How do you get your 8 yr old to join you on a run with minimal whining and complaining? With promises of ice cream, of course!
Marc has been away this week at Burning Man, so I haven't been able to just scoot out the door anytime I wanted to go for a run. The only feasible options were to either run at lunch, which meant I'd only have time for about 3 miles, or to take the little guy along with me. I decided to run in the evenings with the little guy on his bike.
On Tuesday, the high temp was close to 90 but it didn't feel too bad when we left the house around 6 pm. The plan was to run/bike down to the bike path for an out and back, then loop around to our favorite neighborhood ice cream shop. I carried a waist pack with a single bottle of sports drink for me, and a handheld bottle with water for the boy. It was a pretty decent excursion. We stopped a lot for drink breaks and generally had a good time. The little guy entertained me with reinactments from some of his favorite Scooby Doo movies. The trip back to our neighborhood was uphill and with about a mile to go I started to hear the first complaints. It was at this time I revealed that I had a coupon for a free upgrade to a double scoop cone. Amazingly, that brought the life back to the boy and it wasn't long before we were enjoying our ice cream.
On Thursday evening I decided that it would be safer if we stuck to the bike path for our entire trip. So we put the bike in the van and drove a few miles to the trail head by the Willamette River. This time I opted to carry my hydration pack with just water, since the little guy doesn't really like sports drink. Portland is big on biking and the path was busy with recreational riders and bike commuters on their way home. The little guy is pretty good about staying to his right. But when someone is passing and rings their bell or calls out "On your left!", he tends to look and veer toward them. But there were no accidents (or even close calls) and he's getting better and better each ride. It was a tough run for me because it was still warm and I'm not used to running in the evening. According to my perceived exertion I should have been clocking sub 9 minute miles! But it was really closer to 11 minute miles. At the turnaround spot, we shared some sports beans and had a little break. The reward after this run was a Dairy Queen cone.
Today we completed another 6 miles on the bike path, but started at a different trail head. We started late morning so I had a chance to sleep in, eat some breakfast and have my coffee. I felt much more energized than I did on Thursday. With 1.5 miles to go, the little guy complained that his legs were tired. This was the first time he'd actually complained about a physical ailment all week. However when I suggested that we could stop at the quicky mart and pick out any ice cream he wanted, he was off like a shot. And that was the last I heard anything about achy legs.
So I've been a bad mommie this week....forcing my child to exercise and then plying him with ice cream and treats. (Shhhh...don't tell Marc.....we ate Lucky Charms for breakfast all week! Oh yeah, and popcorn for dinner a few night too.) But Marc will be home soon and it will be back to the regular healthy routine!
11 comments:
No,no,no....Good Mommie! Mommie got out to run all week! Nicely done. Bribes always work.
You are bad to the bone!
The icecream thing works with Michelle too!
Nothing like some inovative parenting to get you out on a training run.
Take care!
haha... I love the ice cream bribe. Sometimes I bribe myself with it during a long run...is that wrong too?
At least you're getting him to be active in order to get the ice cream :) I say no harm. Little boys need ice cream to grow, right? ;)
Glad you've been getting your runs in!
Uh, I can't believe Eric said that! Sheesh...no secrets in the blogging world I guess.
Okay, so I figure if Marc leaves to go do something fun like Burning Man, then all bets are off and you get to do fun stuff too - like popcorn for dinner and lots of ice cream. Notice I didn't mention the Lucky Charms? I've never liked those, not even as a kid. If I was going to go for bad stuff for breakfast - bring on the cinnamon rolls and biscuts with jam! Yum!
Sounds like Very Pragmatic Mommy to me!! And you made some good memories, to boot!!
Glad you got the miles in. Portland's bike paths are terrific and a wonderful asset for the city!
You gotta do what you gotta do.
YUM! Uh, if you need a running buddy... =)
sounds like an awesome week. ;-)
Oh man Ice Cream. I love ice cream. The motivation works for me too. Sometimes in a tough race or a tough workout I promise myself a pint and it helps keep my spirits up. I'm also always good about coming through with the promises.
Nice way to get the workouts done. You get to be great mommy with exercise.
Sounds like we should all head over to your house when Marc is gone. Ice cream, Lucky Charms, and popcorn is the way to go :)
Good Mommy.
wow, you have tons of races lined up. i bet you will surprise yourself not only in those races but also going into next year.
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