Girls On The Run

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all of those AMAZING moms out there!  There are so many reasons to thank you, to applaud you and to celebrate you.  You are not only the protector, the listening ear, the supporter, the encourager and the guiding light to your children, you are also the most important educator to them.

Yesterday I had the privilege of running the Girls On The Run 5k as a running buddy to a little 9 year old girl named Sadie.  The Girls On The Run program (http://girlsontherunrockies.org/) I overall think is a great one.  It teaches young girls the importance of self esteem, empowerment, and how to live a life full of self-respect and healthy habits.  This 5k was Sadie's first and she rocked it with an overall race time of 42:53 (a pace of 13:50).  Definitely not too shabby for 9 year old legs!

Now as much as I love this program and I love spending time with kids, as a woman with many little children in her life and an educated background of health/fitness and coaching, there are a few things I must admit I disagreed with.  One, in 2014 how is it possible that someone can spend 1.5 hours ultimately alone with a child with no background check?!  In the middle of City Park in Denver, with tons of spectators I was ultimately running side by side this little girl and then walking around the park alone with her afterwards.  Her coaches didn't know me...her parents didn't know me and yet I took their precious little girl with all of their trust in the world.  Seems to me like this could ultimately be a dangerous situation.  Again, don't get me wrong, I LOVE this program and what it stands for and I personally appreciate all of the coaches and running buddies and them volunteering their time to help encourage these little girls.  But I do feel that this day in age, we should be background checking our volunteers just a bit more to ensure the safety of all of those involved.

Lastly, this race was geared towards 8-13 year old girls.  When we crossed the finish line there were protein bars and water.  What preteen do you know eats protein bars?!  Not only is the taste not appealing to a child, but it teaches them meal substitution when ultimately a child is developing and should be eating well balanced meals.  The program is intended to teach young girls healthy habits...so why not have healthy food options available and fun and active handouts afterwards?  How exciting would it be to cross the finish line and be given a jump rope, a frisbee, fruit, healthy granola bars...food choices that are healthy and appetizing to a child and "toys" that encourage outdoor active movement?!

Again, the morning was amazing and I don't want to take away from that.  These kids and volunteers all got up and moving instead of watching Saturday morning cartoons and for that reason alone, it's a great way to encourage unity and fitness.  But to go back to Mother's Day...health, nutrition, fitness, self esteem, healthy lifestyle habits...this all starts with the parents and how they treat their own bodies both physically and emotionally.  Keep in mind that your children look at you as role models and the natural reaction of any child is to replicate what they say and hear their parents doing.

Teach your children the way we all grew up decades ago...that life wasn't about "dieting" and wasn't about exercise being something we "needed" to do but instead something we enjoyed doing.  Get outside and play with your kids.  Show them that exercise doesn't necessarily mean running a 5k, but can be playing soccer in your backyard for 30 minutes.  Show them that healthy habits don't mean dieting but are instead a lifestyle.  That sitting down for a well balanced meal is better than any meal replacement bar you could eat in the driver's seat of your car.  Make healthy choices a lifestyle habit for you and your family and relish in the joy that comes from that!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!  I hope you enjoy an active and healthy day together!