Running with the Boys
So- I am still in training for the old half marathon.
In order to keep my training up, help make me accountable, and have a set appointment to run during the week when it's hardest to fit it in, I asked the cross country coach at school if I could run with the team on Monday's. He was thrilled to have me. I assured him I am slow as no body's business and I didn't expect any kids to keep up with me- I just wanted to make myself accountable. He said he didn't care and to come on!
Today is the first day I did it. I knew it was going to be a hard run because: I don't usually run in the afternoon. I either run at 6:30am or after 7:30pm. Those times are quite a bit cooler than 3:15 in the afternoon. So I knew the heat would be a problem for me.
But the point of this post is not about my attempt at running. The point is teenagers get a bad rap- and sometimes it's totally undeserved. The team is all boys. There were no girls. I was immediately intimidated- as boys always run faster than girls! I won't lie- I was hoping for a slow girl to keep pace with (there's always one). The coach made one of the guys run the warm up lap with me- and told him he had to stick with me. I immediately felt sorry for the kid. I run slow- he clearly didn't. I knew I was holding him back. However- the kid (18 year old male) was completely gracious. He stayed with me, didn't act condescending about my slow pace, talked to me- but not too much so that I couldn't concentrate. Then he showed me the stretching routine that they always do after the warm up lap. So we all set out on the run which was about 3.75 miles. The coach's last words were for the guys to keep me in sight- and make sure at least one guy stayed with me. I was a little embarrassed for whoever the sucker was that made the sacrifice to stick with me. However . . . here's a confidence booster- I was talking 2 boys to the finish line! A 35 year old woman, talked 2 teen aged guys to the end. But again- that's not the point of this post. The point is . . . that after the run we did a cool down lap (which about put me over my edge. My legs were Jell-O. It was all I could do to stand. Usually it's not my legs that wear out- usually it's my lungs) but the team came back for me to encourage me along (I needed a lot). Then when we were stretching- they made room for me on the concrete so I didn't have to sit on the grass.
I just want to say- how doggone nice were these boys? How courteous? How polite? How respectful?
I teach at a school that has a pretty bad reputation in the school district- and for the life of me I don't understand why. I have found- as a whole- that these students have been some of the most courteous, polite, and decent teenagers I have encountered in my 14 years of teaching. So next Monday I will be out there again . . . hopefully still running with the boys.
In order to keep my training up, help make me accountable, and have a set appointment to run during the week when it's hardest to fit it in, I asked the cross country coach at school if I could run with the team on Monday's. He was thrilled to have me. I assured him I am slow as no body's business and I didn't expect any kids to keep up with me- I just wanted to make myself accountable. He said he didn't care and to come on!
Today is the first day I did it. I knew it was going to be a hard run because: I don't usually run in the afternoon. I either run at 6:30am or after 7:30pm. Those times are quite a bit cooler than 3:15 in the afternoon. So I knew the heat would be a problem for me.
But the point of this post is not about my attempt at running. The point is teenagers get a bad rap- and sometimes it's totally undeserved. The team is all boys. There were no girls. I was immediately intimidated- as boys always run faster than girls! I won't lie- I was hoping for a slow girl to keep pace with (there's always one). The coach made one of the guys run the warm up lap with me- and told him he had to stick with me. I immediately felt sorry for the kid. I run slow- he clearly didn't. I knew I was holding him back. However- the kid (18 year old male) was completely gracious. He stayed with me, didn't act condescending about my slow pace, talked to me- but not too much so that I couldn't concentrate. Then he showed me the stretching routine that they always do after the warm up lap. So we all set out on the run which was about 3.75 miles. The coach's last words were for the guys to keep me in sight- and make sure at least one guy stayed with me. I was a little embarrassed for whoever the sucker was that made the sacrifice to stick with me. However . . . here's a confidence booster- I was talking 2 boys to the finish line! A 35 year old woman, talked 2 teen aged guys to the end. But again- that's not the point of this post. The point is . . . that after the run we did a cool down lap (which about put me over my edge. My legs were Jell-O. It was all I could do to stand. Usually it's not my legs that wear out- usually it's my lungs) but the team came back for me to encourage me along (I needed a lot). Then when we were stretching- they made room for me on the concrete so I didn't have to sit on the grass.
I just want to say- how doggone nice were these boys? How courteous? How polite? How respectful?
I teach at a school that has a pretty bad reputation in the school district- and for the life of me I don't understand why. I have found- as a whole- that these students have been some of the most courteous, polite, and decent teenagers I have encountered in my 14 years of teaching. So next Monday I will be out there again . . . hopefully still running with the boys.
That's awesome, Kate! My sister coaches a cross country team and she says that from time to time, she is dragging the students along.
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