A Marriage of My Two Loves

So, most of you know that I'm a runner... and most of you know that I'm a teacher... well, I am in the fortunate position that I get to combine those two loves...

Most people don't understand all that exercise does for your body.  Our lack of exercise and health conscious ways of life, are really causing some issues in our children these days.  Diabetes, obesity, malnutrition... those are just some of the issues that are facing today's kids.  But did you know that there are a lot more issues with an unhealthy body in regards to your brain?  ADD and ADHD, depression, and many other psychological issues plague todays students in an alarming way, and as a teacher, I see a lot of that first hand.

But there is an answer!  I don't say that you should quit any clinical treatments reccomended by your child's doctor or school speacialist, but just take into account these truths.... Your brain is FULL of chemicals.  When those chemicals get off balance, you are in for a world of issues.  One way to regulate those chemicals and provide your brain with much needed oxygen is to exercise.  Exercising releases chemicals to balance out brain activity, which is why when you are not active on a regular basis you may have attention issues and depression issues.  Often times we supplement these issues with medicine... but did you know that most of the medicine is actually medicine that is a naturally occuring chemical in the brain?  If your body is completely balanced and healthy, there is no use for these things!!!  AGAIN.... if you are seeing someone for any of these situations, DON'T stop seeing that person!!!

These were some of the things that I mentioned when I brought up doing a running club at school to my administrators and fellow teachers.  There thoughts were that it was a valuable thing, but I admit there were some issues getting it off the ground.  Last year, I did the "Wolfpack Running Club" with around 40 fourth and fifth grade students, and I've got to say it was AWESOME!!!  So awesome that it inspired me to organize a 5K fundraiser for the school this year with the help of one of my AWESOME PTA parents at school.  I actually had to turn away kids last year for running club because I had such a great response.  The best part was that I had parents volunteer to come help out and run with the kids too, and groups of teachers that would stay out and workout with us.  Now, you are thinking that this is just a cute little club... well, I can tell you right now, I could probably kick your BUTT!!!  These guys were running speed drills, doing core workouts, and could comfortably run a 5K (3.1)... for a bunch of kids, that's pretty amazing.

This year, I decided to split it and do ten sessions in the fall (starts next Tuesday, wish me luck) and ten sessions in the Spring (to prepare for our 5K fundraiser).  My proudest moment was when I had a mom literally e-mail me like twenty minutes after school got out to say that her daughter wanted to be in running club again this year, and sent me the form digitally to ensure that she got in (it's sadly first come first serve).  So, I'm excited, and I can't wait to get running with my kidlets!!  I'll definitely keep blogging about them as I go, so get ready for some great stories! ... My favorite from last year was my two boys that lagged behind who I screamed at (I am a VERY VERY loud person) to hurry up, and scared one of our first grade teachers walking home.  She said that she had never seen two kids run so fast.  Good times.