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How to harness your dad strength in a race

On father's day, we'd like to take a moment to remind dads of their inner running superpower: dad strength

Dad strength is a something you earn as you raise a child–it’s a power that’s unleashed and accumulated as you help your children grow. What having kids detracts from a runner’s sleep patterns, training schedule and semblance of freedom, it adds in dad strength.

 

Dad strength is essentially accumulated physical stamina from hours of installing car seats, carrying other peoples’ belongings and packing the trunk of a vehicle. This strength can also be acquired through simultaneously carrying diaper bags and children. If you’re a dad who’s lining up to race soon, remember that all of this has cumulatively made you stronger.

How to harness your dad strength

Mental fortitude

 

When the going gets tough mid-race, remember those long nights spent attending to kids, only to wake up a handful of hours later to go and attend to your job. That was for sure harder than this 10K.

Multitasking

 

Trying to get down nutrition while remaining on pace and navigating hundreds of runners is hectic, but guess what prepared you for this moment? Kindergarten drop-off. You know how every kindergarten has a drop-off area that fits roughly 3.4 cars despite the fact that every kid arrives at the same time? You were able to handle that chaos while dictating an email to a client, so this race chaos shouldn’t be an issue.

Lactic acid

 

Are your legs slowly but surely turning into Jell-O? Are you reaching the halfway point of your race and feeling the lactic acid well up a little too soon? No problem, you’ve been carrying kids for years. Carrying the weight of a sleeping child, or better yet, multiple sleeping children is wonderful strength training and will serve you very well in the second half of a race.

Feigning interest

 

There’s a part in every race when your interest beings to waver. No matter if it’s a 2K or a marathon, there will be a moment when the going gets hard and you question why you even wanted to do this dumb race. When this thought floats across your mind, channel the level of composure and interest you were able to maintain during your child’s most recent dance recital or school play. You watched and clapped and really kept it together then, so you can certainly keep it together for another couple of kilometres.

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