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By David Freeze

As a proud granddad, I had envisioned that the new baby would be ready for her first running watch within a week or so. I got her one! And that her first steps would be followed by a desire to run. Her mom said, “What if she doesn’t want to be a runner?” She had to be kidding!!!

By about 18 months, she began to run short distances. Then very soon, her mom and I had her racing in the driveway. Little 20-30-yard sprints that began with, “Get ready, Go!” There have been a few falls, but the girl has never lost a race. She’s just about two years and three months now, and runs everywhere, in the house and outside.

The baby’s name is Monroe, but much more well known by her nickname, “the Booper.” I’ve begun to explore what the experts say about kids running and when they can safely start. One of my favorite photos ever was published in the Post a few weeks ago, showing me leading kids from age six and up in a mile run around the Granite Quarry Elementary School gym. A dozen years or so ago, all the afterschool sites partnered with the YMCA on a kids’ running program. It went on for about four years and I learned a lot while leading that program. Younger kids want to be active and its easy for them. At most of the schools, a nine-year-old could likely be the best runner in the program. Older kids, 12 and up, often struggled. It is my belief that young kids are meant to run and society changes that for most of them as they age.

Whattoexpect.com says that somewhere between 18 and 24 months old, a toddler will begin to pick up the pace from walking to running — though you can expect a few spills along the way. By the time they turn three, running should come easily. Playing games like hide and seek and Simon Says, or just chasing your toddler helps them gain confidence.

Women’s Running says, “If you watch kids on a playground, zipping across the baseball field, or just trying to catch the bus, you will notice they run with an easy, natural stride. After all, as soon as we learn to walk, we start to run. And when we do it in our youth, we usually do it for one reason: for fun. Keeping it that way is one of the biggest opportunities, but also can be one of the biggest challenges.”

Most of the Rowan’s elementary schools participate in the Daily Mile, a program that gets them out of the classroom and on the track for a mile every day. Kids get lots of the same benefits that adults do out of running, Benefits from running early include improved sleep, increased self-esteem, improved concentration and confidence, decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels.

The resounding medical advice says if the child is excited and interested and there are no major injuries, running at almost any age is acceptable.

Erica Gminski, youth programs director for the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) agrees that as long as running is presented as fun and not overly structured for very young children, it should be fine at any age.

Dr. Mark Halstead, a pediatric sports medicine specialist at Washington University in St. Louis. “A child’s individual rate of development and desire to run matters more than his or her actual age.”

“Some kids aren’t interested in ball sports or team sports to begin with, so presenting running as an activity that they can participate in may be attractive,” says Gminski.

I had the kids carry an egg while they ran, and laughter and fun were astounding. When I had them race me as a team, they were laughing and screaming for a win. Just make it fun, and any age will enjoy it.

Winter Flight, the area’s biggest race, is just three weeks away. Check it and other events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org .

By David Freeze

As part of my annual physical, I didn’t expect any unusual results. Fortunately, nearly all my markers turn out well. The only long time issue has been a higher than normal LDL cholesterol level, even though my total cholesterol has always been good. LDL is called the bad cholesterol. My recent test showed a level of 115 mg., higher than the normal level of anything below 99.

Over at least the previous 35 years, I have been very fortunate to have regularly used only two Novant family medicine doctors. Mostly it’s been sort of boring, except for the lively change of pace when I got blood clots during or immediately following the bike rides of 2013 and 2021. All has gone well with getting rid of them and I don’t have the blood markers to continue medication full-time.

But since I have paid attention to blood tests, I have had higher levels of LDL, low density lipoproteins. That higher level has been a heredity thing as it runs in my family. Once I tried niacin, a B vitamin that was then the current rage to lower cholesterol. It had little effect and I hated the hot flashes. After that, we just checked it off to heredity and moved on.

One thing caught my attention last week. There is a 10-year risk factor for heart attack and stroke calculated based on overall cholesterol results and age. My new doctor pointed out that mine is higher than it should be based on the good readings for HDL, triglycerides, VLDL and total cholesterol. My target is now the LDL, no longer dismissing it.

My new doctor, replacing one of those long-term favorites who recently retired, pushed me to address it but she wanted me to start regularly taking a statin drug to address the LDL. I am very hesitant on medications and spent an evening researching the particular drug, specifically the side effects. I didn’t like what I read and suggested to my new doctor that I preferred to address the situation with lifestyle changes. She agreed, and we plan to retest the cholesterol levels in six months.

So what happens in those six months? I will begin to practice what I teach. As a long time running and wellness coach, I talk about certain specific risk factors that matter in your overall health and are directly linked to cholesterol levels. I don’t smoke or drink and do exercise well past the recommended amounts. Some medicines and medical conditions can raise LDL levels and I don’t have these. These things are already in my corner, but two others need some work.

Two remaining cholesterol risk factors will be the targets! The first is amount and quality of sleep. I am absolutely terrible at this and consider it as a lifelong issue. I don’t sleep enough, finally giving up my day too late and impatient to start the next one. Often the hours in the middle are interrupted by thoughts of things to do. Total sleep time nightly probably averages five hours, not nearly enough.

My diet is full of fruits and good carbs, plus decent amounts of vegetables. I don’t drink sugared drinks and usually do well on water intake. Eggs are a good thing again. My problems come with too much processed foods, a big red flag for LDL cholesterol levels. Certain things have become staples, like post run Pop Tarts every morning and packaged crackers plus a few favorites that are named Little Debbie. And those single serve pecan pies in the Food Lion deli.

Finally, cholesterol in total is a good thing. Our body has to have it and 20% of the body’s total cholesterol is needed the brain. But LDL can cause plaque buildup in the arteries leading to arteriosclerosis and other issues. I’m on a mission, have made it public and will report back later on the results.

Up next on the local racing scene is the granddaddy of them all, the 39^th Annual New Sarum Brewing Winter Flight 8K/5K and fun run on Jan. 30. Look for it and other events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org .