination or site along the way, such as a nice playground.

We enjoyed a downhill cruise home (the “victory lap”). When my wife picked us up, I told my boy that I was going to run home, but he could come with me if he wanted. No pressure. I gave him an easy out. He surprised me by joining me. While the rest of the family returned home in car seats and booster seats (except my wife—she’s a big girl), he cruised on his rickety bike back down to our home, a distance of just over six miles. It was all downhill, and he was much faster than me, and he felt like my superior, leading the way. It was a good victory lap that helped him understand the literal and metaphorical benefits of conquering the mountain. The first half of the 13.1 miles was hellish to him, I am sure, but the second half was a sweet reward for all the hard work. He glowed a little more warmly than normal.

The Vizsla: An Active Dog for an Active Family

It was love at first sight. Although I had dogs growing up, I never considered myself a dog person, but the first time I saw a vizsla, in my early 20s, I immediately fell for the breed. I was in the American Fork Canyon in Utah on a weekend hike, and a sleek, golden-rust-colored dog with energy, confidence, and a remarkably smooth agility passed by me. Its mission, to enjoy the outdoors with its owner, was apparent and inspired me. Surprising myself, I quickly asked the owner what kind of dog it was (I thought at the time that it might be socially unacceptable to ask owners questions about their dogs). I might not ever run into this attractive breed again. “A vizsla.” 

Yes, I was thoroughly won over, but I did not at the time fully realize how magical—and divinely inspired—this moment was. God, it seems, spiritually engrained the moment and memory into my soul, preparing me to receive a blessing that wouldn’t be ripe for the picking until almost fifteen years later: a vizsla for my wife and kids. Also surprising, I never forgot the vizsla breed name, and I started telling people that one day, if I got a dog, it would be a vizsla. At my first encounter with a vizsla, I was single and had not really discovered or recognized my love for exercise and the outdoors, but God knew—and perhaps I knew—that this dog would be the perfect outdoor companion to the person I was becoming, somebody with a passion for long-distance running, mountains, and God’s creations. I certainly had no idea how fitting the vizsla I found fifteen years later would be for my wife, who I had not yet met, and our four young kids.  

This is why I, a husband and father of four little kids, love vizslas. (Disclaimer: this is about how much I love the vizsla breed based on my limited experiences with a few vizslas and primarily my experience with our vizsla who just turned a year old. I do not profess to be an expert on the vizsla breed. Yet, others agree that the vizsla is a great dog for an active family.)

1. Vizslas are Full of Love (a.k.a Energy) for Everyone in the Family

I like to describe vizslas as “full of love.” I believe this accurately describes the energy they convey, like most dogs, to people, especially their owners. It is also my gentle way of describing their high level of energy. “Full of love” is another way of saying “incredibly energetic.” When I started telling people that I hoped to one day have a vizsla, I’d often hear the loaded warning: “Oh, that is an active dog.” I quickly learned that this phrase was code for things like: “A vizsla will tear up your house,” “You aren’t active enough to handle this type of dog,” “You will make a big mistake by buying a vizsla,” “You’ll end up getting rid of it and only further burdening our dog overpopulation problem,” and “You’re an idiot.” There may be some truth to these warnings. For most people, I wouldn’t recommend a vizsla, especially if running, the outdoors, hunting, or an active life is not a priority. Vizslas are a unique breed—but a breed that I absolutely love. When I open my vizsla’s kennel door, its like lighting a firecracker in my kitchen. When I run with my vizsla in the mountains for hours, she returns home and acts as if she went on a peaceful walk in the park. When my three-year old girl wakes up in the morning, our vizsla—who is the same height—excitedly licks the remains of last night’s dinner off her face. For the most part, I love this energy. Any annoyance I might have is generally swallowed up by the knowledge of the additional blessing this energy brings. They are great runners, as I discuss in more depth below.

The love vizslas have is not just pure energy. Known as “the Velcro Dog,” they can’t stand to be anywhere but stuck to your side. If I sit down or lay in bed, my vizsla will cuddle up right next to me for hours, regardless of whether I have exercised her recently. Even if she hasn’t gotten her wiggles out for the day (which is highly advisable), she will cuddle. She also cuddles with my wife and with my kids (but because my kids aren’t as delicate with her, perhaps, she prefers my wife and me). She gets intimate with everyone. If she weren’t a dog with pure intentions, I would call her promiscuous. She has never attacked or truly hurt any of my kids, but she has justifiably defended herself when my kids have become dangerously rough with her. 

2. Vizslas Have Energy to Fuel the Entire Family

One of the main reasons I bought a vizsla was because the breed dominates running. Every online list of running dogs includes the Hungarian vizsla, not only for long-distance but for fast runs. I am busy raising my four young children, working full time as a lawyer, and staying active in my community and church, and if I don’t exercise (running being my principal exercise), I become unhappy and, well, fat. My vizsla is an excellent running companion who motivates me to keep running. She is perfectly engineered for the task. I have been running for a good 15 years and am a full-grown adult human, a species that many argue is born to run, but after just a few months, my vizsla pup could both sprint faster than me (not a huge feat) and run longer distances than me. (However, my vizsla is just a year old, and based on advice from people smarter and more experienced than me, I am slowly easing into long-distance running until she is fully grown and her growth plates are completely developed, but a half-marathon distance run in the mountains at about 9 months old didn’t seem to phase her.) Even burdening her with a dog backpack full of my supplies doesn’t slow her down at all on trail runs. 

A vizsla is also a healthy obligation to be active. Buying a vizsla is somewhat like signing up for a race, only a much bigger commitment. When I sign up for a marathon, I feel obligated to run more—and actually do run more. Now that I have purchased a vizsla, I am obligated to run for the next 11 to 15 years, my vizsla’s expected lifespan. I love this obligation. Our vizsla listens for me to get out of my bed each morning, and when she hears me stir, she jumps out of my son’s bed where she has been sleeping all night, wagging her body like a fish, excited to go running, whether that was my plan or not. So I run more in the mornings, despite sometimes thinking I am too busy with kids for exercise. And if our vizsla smells sweat on my wife or me, her excitement goes through the roof. Sweat is associated with her favorite activity: running—and sometimes in the mountains.

We cannot tire our vizsla. She can easily run with me in the early morning, transition right into a jog with my wife while I shower and get ready for work (and hold down the fort full of kids), and—if I want—chase me on my mountain bike for miles on an evening ride. This is her ability, not necessarily a requirement. She isn’t insanely full of unmanageable energy. Right when we stop, she cuddles right up to us and falls asleep. We have only noticed her getting anxious if we haven’t been active for a few days.

Interestingly, after I’d already committed to and purchased a vizsla, I learned that the breed dominates speed, in addition to dominating long distance running. Vizslas can sprint up to 40 mph, which makes them one of the fastest dogs in the world, usually ranked third or fourth fastest. Salukis and the famed greyhounds (45 mph) are the two that commonly boast faster times. What this means for you and your family of kids is that your vizsla will never be caught in a game of tag in the backyard. In fact, I have never successfully tagged her. She toys with me, never letting me get within more than a few feet of her, making me feel two decades older and slower than I am. 

3. Vizslas Are Low Maintenance, a Blessing to a Busy Family 

If you have kids, you probably don’t want to add more cleaning and maintenance responsibilities to your life. I am amazed each day how quickly our four kids can destroy a house. And I am amazed at how long it takes us to get them to bed each night. I don’t need to dedicate more time to taking care of a dog. Although having a dog requires a lot of work, for me, vizslas are low maintenance (and others agree). 

When I say low maintenance, I don’t mean that you don’t need to exercise them or get them out into the world to get their wiggles out. Rather, they give you great bang for your buck. If you want a powerful tool for enjoying the outdoors but with fewer grooming needs than other dogs, you might want a vizsla. 

First, they are very clean. Mud and dirt seems to fall off their sleek, short hair. They are also a self-cleaning breed, using their tongues to clean themselves. You could potentially get them muddy in the outdoors, throw them in their kennel, and wait for them to leave their kennel as if it is a washing machine. They do need to be bathed, but not as regularly as many other breeds. I recently took the cleanliness of a vizslas for granted. My sister and I went into the mountains with our three dogs: a vizsla and two miniature schnauzers. After running in a couple streams, the mud and dirt slid right off my dog and didn’t really affect the overall cleanliness of my minivan when we returned back to the car, but the miniature schnauzers retained and released mud all over my car. 

Similarly, vizslas score well on the stinky scale. They are known to exude almost no smell, in fact. Some dogs, despite regular bathing, constantly smell terrible. Even after a few weeks without a bath and regular outdoor activities, a can tolerate our vizsla, but after a bath, I feel perfectly comfortable cuddling up with her on the couch. Well, mostly comfortable. The one thing I have to worry about is shedding; I keep my black suits away from her.

Yes, vizslas shed, but it isn’t terrible like some dogs. One of the main reasons my wife didn’t want a dog was because she can’t stand hair. Marrying me with my hairy chest was enough of a sacrifice. Getting a dog—especially a shedding dog—was, for years, out of the question. But after explaining the low-shedding nature of a vizsla’s coat, my wife was more inclined to let us get one, and she hasn’t complained about the vizsla hair in our house, which exists but isn’t a huge cleanliness issue to us or my wife who, again, hates dog hair, human hair, and any kind of loose hair. 

The shedding has its benefits. Vizslas do not require haircuts, which really attracts me. I hate the idea of spending money to cut hair, especially $50 for a dog. I can’t even get myself to take my three boys to the barber. Once every couple months or so, I complete four haircuts at no expense: three little boys’ hair and my own. Not having to either cut or pay for a vizsla haircut makes my life simpler and less expensive.

4. Vizslas Are Intelligent and Can Quickly Learn the Family Rules 

Vizslas are known for their intelligence; however, because they mature slower than other breeds, some believe training takes more patience and time than with other breeds. This was not the case with our vizsla. Our dog’s quick ability to learn was a huge perk for our child-filled home. I spend way more time than I would like trying to get my kids to eat their food, clean their rooms, obey their mother, pick up toys, and—perhaps the most difficult—get to bed at night. I was pleasantly surprised at how little time we needed to spend teaching our dog the basic family rules. She was potty trained in a few weeks, will obediently stay in our backyard even if we leave the gate open (most of the time), goes to her kennel on command, and has finally learned to not steal food off of the counter. She kept doing this when we weren’t looking until we recently caught her red-handed and gave her a cold shower with the hose. She’s been perfectly obedient now for a few weeks. Our vizsla also knows a ton of awesome tricks. She can sit, shake, twirl, lay, jump (she has a great vertical leap), give high-fives, roll over, play dead, and more. In fact, my siblings think that I am a much better dog owner than I am based on the many tricks our vizsla can perform—many more than the various schnauzers in my family realm (all my siblings have schnauzers). The only thing we haven’t managed to teach our active vizsla is to not pull on the leash, but a Gentle Leader collar has certainly helped. 

In conclusion, if you want a committed family companion that will unconditionally love you and your kids, will inspire you to get outdoors and stay active (both with your kids and on your own), will require less maintenance and upkeep than most other dogs, and will likely be fairly easy to train to obey the rules of the home, a Hungarian vizsla may be the right dog for your family.

Six Benefits of Taking Your Young Kids on Runs in a Jogging Stroller

I have run at least one marathon a year for over the past decade. During this time, my wife has had four kids. These little tykes do not add more time to our life (surprise!), but they certainly enrich it, and I’d give up running for them—if I had to. Fortunately, I don’t need to. I’ve trained for a dozen or so marathons with them by my side (or rather, in a running jogger I push), logging hundreds and hundreds of training miles. I don’t see it as a chore. Although I enjoy and need a few solo runs here and there, I generally prefer the companionship of the kids inside the stroller. Here are six benefits I’ve realized from running with my kids, although there are many more. They are also six reasons you should run (or keeping running) with your kids.

1. More time to exercise

Making time each day to exercise is tough. After we work, sleep, eat, and take care of other life responsibilities, we may only have an hour or two of time left each day. Some surveys [JB1] suggest that parents with children under 18 years old spend, on average, about two hours a day taking care of their kids. Although not always possible or appropriate, if you can kill two birds with one stone by mixing some of your child-caring time with exercise, your chances of fitting in a good workout each day will increase dramatically. I might not recommend lifting weights with kids or swimming laps with kids, because you probably want your kids to live to adulthood, but I recommend pushing your kids in a running jogger. You can probably fit it into your schedule better than you think. For example, if you need to be home while your child naps, and if your kid falls asleep in the car (or in a jogger), go for a run when its nap time. Or if you need to pick something up from the grocery store, run there with your kids. You may have access to a gym with a daycare, but if you don’t, or if you want to save money or want to enjoy other benefits of running with your kids, take them along with you on a daily run or walk.

2. More time with your kids

Again, time is a finite commodity, and running with your kids on board a jogger is an opportunity to spend quality time with your kids. A run with your child may just add to the “quantity time” bucket, and you may need to focus on filling the “quantity time” bucket in other ways, but you might be surprised at how meaningful your runs become. For example, if your child is old enough to talk and small enough to fit inside a running jogger, taking him or her on a run (or walk) might allow you two some good one-on-one conversation time with few distractions. Most of my kids enjoy the ride in silence, which has other benefits, but sometimes I find my runs filled with conversations centered on whatever comes into the mind of a three- of four-year-old. Try to make the run a quality time experience with your child. Studies show that kids with regular quality parent-child time have less behavior issues, better mental and emotional health, and improved physical health—in addition to the same benefits to you.

3. Better exercise

If you have a smooth jogger, the extra weight may not change the run as much as you think. But, as expected, a few studies show that running with a running jogger leads to more sweat: it requires 5% to 8% more energy and increases heart rate, lactate concentration, and the rate of perceived exertion and ventilation. I agree. Running with kids is certainly physically harder, especially when the run involves hills. While going up a moderate hill on a solo run is a mild shift in the workout, the same hill can become a beast when pushing a couple kids in a jogger. A steep hill can easily feel two or three times harder when done with kids. Coming down a steep hill can also be a bit tricky. The added weight increases your forward momentum and makes stopping harder. Although I wouldn’t avoid hills, I might ease my way into them. (And when you tackle a hill, make sure you kids cheer you all the way up!) If you are worried about how your body can handle pushing a stroller, ease into it. And if you are training for a specific race and have a specific training runs that you think may not work with kids, modify it a bit. My experience is that you’ll still be able to get in most—if not all—workouts scheduled in your training plan. In fact, some of my very best marathon training was done almost exclusively while pushing two young kids. I did fast runs, slow runs, intervals, sprints, and even monster hills. And when I passed other runners, I looked like an Ironman.

4. Extra storage for running gear

I love running without a water bottle, a phone, nutrition, or other running luggage strapped to my body, but these things are often necessary, especially on longer runs. I would carefully plan what I would bring and what I would leave. When I started running with my kids, I started bringing it all: a couple water bottles, my phone, a few snacks for me and my kids, and extra clothing—in addition to toys, books, blankets, and other items for my kids. The extra weight isn’t very significant, unless, perhaps, the route is very hilly. Hills with even a light jogger load can be especially tough, as I mentioned earlier. Although I did not have the freedom and agility of a solo run, nothing was strapped to my body when I took my kid-and-accessory filled jogger. In a way, I have more physical freedom and comfort when I run with a jogger. Also, running with a jogger makes overdressing a non-problem. Too hot? Shed the extra layer and throw it in the jogger.

5. More outdoor time and better overall health

Most of us spend way too much time inside. Way too much. An excessively gross amount, in fact. Some estimate that the average American spends only 7% of his or her time outdoors, with kids spending an average of 4 to 7 minutes outdoors and 7.5 hours glued to electronics. This is not only surprising but incredibly sad. Enjoying the outdoors regularly provides proven health benefits, including boosted energy, an improved immune system, enhanced creativity, better vision, and restored focus—to name a few. We are also better people when we are outside regularly, exposing ourselves to God’s creations. You may not be able to escape to a beautiful mountain trail or an ocean boardwalk every day, but run to a local park or playground, and let your kids get out and get their wiggles out for a few minutes before heading home. It will be good for everyone.

6. A happier spouse or partner

This is one of my favorite benefits—if not overall favorite benefit—of taking my kids running. My wife is a stay-at-home mom and spends most days taking care of our kids. She loves them, as do I, but she also enjoys respites from the challenges they bring. If I come home from a long day of work and need to de-stress through a run, I take the kids with me, and she gladly welcomes the break as an opportunity to de-stress herself. When I come home, a little absence from me and the kids made the heart grow fonder. Also, I sometimes don’t set an alarm. Instead, I let my kids wake me up (usually earlier than we’d like). The pitter patter of little feet before sunrise means that my wife gets to sleep in while I get to put those little feet in a jogger and enjoy the awakening beauty of the world outside. When I arrive home, not only am I rejuvenated and ready for whatever the day brings, but I have a better rested and more loving wife.

Every family situation is different, and all kids are unique. You will certainly experience other benefits of running with kids in a jogger. I’d love to hear about them.