Training

The Passing Lane

January 7, 2010
By Michelle Kempton

Tonight I felt like a Chevrolet on the Autobahn when I ran around the track. Though I’m considered a relatively fast runner (for a 35 year old chick)… I had nothing on the high school kids doing laps tonight. I was running my regular 5K at my normal speed and these kids were passing me like I was standing still. I’m not exaggerating… seriously I couldn’t believe the speed of these children. They were so fast that I was in awe of them and became distracted by how quickly they passed me by even though I was running too!

I admit that I’m highly competitive… so I found it kind of annoying that my regular running pace was nothing compared to theirs… of course in my defence I was running for distance and they were just running one lap at a time then taking a break but still… it sucked when they’d pass me… totally deflated my ego!

After my 5K… I decided the next time the sprinting group approached to pass me I would put the pedal to the metal and see if I could keep up with them. Well I did… for about half the distance of the track which equates to about 30 seconds (and the little girl I was going head to head with actually looked over at me in disbelief that I was keeping up with her)… after about the 1/2 lap I was pretty sure I might bust a blood vessel in my brain so I dropped back to my regular pace.

While I was running with them… I thought to myself, this is crazy… these kids are probably a third of my age and definitely a fraction of my weight (some serious bean poles)… why do I even want to attempt to race them… hmmm oh I know why… for no other reason than to see if I can!

I now accept the fact I am past my prime when it comes to running fast against kids… that lesson was quickly learned. I am no match for teens. They have youth, zero body fat and a flurry of hormones driving them… I on the other hand… do not bestow these qualities!

I’ll admit it was fun to see if I can move as fast as them… but I think I’ll stick to passing power walkers and other distance runners (like my running arch nemesis Jon)… they are more my speed!