Taking it to the Track

If you have lost your motivation to exercise, spend a few minutes watching someone's kids (they don't have to be your own) run. Children run for the pure, unadulterated joy of the feeling of movement. Alex and Izzy run constantly. They only stop when hungry, thirsty or distracted by something they need to bend down, pick up and analyze. With hot summer nights lasting well beyond usual bedtimes, we often take our kids to the track to run. They need an after dinner activity that will wear them down before bed, and the track, fenced and wide open, is safe, it's open expanse inviting to all to just start moving.

At their first track meet of the season, Alex and Izzy ran their 60 meter races (Izzy in the 2 and unders, Alex in the 2-3's) and then ran some more. Alex jumped into the 6 and under 400 meter race and finished the entire 400 meters on his own! The more they run, the better their balance becomes, and the more they seem to love running. Not only are they feeding their brains with BDNF and other cell and synapse stimulating chemicals, they are forming good exercise habits that should follow them into adulthood. They also inspire their parents, and anyone who watches them run on a hot track with huge smiles on their faces.

I had a miserable high school track experience. I was kicked off my track team twice (the first for running the Boston Marathon during our spring break, which angered my coach, and the second for not showing up for a state qualifying race which I blew off during a moment of bad adolescent judgment when I justified my actions that I had already qualified for the state meet, which I never ran after being removed from the team). I also broke our school records for the mile and two mile during our first track meet. My coach was a complete jerk. Not surprisingly, he still coaches my high school team and continues to make otherwise promising athletes miserable.

If you had a similar high school experience, or simply looked at the track as a hot, painful place to run, you might try returning to it as an adult. Life's painful lessons may have knocked the track into its rightful place, as your friend and no longer a fearful beast. And if you need any extra motivation to get to the track, bring a toddler with you. The pure happiness they exhibit, running freely within the immense, open space of a track and football field might just get you jogging. And if you "forgot" your running shoes, go at it in bare feet, your aging aches will ache less.