Quaker Challenge: Going for the Goal

This begins a series of posts under the Quaker Supermom Series about the quest that my kids and I have to achieve our new fitness and sports goal.

There are only three foods that I obsess over: peanut butter, salmon, and, oatmeal. If you asked me to eat just these three everyday for a month, I’d probably look you in the eye and reply: “Make it a year.” Rawr.

So, when Quaker Oats invited me to be a Quaker Supermom, I said “Yes!” like a giddy school girl. After all, how often do you get to endorse a brand that you’ve obsessed over since high school? (Yes, that’s how long this love affair with oatmeal has lasted.)

– I’m a Quaker Supermom! Kulang nalang cape –

– Couldn’t be happier to be with these other two Quaker Supermoms: my dearest sister, Janice Villanueva of the popular Mommy Mundo portal for all things mommy and Kris de Guzman of OC Mom in Manila –

On top of that, Quaker Oats posed a challenge for the kids and myself. They asked me to target a goal for us and to try our best to achieve it. When they asked if I would accept, I replied with a grin: “When do we start?” Double rawr.

QUAKER GOAL

The Quaker Goal I came up with is this: For the kids and I to swim, bike, and run more together.

Sounds easy, right? Well, not exactly. Anton, my 12 year old, trains with Coach Norman for his triathlon sessions every Sunday. He only has time to train once a week because he has Debate Club and Painting Lessons on top of schoolwork. Meanwhile, Nia, my 8 year old, has adamantly refused to join her Kuya (although she relented once) for triathlon and only chooses to swim. She took Aqualogic classes with Total Immersion Coach Ria Mackay over summer, but we have yet to sign up for regular classes during this school year. Oh, we also need to teach her how to ride a bike.

– Anton and Nia during one of Coach Norman’s trikids training sessions –

So, let me tell you, even The Bull Runner has got some serious work to do when it comes to living the active lifestyle on the home front. While I’m pretty serious with my own running and triathlon training and I always encourage my kids to be active in sports, I’m also the kind of mom who never believed in pushing my kids into sports or any other activities they aren’t interested in. Fitness should be something they want for themselves and, oh yes, it should also be loads of fun.

– Bonding with the kiddos for an easy bike and run morning at Filinvest City –

The good news is: the kids are quite excited over this goal. It’s a challenge that they’re willing to take on as well. For me, it’s an awesome opportunity to get them outdoors and away from Minecraft and a great chance to bond with them, too.

THE PLAN

The Quaker Goal comes at the right time for me. Now that Ironman 70.3 Cebu is done and I’m on off-season mode, I’ll have more time to swim, bike, or run with the kids. The plan is to bring them out for an easy ride or run on weekends. Anton will continue his triathlon training on Sundays while Nia gets started on swim classes after school.

Can you please cheer us on and hope that we do get to accomplish this goal we’ve set for ourselves? I’ll be writing about our progression in the weeks to come! Stay tuned!