Running Lessons from a 4 Year Old

Last week, I was home one day with both boys and decided we needed to get out for an explore. Our go-to is to wander down by the river and find some paths to traipse along by the water. But I wanted to do something different, so I suggested going to the cross country ski trails a mile or so away and taking a walk where Mama likes to go running. Roman’s face lit up – he was so excited to see where I go when I run. When he asked, “Mama? Can I run there, just like you?” I was just as excited as him.

We drove down and got ready to go for our adventure. I strapped on my chunky Baby T (built in strength training, ha ha) and we set off. Roman spent 90% of the time running and I noticed some things about the way he ran that made me realize how the joy of running is so important.

You Can Chase Dinosaurs

I don’t want to alarm anyone in the Burlington, VT area, but apparently there are “real, live dinosaurs!” out there in the woods. We were chasing them the whole afternoon. They have hiding spots and caves and they are really adept at sneaking past you and going the other way so you have to turn around and chase them all over again.

Whatever keeps you going, right? While my go to might be visualizing a race I’m training for, the 4 year old mental trick is to chase dinosaurs. Imagination is a beautiful thing when it comes to finding motivation on the run.

Competition Can Be Fun

Once Roman started flagging a little and we still had a ways to go to get back to the car, I held on tight to Tanner, told Roman I was going to beat him, and ran for a little way. He took off, determined to beat Mama. The tired, grumpy boy became a sprinting, focused, running machine.

He was also laughing the entire time, screaming, “I’m gonna beat ya, mama!!” Then he would look back and slow down a little ’til I got closer, so he could take off again. It was a game to him, so much fun to try to beat me to a spot in the distance. 

When I think of competition, I think of serious goals and determination and pushing hard. The only time I’ve considered it as somewhat of a game, it’s if I’m ‘fishing’ for people at the end of a race, mentally hooking someone up ahead and reeling them in as I pick up the pace to pass them. Even so, it’s more of a mental trick to keep going as I’m tiring, not something I’m doing just for fun.

It’s Okay to Be Distracted

I know I’m not alone in getting into a rhythm in my run where I zone out and the miles tick by without me noticing much about my surroundings. Most of the time, I love that feeling, of just going and daydreaming and feeling the run. But watching Roman on the run, I realized if you’re not training for anything in particular, it’s kind of nice to enjoy your surroundings and not care if you stop running for a bit to check something out. 

We took side trips down paths into the farms, we stopped to smell every wildflower, we found a spot where there were so many butterflies that we found somewhere to sit and watch them for a while. We stopped to listen to crickets and try to count how many were chirping. He noticed everything I normally wouldn’t and it made me more appreciative of my regular running route. 

Will I be chasing dinosaurs on my next run? Probably not, but I will be remembering that running is joyful and fun and is so much more than just training for your next event. Every time you run can be the next adventure.