Call Federal Marathon Jr. Training Guide #3
With the Call Federal Marathon Jr. now just four weeks away on Saturday, October 25th, it’s time for you and your kids to really get into the training!
If you’re looking for more ideas for workouts to do with your kids, check out the Sports Backers training guideon the event website. Before we get into the specific training schedule for Week 1, let’s go over some tips to make the experience as fun and safe as possible!
Make sure your kids aren’t just walking out the door and starting to run immediately. Each training session should be preceded by a dynamic warm up and a fun game that involves running. After the workout, be sure to include a cool down, some stretching, and a discussion of what went well, what needs improvement, what they liked, what they didn’t like, etc.
Find out what your child is good at and make sure you emphasize that strength! Kids (and adults for that matter) need positive reinforcement to feel good about themselves and want to stick with it. Be encouraging!
Let your passion shine through! If your kids see that you are excited about getting out and exercising with them, they will feed off your energy and form their own enthusiasm for being active.
Honor your commitments! If you tell your child that you’ll go running with them after work, make sure that you have time and aren’t too tired. If you promise a fun game or a snack after running, make sure you stick to your word. They need to know that they can count on you!
Alright, that does it for the tips. Let’s get to the training plan. Remember to do the dynamic warm upand game before each workout!
Here are some fun suggestions if you have more than one child:
Red Light Green Light: Stand in the middle of a field, or open space, and line the kids up on the other side. Yell “Green Light!” to start the game. “Green Light!” means run and “Red Light!” means stop. Alternate the signals at random, and the first child to reach you wins. The winner gets to become the stoplight, and you have to play the game!
Simon Says: You get to be Simon – call out exercises like jumping jacks, push-ups, running in place, squat jumps, etc.
Jump Ropes – Set goals for your kids to achieve: 30 consecutive jumps, 2 minutes as fast as they can, etc.
If it’s just you and your child, try kicking around a soccer ball, shooting some hoops, playing catch with a baseball or frisbee, or really anything fun that will get the blood flowing and your child ready to tackle the day’s run.
After the run is over, make sure you complete a cool down – 3 to 5 minutes of brisk walking—followed by 5 – 10 minutes of stretching, holding each pose for 10-20 seconds. You can find some essential stretches to try here!
This training plan is just one specific approach that will have your child ready to run when race day comes around on October 25th. Feel free to modify the program to fit their abilities, preferences and schedule. Above all, make sure that the experience is fun and safe for both you and your child. Check back in a couple weeks for more tips, and we look forward to seeing you at the race!
Registration and additional information for the Call Federal Marathon Jr. can be found at http://www.sportsbackers.org/.
