Training with Timmi, part 2

A while back I posted an entry with this title, well without the part two. Now we are back and with a mission. Timmi came back from summer holidays and was looking for a new hobby. None of the regular afternoon sports were his things as they all required legwork. This is not his favorite subject. Whether it's soccer, gymnastics, track or the others, the running part always turned him off. His legs were just not up to it. So while on holiday in Florida he had a few chances to canoe and thought this might be the thing for him.

We searched up a couple of clubs here in the area. There are many as we are on the river Rhein and we headed out to try a few. Right off he found a group that really met his expectations. A mixture of paddling (mostly kayak) and fun activities too outside of the boot. So since we can back in August he has had twice a week training including solo kayak down the Rhein with his group. He is really jazzed by this all. Until last week.

The outdoor season is coming to a close here and the paddle club is putting on their final fling at the clubhouse in October. Part of the day includes a duathlon of all the kids in the club. Timmi will be in the U14 or under 14 year old group. There event includes a down and back on the river (read with and against the current) of about a kilometer or so. Then they get out of the boats and must RUN around the filed near their clubhouse. His first training run was last week and went only halfway around the course and his comment to me later on the phone was, "Dad, I could not breathe". So now he is in a tough place.

He has told me that he joined the paddle club so he wouldn't have to run. And now this. But he is a tough one and will not just back down. I asked him if he just wanted to explain to his trainer that running is just not his thing but he said no, he can do it. He also said that he was really excited to have the whole family come out to see his perform. So this week he and I have started running sessions. First one was last Sunday. It was tough, run a bit walk a bit kind of loop near the house here. Two little sprints up the hills back to the house and we were both cooked. I too haven't run in months. That is why I ride a bike!

So, there are about 5 weeks till his duathlon and we have work to do. Stay tuned, updates are sure to come.

PH