A Choice or 2 or 3

Yesterday was a busy day around the house and Luke suggested we go for a run. I put him off until today and asked him to choose between our normal 6k run (Golf Rd), A loop around the block which is just under 8ks but less hilly or run up and down the stairs at Crum Park. We decided to wait and see how we felt on the day.

This morning I was up and ready but Luke had a particularly late night and so I waited for him by keeping myself busy on jobs around the house...

When he finally woke, Shayne made us breakfast and Luke and I got ready to go. With another busy day ahead we both chose the quickest option, our 6k Golf Rd run. I asked Luke to stay with me until we reached the top of the hill and my expectation was that he would then want to take off, much similar to our Christmas day run. However, I made it up the hill feeling fine but I could see and hear that Luke was struggling. It was a test for him today.

Once we reached the down hill part on Golf Rd, Luke found it hard to keep going, a far cry from our last run together! A full tummy perhaps from breakfast, or his late night...That's the thing about running, there are some days when it is just too hard and the mind plays tricks on us, tempting us to stop. I was given a tip years ago, to listen to your body and although I didn't want Luke to stop or walk, I knew it had to be his choice. I couldn't possibly know how bad he felt and his face didn't look good either. Patchy pale bits amongst the normal redness that comes with exercise. However, it is about strength of mind and body. I was left with a choice. Do I carry on or do I stay with him to encourage him to keep going...I carried on.

It was only 6ks and my experience gives me the confidence to keep going over this distance and on this particular route. Luke, I guess, is still learning about what he can endure but I know that he has endurance. I remember during his rugby training at Kelston Boys High School, one of his early morning training sessions involved 2 teams, 2 cars and a race to push the car 800m. Each team of 6 had to rotate team mates 2 at a time, push the car for 10 seconds and then swap with the next 2. He said that it was SO HARD that he collapsed on the floor sometime during the first 400m just after his turn and wanted to throw up but he didn't want to look weak and so he got up and joined his team mates for his next turn. They managed to push the car and finish the race. They lost the first 400m but won the last 400m. He had to dig deep and so I know that it is in him to be able to do it. I trust him to make the right choice for him and today it appears that walking was his preferred choice.

I won today but I have told Lukey boy that we're going out again tomorrow and I will expect him to dig deep and go the distance without stopping or walking. He is keen. I hope we can do it!