I think these kids exist to remind me that I'm 41 and well past my prime.
It's bad enough on the treadmills at the gym where I can see that the college kid in front of me is going 8 miles per hour, but today I went outside for a run (jog/walk/trudge) and ran smack into some high school team out for a run. They were coming down a road one way, I was coming up the other and we were all turning and going the same direction on another road. I met up with them at the front of the bunch--there were two kids out in front by a long distance, then a big gap, then a few more, then a smaller gap, then a huge group bringing up the rear. They were the ones who felt more like socializing than working. I joined up in the big gap at the start, so I was pretty much on my own and could see the fast ones in front of me. So what did I do? Tried to keep pace with them, of course! They are more than half my age, they are boys, and I'm betting none of them have SI joint injuries.
I actually managed it for a couple of minutes--they weren't getting any further ahead. I didn't know what the group behind me was doing (I wasn't about to turn around and look) but I imagined they were about the same distance behind. I was wrong. We hit the start of a hill and I looked at my heart rate monitor and saw that my heart rate was up to 191 bpm--about 25 bpm more than it really should be, so I immediately slowed to a walk, and almost as immediately the rest of the group caught up and passed me. The whole team was out of sight within 30 seconds.
OTOH, I probably have them to thank for my increased speed today. I did the same route as last week but did it a minute faster than before. If I can keep that up, I'll be in great shape for the August triathlon!
2 comments:
You might have been out run by a group of 16 year olds, but how would you fair in a group of 41 year old women? I'd bet money that you'd be towards the front of the pack. Don't forget that "prime" is really a sliding scale at every point in our life. It is unfair to compare two versions of ourselves with very different circumstances. Sarah, you rock in my book. I hope I can get to be as active as you are and I am 9 years younger.
I bet most of those kids won't still be running when they are 40. In fact, I bet they will have back and knee issues that would make yours look like a bunch of nothing!
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