MY LIL' BRO BRANDON

Brandon schooling some kids (and then running out of breath).

Most people who actually know me are aware by now I finally got that little brother I was always nagging my parents about when I was a kid. He's nine years old and his name is Brandon. He's a really nice kid and I feel really lucky to have been paired with him! After leaving college I missed not being part of Circle K and volunteering. And while I liked relatively annoymous volunteering (aka the food bank), I also wanted to try something a little more personal. I coached two kids sports teams in college and that was fun and my friend was in BBBS and recommended I join.

Anyways, long story short, Brandon and I have been paired for 15 months now. We have a lot in common so we get along great. Sometimes being a Big can turn into a "chore" but I have never felt that way. I know Brandon really looks forward to our outings and I am glad to be a positive role model in his life.

Backstory aside, Brandon has recently expressed the desire to run and build up his stamina. Kid has the lung capacity of a fruit fly. He LOVES soccer and is quite talented in it, however he tires really easily. I went to one of his games last summer, and while he scored twice and was the best player on the field, a couple times he had to quit chasing the ball or running into the correct position because he was out of breath. He is FAST, faster than most kids, but can't last very long. He doesn't have asthma or anything I don't think, he just needs to work on it.

Recently he joined a classic soccer team which is really awesome for him. However, part of being on a classic team is being in shape. His level of fitness isn't going to fly. His struggles right now remind me of when I joined a classic team in 7th grade. We had to run a half mile during tryouts and that about killed me. I was at the back of the pack huffing and puffing with the more generously proportioned. I was flat out of shape. However, by the time that season ended, I was in the best shape of my life (until now). We'd run 1.5 miles at the beginning of practice to warm up, and while a challenge at first, it became routine. I also ran a 7:55 mile spring of 7th grade year, a mile time that stood until last winter, when I finally beat my 13 year old self twelve years later.

 

I relayed this experience to Brandon and he expressed a desire to start running. He knows I run in races and whatnot and didn't seem super interested before. Now though I think he realizes it would be a great way to improve his stamina, so he's onboard (for now - you know kids).

So I am going to start "training" him. This weekend we are going to go to a track and I'm going to see if he can run a half mile without stopping. We'll do one mile total. He can stop and catch his breath as much as he needs, but he will complete the mile. We'll then work from there. I was going to sign him up for a 5k right away but figured we should ease him into it first (okay, well, it was full).


The plan is as follows:

• Practice until...
• July 28th - 2012 Kiwani's Wilsonville Kids Fun Run. Half a mile with other fourth graders.
• September 2nd - Back to School Run Fun in Willamette Park. One mile run.
• September 30th - Wilsonville 5k. Apparently Wilsonville is the spot. First 5k, soccer should be a month into the season at least by then so he should hopefully have the fitness.

I would like more races in August but there just aren't a lot in general because of the hot weather (also, I am restricted to Sundays becasue of his unknown soccer schedule). So we'll just have to practice on our own. I want to keep it easy and fun for him... don't want to scare him off by making it too hard too soon.