Father/Son Run

Well I did get home earlier than normal, but not as early as I was planning. I made the 3:40 train, which got me home around 5:15. The temperature was still nice at 55 degrees. I ran in the house and changed into my gear and was finally able to wear shorts outside. My wife was already out running and my son was across the street playing basketball with some neighbor kids. I had finished getting dressed and was going to gather my music and water belt, until I heard my nine year old son, Dante call out “Dad, are you in here” I said “yes, why”. Apparently he had decided that he was going to run with me. I thought to myself, great, what a nice way to get some quality father/son time in.

We headed out and I pushed the start button on my Garmin and we were off to the races, or so I thought. Dante had run a 5K with me last fall and finished in about 30 minutes, so he was able to run at a 10 minute pace before. Unfortunately a winter full of inactivity had made him a little slower and not ready to keep any kind of speed. I asked him how far he planned on going and he told me to the rock, which is the 1.5 mile point, one way. I just couldn’t do it. I had come home early to specifically get a good run in with some sunlight. I told him we were going back and he started to get sad and angry with me. I tried to explain that I needed to run for my health and that I was training for a specific goal. I told him that I would love to run with him anytime, as long as he mentioned it to me in advance so I could plan my workout around our run together. I felt like a real a-hole for making a 9 year old cry, but needed him to understand that I was serious for my training and health. It did not mean that I didn’t love him or that I did not want to spend time with him, just that I have a plan and was sticking with it. I still feel bad and am not sure if I was wrong in my thinking.

I headed back out after dropping him back at the house. By this time, the sun was starting to fade quickly. My head was consumed with me trying to determine if I had just been the biggest ass in the world or if I did the right thing. I choose not to put my headphones on and just listened to the passing cars on the road and think to myself. It was nice to get out in the warmer weather and I ended up with a 5.6 mile run, albeit in the dark. Later that night, my wife told me I did the right thing, however I still feel bad.