Leading by Example

On Saturday, I participated in my first 5k event. My only goal was not to come in last. I placed 42nd out of 69 runners, overall and 6th out of 16 in my age category. With a time of 31:48:45, I certainly have a lot of room for improvement. But it's a good start!

In February, my doctor let me know my cholesterol levels were bad. My overall and LDL were both at a point where medication was being recommended. I flat out refused to take any of those drugs for many reasons, so a new health regime had to be developed. I started out walking two miles per day and gradually increased to running three miles every other day. Sometimes I would have company from a bike-riding boy, and rarely, a running boy. After initially seeming to want to join me in my new hobby, the interest died off. I didn't push them. Partly because I enjoy my time alone when I run. But also because I don't want to force them to exercise in a way that isn't necessarily their forte.

Saturday morning my husband and boys came to the race to cheer me on. EM brought his stopwatch to keep time. The race was held at a local state park, so most of the course was easy to watch from a fairly central location. They followed my progress and took some very unflattering pictures that no one will EVER see. The race was advertised as a walk or run event and there was a handful of kids under 11 yrs participating. When the boys saw the kids getting prizes, they decided that they want to run the next time I do.

JT and I will start his training as soon as he recovers from a nasty respiratory infection he picked up this week. His goal is to participate in a race being held in the middle of November. He's a fast runner, he just needs to work on his stamina. My husband has been having knee issues for a year and now that he has been doing physical therapy, is nearly ready to get back in shape. He is hoping to be able to walk the event with EM.

Getting healthy as a family will give us more opportunity to spend time together meeting our new goals. I hope setting these examples while they are still young will help them to carry through into their adult lives. Of course, if they start running faster than they do now, I'll have a harder time catching them when they are in trouble.

Maybe I shouldn't share that thought with them...