What Happened to Sporty Dad?

It’s been a while since I have posted anything about being a sporty dad, but that does not mean I have been living the sporty dad life…(that sounds weird). Since my last Sporty Dad post, I have run a few races, did a Spartan race, and I did not run the Chicago marathon. That is the one race I was sad I did not run, but maybe I'll do it again in the future. So here is what went down last year.

The Spartan Race

In June I ran a Spartan Sprint and my children ran the Kid Spartan races. This was the first time my son ran the race and the first time I ran a race without training properly. I don’t recommend the latter. As much as I thought I was in decent shape to run the race, towards the end I started feeling my lack of training catch up to me.

Now while my children were awesome running together and supporting each other throughout the race, I was running alone and cheering other Spartans on and vice versa. I think overall I did pretty well with the obstacles, but I think next year I will do better. Yes, I will always go back next year.

Interesting story about this year, after the race I wasn’t feeling well and went to the bathroom to let out whatever I had in my stomach. My daughter followed me to the port-a-potties to use one and must have heard me throwing up. As I walked back to my family my daughter was checking up on me and asking me if I was ok or needed anything. She was being very nurturing with me and wanted to make sure that I was ok.  I think this was the big win for me that day.

View this post on Instagram

#FBF The story behind this picture. So after running 4 miles and 20+ obstacles I was beat. My head was hurting and my stomach was all in knots. I just ran the @spartanrace with basically not much training and I completed it. I walked to one of the bathrooms and thought I was going to throw up, but it was just dry heaves. Usually after a race they have bananas, a sport drink and protein bars for you to take, but since it was late in the day all they had left were protein bars. My wife bought me a sports drink and a hot dog and I sat down and ate it all up. I felt my stomach bubbling up again and walked to the bathrooms. My daughter came along because she needed to use the bathroom and went into the potty next to me. As soon as I entered my unit I let it all out. I know, sexy right? When I walked out my daughter had already walked ahead to be with my wife and she asked me if I was alright. I told her I felt better and sat down. I could tell by her face that she heard the whole thing. As I sat there she hugged me and asked me again how I was feeling. I told her I felt better and she just held me while I sat there relaxing. For the next few minutes whenever I would shift in my seat or just exhale a little loud, my daughter asked how I was and if I needed anything. I was so focused on feeling better that I didn’t realize my wife took this picture. We always teach our kids to be nice to their siblings and to others. We want them to be respectful and empathetic to the people they meet. The way my daughter was with me that day shows me that some of my teachings are being embedded in her. I love my kids! _________________________ #monthofvictor #day6 #spartanrace #Chicago #Sportydad #family #fandads

A post shared by Victor Aragon (@vicvegachi) on Jul 6, 2018 at 9:22pm PDT

The Chase Corporate Race

I ran this race with my company, which was pretty fun. The Chase Corporate is a 5K race that a lot of the companies in the Chicago downtown area run. It’s a fun race for company employees to network or just hang out afterward for the big party. It was the first time running since the last time I ran, which I think was at the Hot Chocolate in November 2018.

Stan’s Donut 5K

This was a fun race that I ran with my family. I mean, who does not love running a race where they give you donuts as you are running? It’s a win-win! I love running. I love donuts! I think lately my love of sugary things is beginning to take its toll on me, but we will talk about that later as well.

The race was a lot of fun. I ran into a few co-workers after the race and took a picture together. The cool thing was that the lady who took our picture gave her medal to my son for the picture and her friend let my son keep her medal. So basically, my son got a medal for being pushed in a running stroller and eating donuts.

St. Jude Walk/Run 

This is a walk that is close to my family's heart because we always want our children to know that they can make a difference. We did not do this walk the year before due to a scheduling conflict, but we were determined to make it this year. I tried to do something different this year and create a team to walk together. While that plan did not work out, maybe next year we can make that happen and we can have a Team Fandads representing out on the course.

This year the course went through Soldier Field and that was pretty cool to walk inside, see the field, and take pictures inside the stadium. I am not sure if the course will be the same next year, but I'm glad my children were able to enjoy the experience of going inside Soldier Field that day.


Hot Chocolate 5K/15K 

I have been running the Hot Chocolate for over five years now. While I have not run them consecutively, I have run these races every year and I normally do the 5K. I was able to sign up for this run with my job and signed up to run the 15K because I wanted to get a medal and not just another shirt. My wife has run this with me a couple of times and my daughter joined us last year.

As the date for the race drew near, my wife and daughter signed up to join me in the run. Unfortunately, the day before the race our plans to have someone watch our son on that day fell through and my wife and daughter ended up not running the race anymore. I think that was a good thing in a way because the weather was not great and it was drizzling during the run. That was my last run for the year.

So what's in store for Sporty Dad?

This year I have my first run coming soon and that will be the Chase Corporate 5K with my job. I am not sure if I am going to do the Spartan Races this year due to not being prepared physically. I need to start taking better care of myself physically and mentally. Not just for these races, but for my life in general. I know that my mind will help me get through these races, but I have goals of obstacles that I want to conquer and I need to be in better shape to obtain those goals.

Sadly, I will not be running the Chicago Marathon this year too. During the last time I ran it, my knees went out on me halfway through the race. I am slowly taking care of my knees, but I do not think I will be ready to do it again this year. I will run the marathon again. I know I will.

A lot of these races are fun to run with friends and family and it's a great way to do something physical without really noticing you are doing something healthy. Since you are always talking or helping the person around you during the race, you don't really notice the time going by. One minute you are starting a race and then you are done.

Maybe I can get a few of our readers to join us in a few runs this year. Who will be willing to join us?