Friday, June 19, 2009

Running.....a Necessity of Fatherhood

Wednesday I had a great run. Did a 5-miler in 36:00. I was on top of the world! Don't worry; I refrained from flinging my arms up in the air yelling "I'm the king of the world!" Leonardo DiCaprio, I am not. Plus the park rangers may have hauled me off. Anyways, it's funny how something as simple as HUMIDITY can so quickly knock you off your throne. I ran yesterday and was a lot slower. It was in the upper 80s and the humidity was killer! And, I'll probably be even slower today since it's supposed to be in the mid 90s!! So unless it's the treadmill (Please, no! Not the treadmill) slower is going to have to be just fine.

I guess when you've been cooped up in the house all day with three kids and trying to get them to clean the house, do yard work, etc... before going on vacation next week, and getting not much in return but looks of "You talkin to me....You, t-a-l-k-i-n-g to me?", one tends to want to speed up to release the stress. Going back to thrones, I think we have enough empty toilet paper rolls among all the bathrooms in our house to build a fort! I found myself playing Jenga with them the other day (someone took the newspaper out, what else was I supposed to do?) I think I need to inform my kids that it's Recycle, ReNew, ReUse, not Recycle, ReUse, Throw-on-the-Floor. I'm also coming to believe that Linda Blair (spinning head and all) would make a good poster child for all 13-year old girls.

And so, I run, run, run. Running is definitely a necessity for fatherhood or motherhood, for that matter. I'm not sure how parents who don't run (or do some other type of physical activity) deal with the demands of parenthood. That 3o minutes to 1 hour of running is good for me as well as the kids. It's amazing. No matter how hot or humid it is, a good, hard run releases the daily stresses helping to put everything in perspective.
So, after my run I realized, who else has such fun entertainment while doing their "business"? Sure beats reading sales flyers. Hmmm...Jenga, building a fort, Ooooo.... making a log cabin, a castle! Now, for the Linda Blair syndrome. Not sure running's going to help that one. Any suggestions? Ahhhh fatherhood.

8 comments:

Running Through Life said...

To funny! As a father, I agree, you need that time for yourself.

JenZen said...

Ha - love the castle. OH yeah - running helps deal with life in so many ways.

It's so frustrating how much the humidity and heat slow you down. I'm with ya!

Turi Becker said...

Well put.

NY Wolve said...

Absolutely. Not just as a stress release, but as a way to be calm and happy which makes me a better person (and dad).

Jo Lynn said...

Um, H-E-L-L-O?! My daughter is 22 years old. I started running 10 years ago. Coincidence? I think not. LOL

Running is most definitely a necessity for keeping me sane. Oh, but you probably knew that already. ;)

Jen said...

Running, I've come to quickly realize, is a necessity of life! A great stress reliever for anyone. I honestly don't know how I survived so long with out it...

Regina said...

Can I get a hallelujah?! From the toilet paper rolls to the running (or any physical activity not involving the kids), you are preaching to the choir! My mother has so ingrained in me the "replace the empty toilet paper roll" growing up, that I run an absolute police state when it comes to replacing the roll. Thanks to Noggin, we are all on board with Renew, reuse, recycle.

My son is three, this was the year I decided triathlons were to be my savior. Somehow making it to the end of the day with my sanity intact wasn't quite enough any longer.

RunnerDude said...

Hello RunningThroughLive,JenZen, Turi,NYWolve,JoLynn,Jen,Regina! Sorry I haven't replied to each of you like usual. I was busy counting toilet paper rolls! LOL! Nah, just trying to get ready for vacation. It's so reassuring that you guys have similar lives. Do you ever live in fear that someone will come by unannounced and see what your house really looks like? Not that I ever have that fear or anything. :-)