Brothers Running in Different Directions

The two oldest boys participated in the elementary school's running club (free activity! of course we're taking part), and they showed once again how two brothers can be so similar and yet so different. 

They both loved the running (a couple of laps, a sprint, some light stretching), just like they both like Legos and Star Wars. But when the session was almost over, the coaches asked the kids to write down their goals, and that's when their differences were highlighted.

The second-grader wrote a detailed explanation, saying that he's a soccer player so, of course, he's good at running, and why, he thinks he can run 5 miles by the end of the day (not the summer, the day). Then, there's his slightly less confident younger brother, who simply wrote his name and said his goal was to run one lap (which he already done twice earlier in the day).

Struggling to Stay Fit

Old Wahoo read a post today on the Washington Post's On Parenting Blog about staying active with your young kids. I thought it was a great idea to run together with other dads and their kids, but more importantly, the dads have found a routine that works and have stuck to it.

To me, that's crucial. I've started to run finally, and I like it, but if I don't stick to a routine, I get lazy. Why? Because I am lazy, and because objects at rest stay at rest. Conversely, objects in motion, stay in motion. 

Unfortunately, I'm good at coming up with excuses for staying at rest. I've got to watch the kids. I have too much work to do. I need to go to the grocery store. And the No. 1 weakest reason: I'm tired.

Fortunately, my wife bought me an iPod for my birthday, and she helped convince me to run in a 5K, which I did a couple of weeks ago in Alden, up on Torch Lake in northern Michigan. I was extremely slow, but I finished the race, which was the goal.

One problem: I've only run once since then. I need another race. I need to stay on track and keep rolling.

I'm interested to know how other moms and dads (and everyone else) find time to exercise. Let me know in the comments below or e-mail me at john.hetzler@gmail.com.

Now it's time to go running.

EDITED to fix e-mail address.