| How About the Kids? 
By Ironman Age Group World Champion and MAP Team member Cherie Gruenfeld
I frequently recommend to athletes that they take their families along with them to races. Watching you enjoying your sport helps them to understand your passion for it. And once in a while, the result is that the kids express a desire to get involved, which is a good thing but requires some thought on your part in order to make it a successful venture for all of you.
Keep in mind that your kids have seen only one piece of the picture. I'm guessing that they saw you several times during the race, probably coming through transitions and then at the finish line. I'm also guessing that, when you saw the kids, you put a big smile on your face and gave a high-five as you passed by. And, of course, at the finish line, any sign of the pain you were feeling out on the course was wiped right off your face and replaced by a huge grin as they offered their congratulations with smiles and hugs. What your kids probably didn't see is that getting to the finish line required some pretty tough, painful work.
Certainly when your child decides to get involved, it's not necessary for you to explain all this to him or her. Instead, approach it as a great opportunity for fun and reward. Below are a few ideas for when your kid utters those fateful words: "Can I do a triathlon, too?"
• You want to be certain that this first venture is fun, so pick the discipline where your child excels or is at least comfortable. You can do the other two disciplines yourself which lets you and your kid finish as a relay team – good for a little family bonding. After a couple of relay team races, encourage him to take on the entire event.
- Even if your child is a star soccer player or first string on her baseball team, doing a triathlon is a whole new experience and, somewhere during the three disciplines, she's going to get tired and possibly discouraged. In the middle of the bike leg, she may even decide that this isn't for her and want to quit. You can lower the odds of this happening or be there to talk her through it if you're racing right alongside. Make sure she understands that it's not about speed, but about crossing the finish line. Keep her pace controlled, give constant encouragement and you'll be amazed at how well she'll perform and how happy she'll be doing it.
- We all know that no two kids are alike and each will respond differently to a challenge. My experience with kids has taught me that they will tend to fall into one of several categories when it comes to racing:
• Some kids, regardless of our cajoling, will only go at a pace where it won't hurt. If they're having fun, so what? Let them enjoy the exercise and keep encouraging them to participate.
• Some kids don't have the physical attributes to be outstanding racers, but they enjoy the participation and are willing to push themselves. With these kids, I suggest gentle nudging, giving them small goals that you feel certain they can attain.
• Other kids will demonstrate a real physical talent for this sport, but may not have "the head" for competing. In this case, I find that setting personal time goals will sometimes push this type of kid into working harder. However, how they perform often depends on timing – what sort of attitude they show up with on race day. These kids are the most challenging (read that: frustrating) to hard-core athletic adults.
• Once in a while you find a kid who has a true competitive drive and the talent to go along with it. If that's your kid, help him or her set challenging goals and learn that not meeting a particular goal isn't failure but rather part of the learning process. Then just watch, enjoy and be there for them whenever they need help.
We've all learned that sometimes the parent has a distinct disadvantage in working with his own kids, who often will take advice and constructive criticism from everyone but their own parents. This is an age-old problem and one that you probably won't be the first to solve. So if you find that your kid really seems to want to get involved but isn't responding to your encouragement, find a neighbor, a friend or anyone who will do the same thing as you but doesn't have the “parent thing” to deal with.
There are surely few things more gratifying than watching your own child participate and cross the finish line, feeling that great sense of accomplishment that you've grown to understand so well. Give your kid what he or she needs to make this happen and enjoy the moments to come.
Cherie Gruenfeld
Articles from Cherie:
Key Workouts for a Successful Ironman Race Part I - Part II - Key Workouts for a Successful Ironman Race - Analyzing the Last Season to Have a Better Next Season - Setting the 2006 Calendar - Breaking it Down - Something for Nothing - Work + Recovery = Peak Performance - Getting Back in the Game - To Race or Not to Race? - Kona Moments - PERIODIZATION Ð MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU - New Age Group Record at IM Arizona - Critical Success Factors for a Great Ironman - The Ironman Run: It's a Mind Game - Remain a Competitive Racer - What's This Race All About - To Every Workout There is a Purpose -
My 2008 Resolutions
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Looking Forward to the Future
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How About the Kids? -
Other Kids
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Become An Ironman
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Beware the Pitfalls
To have racing success
Back to the Future
Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3
Circling the Drain
Order MAP
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