Saturday, June 25, 2011

Family Long Run

Today I tried something new: I took my family with me on my long run. My youngest daughter is a runner, but can't keep up on a long run. The other two are not runners.

How'd I do it? Easy.

The trail was an out and back, about 8 miles in a riparian region. The plan was that I'd run the route and they'd walk and explore and take pictures. My youngest daughter could run as far as she wanted and when she got tired, could turn around and return to walk with her mother. No matter what, they'd turn around and return to the car after a certain amount of time and it would be a good family outing.

So, we hit the road at 6:15 am. It was a beautiful 70 degrees. Nice since the high was going to be 108! The plan worked ok, but we'll adjust a few things next time to prevent my partners from having to wait on me.

First thing is we'll take an extra set of keys. Second, their turn around time will be about five minutes after my estimated half way time. I need to recover and stretch when I get back anyway.

A recovery run in the evening, followed by a long run 8 hours later isn't a great combination. Write that one down. :D Today's run was a struggle even though I've run this route a few times before.

All things said, it was a great family event. We all had a good time and shared a common experience. It was a nice way to get out of the house and it didn't cost anything except the drive to the trailhead (10 minutes away). I don't think I'm overstating things when I say that my entire family is looking forward to doing it again. So, on Monday, we will. :D

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