The weather gods were not kind during last Saturday’s Lane 6 session, the second of the six-week mentorship pilot program for Toronto’s at-risk youth. It was cold, rainy and all-around dreary that morning at Central Tech Stadium, but we refused to let those pesky spring showers keep us from showing our new friends how much fun running can be – whatever the conditions. After all, as Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman famously said, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.” So we made the best of it.

The bus arrived right on time and we got straight to business. We needed to stay warm and, not-so-coincidentally, the best way to do that is by running. We laced up, warmed up, helped our mentees jot down their Week 2 goals and began the workout.

My girl Sabrina showed up in leggings instead of jeans this time, which I considered our first win. Her personal mission for the day was to successfully run two laps around the track without stopping. I figured that was a sure thing, but what I didn’t take into consideration was that most kids have one speed: fast. And fast typically comes in bursts. Fast isn’t sustainable for very long when you’re 13 and new to the sport of running. But, nevertheless, I had confidence in Sabrina and her ability to crush her goal.

This week’s workout was distance-based rather than time-based: run for 200 metres, then walk for 100 metres, for a total of 15 minutes, followed by five minutes of (hopefully) continuous running to see how much distance could be covered.

Nine-year-old Kaleigh, a family friend of Sabrina’s, made her first appearance at Lane 6 this week. And she wouldn’t leave her buddy’s side. As soon as the whistle blew at the start of the workout, rambunctious Kaleigh grabbed Sabrina by the hand and pulled her away as quick as could be, erratically zigzagging through the crowd without any regard for the fact that this was an exercise in pacing. Unsurprisingly, by the end of the first interval she was already gassed.

Sabrina, who didn’t once complain about the weather, jogged with me and another mentor, Ali, for the remaining 15 minutes, doing really well at keeping the pace moderate so she wouldn’t burn out. That is, until we caught up to her brother Joseph on the track and that sibling rivalry kicked in again.

Zonked by the start of the five-minute challenge, and admitting she would have been in bed until at least noon if it weren’t for this program, it quickly became apparent that Sabrina’s goal to run two consecutive laps was not in the cards for today. We made it around the track twice, alright, but with a lot of walking—and considerable coaxing.

It was clear, however, that Sabrina realized the error of her ways: She had wasted too much of her energy during the warm-up strides, that chaotic interval with Kaleigh and the impromptu race against her brother that she was exhausted before her goal portion of the workout even started. But, as far as I’m concerned, that realization in itself is a success.

Pacing yourself for longer distances is a learning process, and it takes time. When you’re a kid, you’re used to running fast in short spurts, so these longer, sustained-effort intervals are completely out of their comfort zones. And that’s OK! Next week we’ll be focusing on speed, but I look forward to coming back to these pacing challenges and seeing how much progress my mentee, fresh-faced and full of potential, can make in the weeks to come.

And just like the session started, it ended with Kaleigh whisking Sabrina away—this time, to secure their prime seats together at the back of the bus.

Did you missed last week’s installment? Catch up here.

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