After a fairly swift (but comfortable) double parkrun yesterday (21:51 and 21:30), for a respectable 10km time of 43:21 and with parkrun tomorrow morning, I had planned to take a day off from running today.
My 3 year old daughter had other ideas!
She has just taken me out for 2 laps of the block, which (according to google maps) is roughly 1.02 miles. I'm not sure that "roughly" is the right word when you give mileage measurements to two decimal places. Anyway, we ran just over a mile.
She has taken me out...and I do mean "she takes me out" as she certainly tells me in no uncertain terms that we are going, the route we are taking and the number of laps. She even decides the topics of conversation. So, as I was saying, she has taken me out to run round the block a few times over the last couple of years, but this is the second time as part of her "training" for the Sport Relief mile. She loves it so much and is clearly glad of the excuse to get me out for a run. I have to say that I really don't mind at all either. We enrolled my 7 year old son and there is no way my 3 year old daughter would have allowed us to prevent her from doing it.
Her last run was a mile around the block a few weeks ago where she ran it in about 14 minutes, without stopping! 14 minute mile pace sounds pretty good to me for a 3 year old!
Well today, she blew that away and did it in less than 13 minutes. Pretty amazing. She even stopped a couple of times this time. To wait for me of course! I wish I could pick my mile pace up by a minute between training sessions!
The best bit about all of this is the delight in her eyes, the enthusiasm with which she does it, the fact she came home to tell her mum all about it, the fact she has just told me that she wants to go every day, twice a day!
Better than that, she has just come into the room and is doing laps of the table, telling me all about her running, sorry no, she says she is jogging. Great stuff! Though I am starting to get dizzy as she laps me every 10 seconds or so, she must be getting dizzy too.
Such a special time, being out running with my 3 year old daughter! I can't remember when the Sport Relief mile is, soon I think, but I hope she doesn't lose the enthusiasm for running after that, because I had a great time and am looking forward to the next time. Tomorrow she tells me!
It's 3 year old Grand-daughter in my case. And boy, doesn't she half go!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant fun isn't it Roger!
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