Mum v Son - Post Parkrun

[TailChaser]

Interesting run this morning as it gave me an idea of how well my son and I recover after Parkruns. He beat me by 2 minutes on Saturday which is great, that’s what he’s supposed to do, so now we’re in recovery and consolidation again. He’s only just 13 and the hormones are kicking in well and truly now, but he got up and came on my run at 8am. We were both sore and stiff still after Parkrun and a busy weekend so I knew it was going to be a slowish run.

Took a route that I knew well with a quick segment that I run against others on Strava with (very handy these) and I knew he’d enjoy. We got to this bit and he easily beat me but son had to put up with me trying to catch my breath again as I slowed down. And he was still bouncing around until about halfway round when he got a stitch (no breakfast but a little water before we went out). After that he really struggled to keep up and it really affected his rhythm as he battled against it. He didn’t give up though, he battled on and finished with me once I got into the warm down walk.

I would be cynical with this latest thing (there’s normally something he moans about (too early, still tired, weather, feet, me being slow) unless it’s Parkrun and he’s up against lots of other people) but he got up and was enthusiastic about it. I can only think it was part muscular hangover from Saturday - he is growing quite a lot at the moment too. Does anyone have any thoughts?

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

The growth will certainly affect the muscles a little. Some people prefer running in groups. Have you a junior parkrun near you? Sunday 9am 2K runs. They may have less impact if he’s in a growth spurt.

[TailChaser Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Yes, good point UnfitNoMore, he does seem to prefer groups, he’s used to cross country running but had to stop because his feet were growing too quickly and causing problems. Now it seems to be the top half 😫 We’re getting junior Parkrun in October so we’d have to hunt another down elsewhere. He was fine on Saturday though so I’ll just get him to take it easier on the in between runs. Thank you 😊

[pianoteacher Graduate]

Don't know the answer I'm afraid but I'm running with my 13 year old over the summer holidays and he definitely is much more motivated at parkrun than on our training runs. I'm actually significantly faster than him at the moment so have to adapt what I would normally do to accommodate him (he's asthmatic) both in training and at parkrun but I'm just so pleased he's taking an interest and exercising x

[TailChaser Graduate in reply to pianoteacher]

Isn’t it great when they’re happy to run with you? It’s a fantastic motivator for both 😀 It’s so nice being able to run together.

[Eiralas Graduate]

No answers, just some thoughts. His body will be going through a lot right now, with all the growing, and some bits need to strengthen to keep up with the increased size. Also his body clock will be shifting later, and that really does impact on how well your body responds to exercise at different times of the day. I guess encouraging him not to overdo it and to build up the stamina carefully, would be a good thing. It could also be that the mental 'buzz' and adrenaline he gets from running in a group at parkrun carries him through, but he's not yet developed a more adult ability to focus when running alone, or just with you. It's fantastic he is running though 🙂

[TailChaser Graduate in reply to Eiralas]

Thanks Eiralas, all good points. As it’s got cooler now we could try going out later, or even do an evening run. There’s a lot more distraction in a group isn’t there, so yes it’s easier for him and he’s definitely not too good at focusing yet. He’s still got a fair bit of growing to do I suspect (I hope!), so we’ve time to experiment on what suits him.

It was my son who inspired me to take up C25K in the first place as I wanted to help him out when he had to give up the cross country, so it’s great that my C25K buddies can also help him out - thank you 🤗😀

[Eiralas Graduate in reply to TailChaser]

Hopefully the cooler weather will last, though I see it is forecast to get hotter again, especially down south.

People do develop a natural body clock - I'm a complete night owl and have never tried running in the morning (one of the main things putting me off parkrun!), while from reading this forum there are plenty of people out at the crack of dawn, which clearly works well for them. Teenagers' body clocks do shift later, so 8am for you might be more like 7am for him. It will be interesting to see if running at a different time of day suits him better. Also, I was just reading about growth today for work, and he's likely to be approaching 'peak height velocity' soon, if he's fairly average.

Wonderful that you started running for your son - it's a wonderful gift he has given you, and I hope it strengthens the bond between you as he starts really developing into an adult 🙂

[TailChaser Graduate]

‘Peak height velocity’, I love that! I hope so, we’re a very ‘diminutive’ family so he could do with some velocity 😂

Running again is brilliant Eiralas, and I’m so grateful to him for pushing me to it, I thought I’d never run again because after two children my body didn’t seem to be up to it anymore, but having him as an incentive and C25K as a a guide has made such a difference. I feel a different person since I got back to fitness. Neither of us are particularly fast but we can compete against each other. We are also very similar characters so, as you say, it should strengthen our bond even more.