slowdad

First Race, Gold Medal, Proud Dad

Today was the Fisher Loppet up at Hardwood Ski and Bike.

I did not race which is probably for the best. Perhaps I'll give the 40km a shot next year and see what happens.

But today it was nice to spectate and see my lovely wife take 3rd place in her category despite having the worst skis ever manufactured by Fisher.  They are truly terrible and and glide like bricks.  We have agreed that she gets to buy the next pair of skis.  This is tremendously generous on my part.  I have my eye on a nice pair of Fisher RCS carbonlites/

I have been told that she'll divorce me if I post her picture here.  So I'll go and post it on facebook...

But, the medal winning didn't stop there for Team Slowdad. No Sir!  My family ensures I learn my place by constantly putting up better results than I do.

My 4 and 6 year old lined up side by side for the 5 and 6 year old .5 km race.  Two skiers going off every 30 seconds.

It was warm out, at least +5 deg C, probably more, so it was getting a bit slushy, but our team had the secret advantage of having done all their training in snowpants, and now... the snowpants were off!  This is a big deal and it confers, I believe, as big an advantage as taking EPO.  Next year you'll see the entire Norwegian XC team training in snowpants.

I didn't hold out much hope for a successful ski prior to the race.  Everyone was in full on crank.  #1 was whining and complaining about pretty much everything, and # 2 was crying, yelling, and saying that he didn't want to ski AT ALL!

And of course nobody was listening to me.  Hell I even bought everyone their favorite milk beverage but that bribe only lasted about 2 minutes.

So, we managed to get the recently removed and abandoned skis back on the appropriate feet and made it to the start.  #2 was whining that Mom was going to have to help him and that he wasn't going to race.  

As they got released from the start, the magic kicked in.  I've seen this a number of times now and I think it's a good lesson for parents everywhere.  It's likely your kid won't want to race during the entire lead up.  It's also highly probable that they are going to love it while they are doing it.

So off they shot.  My oldest hammering away like an obsessed Ivan Babikov with a look in his eye that makes my heart melt.

 

My youngest after the first 10 feet started yelling at Mom that "You're not allowed to help me!"  He kept up that spirit for the rest of the 5 minute or so race and placed 5th, smiling the whole way.

My oldest took home gold.  A very proud moment for him, especially after seeing the recent Olympics and learning what it means to stand on a podium.  He is currently sleeping with a bunny rabbit and his medal.

My proudest moment?  Just as he was turning to climb a small climb to the finish he cheerfully announced as he skied by.  "Dad!  I'm doing my best!"

Given that he was having fun while doing it, it's all I can ask for.
 

10 Ways to Keep your Kids Active

Why is it that being fit has become a chore for the vast majority of the nation? Why do we see citizens, lined up upon rows and rows of treadmills, trying to keep the pounds off? Why is obesity such an epidemic?

I don't have the answers to these questions.  But, as you know, I am full of opinions.  And when facts and solutions are in short supply, opinions surely fill the vacuum.

All in all, we've learned to do those things that our ancestors strived for.  Protect yourself from the elements. Collect mass quantities of cheap food. Reduce the amount of physical labour required for a given task.

We are AWESOME at those things.  I can use just my fingers to earn money and have that money buy the groceries and have it delivered to my door step, with some substitutions, ready to eat. 

So what does this have to do with kids?  Well, for the most part kids want to be like their parents.  Except for when they want to be a Pokemon. Or later, an Emo Kid. Or in their 20's, nothing like their parents at all.

What follows is my purely random list of things to do and think that can make your kids life better.

Don't Avoid Risk

The best way to ensure your kidlet becomes fat is to ensure they are never allowed to do anything that may involve them falling or bonking into something.  Ensure that they lie down at all times and stay still.  Also, wrap all objects, sharp or not, in bubble wrap.

I really don't care what your lawyer says.  If you don't let your kid run around to play tag, and wrestle, you might as well lock them in a closet.  You need to teach them about risk, be there when they fall, and help them react appropriately.

The teachers at the school don't let the kids onto the grass prior to school starting.  There are loads of parents standing there, watching their kids mill about, trying to have fun, waiting for school.

Protection from the Elements

I don't understand parents who don't make their kids wear a hat in the sun, but tell them to come inside when it's raining.  It's not like kids don't love jumping in puddles.

Wear a rain jacket. Wear warmer clothes.  Let your kids outside in the back yard just like you do when it's nice out.  The extra space will give you a break from the screaming, and let them apply force to the ground and change their velocity in exciting ways.

Walk

Attention Walmart Shoppers.  Please, everyone, drive as fast as you can through the parking lot to get the spot closest to the door.  Ensure that you almost hit as many people as possible.  Oh wait, there are no spots there. Drive around in circles some more!

Attention Parents. If you live more than 300 meters from the school, please drive.  Using a crosswalk may cause anxiety in your child.

Have you ever actually tried walking to your kids school?  The store? You can walk surprisingly far in 15 minutes.  Or 20. 

Your day is likely filled with walking opportunities. Don't wimp out and fire up the Prius.

Demonstrate

You read my blog because you're fit.  You're awesome.  But how does your kid know that you go to the gym on Wednesdays? 

Your kid needs to see you sweat.  And not only when they ask where you lay the eggs to make babies. Put them on a bike when you run.  Take them to the track.  Have them help you clean your hockey gear.

The advantage of this strategy is that they'll see what it's like to continue being active beyond childhood and you'll have clean gear.

Participate

There's generally two modes to "just doing it."  Either the parents are doing it, and the kids are watching, or the kids are doing it, and the parents are watching.

There's a third way.  Participate with your kids.  Find things to do that gets you both out there.  Go find a parent/child team time trial. Go do the Mom and Tot's 24hr race.  Or just go for a ride. 

Once in a while my kids like running around the block with me while I cool down.  It's fun.

Videos

My kids love watching Cars.  But I do my damndest to make sure they also like watching world cup cross country skiing.

It doesn't matter what the events are. You can find various videos on youtube, on bittorrent sites, etc, and they are all perfectly useful in brainwashing your kids into thinking that everyone has a sport that they do on a regular basis.

Less Rules

Do you have rules that prevent your child's activities?  Think hard.

Don't jump.  No running!  No rolling in the dirt! No riding on the sidewalk! No riding on the street! No shooting at people!  Oh wait, scratch that last one.

Experiment

I love to hate people who only have their kids try one sport.  Hockey, Hockey, Hockey.  After all, I want my kids to try, mountain biking, road cycling, track riding and cyclocross...

But seriously.  Lets all resolve to have our kids try one new sport each season.  It's all about having fun and, as such, we need our kids to discover something they enjoy.  The more they try the better.

Focus on Fun

I think that everyone knows a kid who's burned out of a sport before they really get going.  When it stops being fun people quit. 

The way to do this, in my entirely uneducated opinion, is to ensure that your kid has enough free time to rest.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Keep them wanting more.

Exercise to Calm Down

I have one kid who's as hyper as an overheated jumping bean. Exercise, even a walk or some ball hockey in the driveway, helps a lot.

This is not so much a way to get your kids active. It's more of an excuse to do so. 

Solving the hyperactivity problem leads to success in areas other than sport, leading to a well balanced kid.  Hopefully, I've got my fingers crossed.

So....

Do you think I am a complete nutbar?  Tell me in the comments.

Do you think I am a genius?  You can tell me that too.

Kids and Fitness - More Anecdotes

Recently I've been thwarted by my normally robust technology.  My desktop decided to ruin my record of never having a machine go down, thus depriving me of my proven method of manipulating photos I've taken to make them appear like I'm an awesome photographer.  Actually I caused the problem and this is why there are no pictures of my kids cross country skiing next to the paragraph below. 

This weekend, we managed to both get our flu shots, and get out on to some snow for the first time up at Hardwood Hills. I managed to get out for almost exactly 30 minutes myself and really put the hammer down.  This allowed my to pass at least 2 couples who were out for a leisurely afternoon in the forest.  

The kids seemed to have a lot more fun than they did last year.

Last year each of them couldn't really get up on their own on skis. Now both of them, 4 and 6, were just fine, and could manage the downhills without falling at the bottom of every one.  (Why is it that there must be a turn, even a gradual one, at the bottom of every downhill on a XC course?)  I'm not sure where this improvement came from, but it was welcome by everyone.

They both spent about 90 minutes or so, poking around the easy loop, and generally messing around. Cookies followed and all was well.

As time goes on I'm becoming more and more of a believer in getting kids active early in the morning.  As demonstrated by this weekend, and by watching their behavior this week and last, it's apparent that they are much better and paying attention, and not flying into furious fits, after they've done something physical.

It seems the activity doesn't have to be very stressful, just walking 10 minutes to the babysitters seems to do the trick, with some 30 second intervals thrown in of course. 

If the kids don't get some activity, meltdowns happen sooner, dinner time is more chaotic, and they fight with each other more.

It seems better if the activity is a bit longer making the effect last, but it makes me think that there would be some benefit to schools doing phys ed early in the mornings rather than the almost never that seems to happen.

Or parents could walk their kids to school.

Do kids who walk to school do better?  That's a google search for tomorrow.

But I'm guessing that many parents wouldn't buy in, as evidenced by the parent who, upon entering a store, that they had driven to, (as I had), looked at their young kid, and said to their spouse, "Lets be quick, I don't want her to have to walk much."

Easy Week - May it be the last for a while

If I get in an hour run tomorrow I'll just have 4 hours of training time in this week. Barely enough to compensate for the extra cookies and Halloween "treats" I've managed to put back. I don't count the 2 hours in the gym over two lunch hours.

At least my knee is feeling better.

Today I took to the track to get in an hour of fairly easy rollerskiing. At this point my arms are very much my limiting factor.  Hopefully there'll be some significant snow in the snow belt next weekend and I can start blowing any discretionary income on trail passes and wax.

The kids were very well behaved out at the track, and played soccer for most of the hour, stopping only to stage an 800m race between my wife and I.  Please don't tell her how hard I had to work to beat her.

While I was skiing I was thinking that we, as parents need to get more creative to get our children entertained while we demonstrate an active lifestyle.  Skiing circles around them while they kicked around the ball was fine but I really admired the guy I saw the other day riding his road bike, with all the carbon he could muster, towing two kids in the trailer.

I'll need to do a top 10 list...

Recalling a Time When Children Ran in the NYC Marathon - NYTimes.com

Scott Black ran the New York City Marathon in 1979 as a 9-year-old. “I find that running has defined me as a person; a lot of my self-esteem has come from it. I don’t regret anything. That said, as a parent, I wouldn’t push my kid to that,” Mr. Black said.

via www.nytimes.com

via www.nytimes.com

The above article in the New York Times was interesting for a variety of reasons. At first I read it with a view of "Hey!  Kids used to be able to run marathons, lets do THAT!"

Actually that view only lasted about 2 seconds. But then it got me thinking more deeply about fitness, kids, and endurance events.

What seemed to be a theme throughout the article, was that the kids who did do marathons then, were rare, had supportive parents who ran, weren't pushed and were self regulated. And by that I mean they chose to stop when it suited them.

Clearly, these kids were statistical outliers.  Unlike the adults that run marathons, who come in all shapes and sizes.

I think that mocking the original article, and using it for an amusing twist, really doesn't do the topic justice. Even though it is amusing.

What the article highlighted for me was that, back in the good old days, there was some resistance to letting kids do these kind of events, just as there was for women a few years earlier, it did happen.

What happens to these outliers now?  What happens to the kid who can't sit still and just wants to run?  Perhaps they're being entered in 5 km runs.  Perhaps they're put into some team sport to be just as averagely skilled as the rest of the kids. Perhaps their fidgety nature is medicated out of them.

I suspect that parents would be, until recently, vilified for letting their kids undertake something as difficult as a marathon. But, maybe the questions do need to be asked, with parents occasionally using their kids for personal recognition

But, there are more and more kids races out there.  Maybe the pendulum will swing back and we'll start seeing more articles about kids winning their local race.

I do think that it'll be a long uphill battle to convince a large segment of the parenting population out there that their kids don't need to be protected from physical activity, and that being exhausted after running around playing isn't going to stunt their growth.

Best Kids Book Ever? - Geronimo Stilton in The Race Across America

 Today I took the Kids out for a walk to get them out of the house.  We walked down to the water, took some pictures of water fowl, had a poop emergency, and came home.

But as the kids were running around, one of them shouted, "We're racing across America!"  This caught my ear.  First, we do not live in "America" at least in the modern definition.  Second, it's clear my kids have no sense of scale, rather they ask "are we still in Canada?" when we go anywhere, including the grocery store.  And third, because I had yet to introduce them to RAAM.  They are currently being forced to watch every second of footage of the "Tour of France" that I can download from the 'tubes.

(Just as an aside, it's rather fun to watch them watch the Tour videos.  They sit there with a keyboard on their laps pretending to control the riders.  It never fails, their guy wins. Fun times.)

I thought nothing more of the comment, until, with shock and awe, I spotted a book in their room called Geronimo Stilton, The Race Across America.  Shock, because I found something in their messy room, awe, because what other cartoon character has completed RAAM?

This book has got to be on the top ten list of kids books of all time!

Now, Geronimo doesn't get full marks, as he competes in the pairs category, as opposed to the solo version.  But he does do it with only a month of training. He must have been on the good stuff.

In the book his buddy, Bruce, recruits him, buys him a bicycles and then proceeds to take him on a 100 mile training ride.  Clearly Geronimo responds to training extremely well.

They have a full support crew, which includes the standard cast of characters from any RAAM attempt.  A Texan, a Triathlete, a guy who owns a bike shop, a relative, some hangers on who wish they were fit, and two hot looking female mice.

The story, like RAAM, is an epic sojourn across the States, the heat, the cold, and the dehydration all playing their requisite roles.  There's even some drama near the end, just like the real race.

Best of all is the ending, which involves a rock and the clobbering of another cyclist.  It's so real!

This book shall now be read to the kids over and over, ad nauseum, until they too believe they can ride a 20% grade after buying their first carbon road bike.

It's also encouraged me to go find more kids cycling/running books as quickly as possible.

5 Peaks - Kids Run Fun

Now I've never run a 5 Peaks Race.  I'm scared of them really. And they've been declared off limits to me until the kids can run in them and I don't have to look after them while my wife runs.

One thing I love about the 5 Peaks races here in Southern Ontario is that they're so consistent and serious about the kids races. 

Kids get treated probably better than the adult runners who most definitely do not get given tambourines and Swedish Berries after the race.  The kids get the same race packages and swag as everyone else, they get bibs and at one race even got chip timed!  That was cool.

Now the races aren't that far.  The 3-5 year old race is usually about 200 meters, and the 6-10 and up is about 700 or so at the most.  But this last race included a pretty big hill which was awesome.

It's nice to see the kids having fun, and the proud parents who are all choked up taking pictures, not caring the least that my kid is dominating their kid. 

Actually that's not quite accurate...

Regardless, everyone loves it, no one more so than the kid who needs to get picked up and carried the whole way by Mom 'cause they got scared when the horn went off. But it never fails, you'll see that kid at another race, running along, wondering why all these people are clapping.

Growing Popularity of Triathlons for Children - NYTimes.com

EVEN though her son and daughter were on year-round swim teams, Alison van Diggelen of San Jose, Calif., had reservations about letting them sign up for a children’s triathlon. Would they have the stamina? Would the other children and parents be too competitive?

via www.nytimes.com

If you're the least bit interested in kids in sports, and by sports I mean real sports that don't have time outs, breaks, and video replays, then you should check out the article above printed in the NY Times.

It's very poorly written in my opinion.  The author, I believe writes on sport, but for adults, but in the article makes it seem like sporting events for kids are dangerous and any parent who puts them in one is likely one step over the line of pushy parenting.

Reading the comments on the article is a great study on the American mindset when it comes to kids and sports.  You're either for putting kids in a short triathlon because there are too many fat kids, or, you're against it because pushy parents are the root of all evil.

I think that everyone, commenter, and author really miss the point.

All sporting events, especially those where you need to wear a helmet by law, are going to be risky. Kids aren't averse to some risk unlike lawyer fearing Americans. Today my kids decided to climb a pile of old logs and pointy sticks and pretend it was a pirate ship. 

Kids like to have fun, they like to run, and at least some of them like to compete. Some like to sing, dance, and act, with the hope of becoming a star on one of those cheap television shows that drive me mental with all the screaming and woo hooing.

The point is that parents are 3 things.  Protectors, Educators, and Enablers.  Helping your kids participate in sports, ones that don't involve doing a lot of sitting on benches, can help you fulfill all three of those roles.

Now personally, I'd never enter my kids in a Triathlon. It's my great shame.  They'd drown as they can't swim on their own yet.

I wonder if there are any kid duathlons around?

The Pros and Cons of Training with Kids

Today I followed Hal Higdon's plan of pain and ran 8 times 800 meter "intervals."  Looking back I really didn't run quite as fast as I should have. 

Theoretically I should have been running around 4:40 min/km but I didn't quite get up there consistently.  Still, the last time I ran 800s 3 weeks ago I had to stop after 3 of them so at least my legs are holding up.

 

What made this run a bit more special than most was that I was on kid duty so I took them out to the track with me.  It's a paved track, that's sloped from one end to the other but whatever. It goes the direction I want it to.

As I was running around recovering, I was weighing the pros and cons of bringing them along.

Pro - They get some exercise.  Running around the track for an hour gives the kids little else to do than some natural intervals on the bike followed by some low intensity cruising. There's no better way to start a future Grand Tour winner.

Con - They get tired.  And when kids get tired they either fight or whine.  This time there was more whining than I needed.

Pro - They self regulate.  Once they realized that I wasn't going to stop to listen to their mews for sympathy they pulled over went pee.

Con - You can't stop to take them to the bathroom if you have any dedication to your training. Some people look down on peeing in public, especially when there are no trees around.

Pro - You can teach them about being active.  This is why you warm up. This is why you stretch. This is why you should drink water when doing sports.

Con - They drink all your water.  (Note to self, have them bring their own damn water bottles next time)

Pro - They chat at you, keeping things interesting, and ask remarkably good questions when engaged in activity.  Much more so than when they are in the living room, playing knight, and pretending everything is dying by getting it's head chopped off.

Con - They chat at you and say/yell random things at you. It's pretty distracting to have a 6 year old weaving with wild abandon in front of you yelling "Dad, you should have run this fast in your race. I only saw you going slow."

Pro - They just might sit down together, pretend they are at a race and yell, "GO DADDY GO, GO DADDY GO" during your last two intervals.

Con - There is no con.

So the balance tips in favor of bringing your kids with you, at least out to the track. They'll probably love it, and you'll take the good with the not so good.

New Bikes and 32km

Today's run was uneventful. 32 Km.  Not to say it was easy or anything.  But there was nothing epic about it.  No tornadoes, no massive rainstorms, no hitting the wall like a hippo hitting concrete.

A guy did flip me the bird however.  I am not sure why.  He was riding along, on his Supercycle "mountain" bike, coming the other way along the waterfront.  Perhaps he didn't like my vintage Briko sunglasses or my bright yellow shirt. Maybe it was my bald head.  Regardless, he rolled on by, not even looking at me, just holding out his finger. Aiming it at me like some kind of ancient hex.

Weird.  Can't we all just get along and get rid of fucked up prejudices?

Anyway, what's better than getting outside, getting some fresh air and washing your bike?

Getting your kids to wash it for you.

These are my little mechanics washing my Scattante XRL Cross Frame.  Wow, what an unfortunate name.

I plan on having my kids wash the bikes like this every weekend.  What fun!  Even in the winter!

The goal is to build this up into a winter rider, and, if my fitness improves by several measurable leaps, I might just head out to a nearby hill and ride it in the presence of others, hoping beyond hope not to embarrass myself.

The next project is the Bianchi Quattro frame I purchased sometime in the '80s.  Well, my Mom probably bought it. But, it's going to get back on the road just for old times sake.

I've never ridden on a fixed gear so I think that'll be the destiny of this one. 

Don't worry.  It'll have brakes.  It won't have a Brooks Saddle and colorful wheels. Just something to beat around on.