Come and join us, if you are local, to run the FCA River Valley Run on November 3, 2018! It is a great cause with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This particular race is so encouraging with bible verses posted at each mile marker!
If you aren’s local, find a race in November near you and sign up!
If you want ideas on how to train and prepare, you can look up some Couch to 5K training programs on-line to find one that works for you and your schedule.
Here are some training tips that our big family- with lots of differing ages, abilities and goals- follow to keep us motivated and prepare for a run.
You can print out our entire 8 week schedule attached below.
As a note: Our family lives in the country, and Derek and the boys have mowed a trail that is 1/4 mile around our house with an option to run a 1-mile loop around our neighbor’s property (Derek’s parent’s land). I get up before the kids and hit the trail (unless I’m training with a younger one). Some in our family prefer to run in the middle of the day as a break from school. There have been occasions when we have gone to the highschool track as a family and let the little ones play in the middle while we all ran our own workouts or paces. A park with a walking path would be a great option as well with mom and dad taking turns watching the littles while the rest run.
Beginners: Look at your schedule each week and plan your workouts. If your children are new to running, you will have to run with them or be where they are running to cheer them on through each sequence. After a few weeks, if they are 8 or older, they may feel comfortable taking this on themselves (depending on their personality and ability). If I print them out their own work out schedule, they love crossing it off as they go. If they are younger (4-8 years old) or if they have never run before, they will need you to run with them and inspire and encourage them. My husband actually holds their hand and runs. Remind each beginner of the health benefits. Remind them of the mental strength and endurance they are exercising. Plan to Run 3-4 times per week, doing a run and then walk interval increasing the amount of running time as you get stronger. Run at a comfortable pace, but walk briskly and strong. After a couple of weeks, if you want to add in a day or two of strength training (squats, pushups, lunges, hand weights for arms); core workout (planks and sit ups); stretching; or a biking day, that would be great for strengthening any weak areas you’ve noticed while running. We always take at least one and up to three rest days/week.
Intermediate: Look at your schedule at the beginning of each week and plan your workouts. Plan to run 3-4 times per week plus 2 strength training days of weights and core work out and 1 rest day. My typical week would look like this:
Sunday: 2-5 mile run
Monday: 5 minute cardio warm up like jumping jacks, skipping, or a 1/2 mile jog. 2 sets of 10 squats; 2×10 lunges; butter fly/ arm curls with 10 pound dumbbells; 2 sets of crunches and planks for 1 minute each. Stretch.
Tuesday: Speed workout using a running app.
Wednesday: Either I look up a strength training workout for my knees or my core because those are my weak areas or I stick to my … 5 minute cardio warm up like jumping jacks, skipping, or a 1/2 mile jog. 2 sets of 10 squats; 2×10 lunges; butter fly/ arm curls with 10 pound dumbbells; 2 sets of crunches and planks for 1 minute each. Stretch.
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 2-5 mile run. Either keeping a good tempo, running some hills, or just a run.
Saturday: Rest or Bike or Stretches.
2018 5K Training log for Kids miles for my runners
Journey to Jesus 
Very helpful, thanks!
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