Healthy Hoboken: Be a Kid Again

There is something so innocent about playing outside. No schedule needed, just get out there and start running around. It's no wonder most kids—at least, the ones that play outside—tend to be fit and full of energy. If I got to spend most summer hours running around or riding bikes with my friends, playing basketball on the Church Square Park courts or soccer on the—temporarily closed, but when will it open?—Sinatra soccer field, I'd be the same way.

Alas, I'm 25. Not 5. So I have to work "running around" into an already busy schedule. But last week, I decided to go back to my younger years and capitalize on the fact that running around without a cause and getting fresh air are too much fun to miss.

I was all set to go for a run on Thursday night when my adorable 9-year-old cousin Olivia happened to come outside, she lives across the street from my parents, where I was spending the night. Olivia asked me if she could run with me. My first thought was "no way." I wanted to seriously pound the pavement.

But who has the heart to tell a little kid—whom I hardly get to see—that I'd rather run alone with my i-pod. So I told Olivia to get her brother and sister and come over to my parents backyard. At first, she showed me what she does in her "speed camp." We went through a series of calisthenics; high knees, butt kicks, karaoke steps.

Her twin brother, Frankie, had us doing somersaults, which he tells me work on your abs. Then we did lunges. Lots of lunges, which are Olivia's favorites. We were laughing and goofing around the entire time, but it didn't matter. We were clearly working out. The twins' older sister, Isabella, 10, then had us doing crunches and push-ups between running sets. The night ended with sprints across the property. 

That's when the best part of the night started. As soon as "camp" was over, we started playing one of my favorite childhood games: Spud. Growing up, there were about a dozen kids in my neighborhood who all used to gather on my front lawn for epic games of Spud. In Hoboken, the game could easily be played on any grassy area, such as Pier A.  

The game started small, with only four of us, but soon grew to 15 people. Our next-door neighbors on both sides saw us playing and came out to join. Not just kids. We're talking moms in their 50s and a teenage model. By the end the competition was so fierce that I think we were scaring the kids a little. 

It was so much fun to just run around the backyard, not worrying about speed or mileage. By the end of the night we were exhausted, that hot, sweaty summer exhaustion that feels fantastic. We all jumped in the pool to cool off, which was the perfect end to a perfect summer night.

If you're interested in playing Spud in the Mile Square, here are the rules. ALl you need is a ball and a fun group of people. Everyone gets a number, given out in secret by a selected parent or someone who isn't playing. If there are 10 players, give out 11 numbers - there has to a mystery number. Everyone stands in a circle, and one person throws the ball in the air while yelling a number. Everyone scatters - sprinting away as they can. Whoever's number was called has to run to the ball, catch it and yell "Spud," at which point everyone stops running. The player holding the ball can take four steps - spelling S-P-U-D - towards their "victim" and try to hit the person with the ball. If they hit you, you have get a letter. If they miss or your catch the ball, they get a letter. First person with S-P-U-D is out.