"The Scramble"
We've cultivated a 12 year family tradition of spending July on a lake in New England. My three sons have grown up on this lake, and each year here we discover new fun things to do and create new traditions...and competitions.
Three July's ago I started a new tradition/competition: racing my oldest son on a challenging trail run I've named "The Scramble." The Scramble is a 1.5 mile loop around a pond (pictured) covered with fallen trees to hurdle over, sharp zig-zags, steep inclines, dense roots to quick step, thick tree limbs to duck under, and thick boulders to scramble over. It's a very challenging run requiring full focus and sharp reflexes. Each year we run it three or four times, sweating to shave down our times with each run.
Three years ago I was king of The Scramble, beating my oldest son by a sizable margin. Two years ago I ran as hard as I could and, by a much smaller margin, kept my crown as The Scramble King. Last year my oldest son blew me away--by the final race of the summer we both set new PRs, but his was 74 seconds faster than mine! We crowned a new Scramble King. I felt the dad feeling I have a lot these days: joyful pride in my son's increased abilities and competitive determination to increase my fitness so I can remain close and competitive with my testosterone-rich sons.
This year, we introduced my wife and my two other sons to The Scramble. Yesterday the five of us ran our third and final Scramble of the year. All morning tense dread sat in our stomachs as we knew how hard we'd need to push our bodies to earn a time we'd feel good about. We lined up at the old tree stump, our starting line and finish line. "3, 2, 1, Go!" Within 45 seconds your heart pounds through your chest and you fight for each breath. Each second counts, so you step fast and careful through the New England jungle where Buzzards go to test their fitness. The results impressed.
My oldest son ran 10 seconds slower than last year's PR, but this makes sense because he's put on 30 lbs. this year as part of his football training. I ran 24 seconds slower than last year's PR, which doesn't make sense, it just pisses me off. My middle son ran so well, and finished just 1 second behind me! Amazing and frustrating to me. My wife finished 4th place, with a very impressive time. And my youngest son surprised us all by crossing the finish line just 10 seconds behind my wife.
So, my oldest son remains King of The Scramble. Now we set our sights on next year. The challenge in this family is to balance your training so that you can develop the strength/muscle/weight you want to do what you need to do (football, wrestling, lifting heavier weights, etc.) and run a fast time at The Scramble. Next year we might have a new king.