Family day at the track

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Thanks to some warm weather in my part of the country, I’ve been able to continue with my favorite outdoor exercise, running!

Instead of running alone though, I decided today that the whole family needed some fresh air and exercise. I packed everyone up and announced it was time for a track workout, a la family style. (The biggest groan came from my husband!)

For those of you unfamiliar with a track workout, it is basically a way to improve your running speed and efficiency. You run intervals of varying distances and push yourself to your running limit. After allowing yourself to recover, you do it all over again! Over the course of time, your intervals get easier and you can run faster and stronger, with less effort. (sound like fun? It is!!)

We walked up to the local middle school track for our family workout. In my days before children, my track workouts were always my favorite time to run hard and push myself. I thought they were tough, grueling workouts that always left me exhausted. These days, I am pushing that double jogger, which I now think is just as grueling! On top of all the extra weight to push, I also have a tot-sized trainer screaming “faster mommy, faster!”

My husband and I took turns running laps solo, while the other was in charge of the stroller. This tag team effect allowed us to both get a solid workout while still having family time. Our two year old cheered us on and the baby soaked up the excitement from the stroller. We wrote down the time of our best laps and plan to go back every week to work on improving. (note here that husband did have a fun time after all!)

My son was freed from the stroller and was very proud to run his own laps. He is learning from us that physical activity is fun and will hopefully keep this attitude throughout his life. Given the current statistics on childhood obesity, it is so important that we model a healthy lifestyle for our children.

After we were all good and sweaty, we headed back home for some stretching and afternoon naps! Honestly, life doesn’t get any better than this!

So, has your family been active today? Tell me all about it!

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