Racing

2 weekends ago I hit a milestone. I ran 10 miles! I did suffer a bit for it, but it was something I wanted to do—whatever exhaustion or pain I felt afterward was totally worth it. This weekend I pulled back on purpose. I ran for 6.5 miles. I wanted to only run 5 miles, but the young folk around me annoyed me enough to go a little further.

First up was a 6 year oldish kid. He saw me running and thought he'd run too. Breaking away from his mommy, the little tyke passed me. (Even I was a bit surprised!) His victory didn't last long. I passed him up after a few more seconds and he was back to walking. Poor kid. I ran on.

Next up was some young guy running behind me. From what I could peice together, he was possibly from the group of teens hanging out at the park that I passed at least 3 times during my laps. The dude never caught up to me and gave up after about (maybe!) a minute. Dude.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that people were out enjoying themselves at the park, but when I feel hate, rejection or jealousy from young people when they see me running I don't think it's cool. If anything, maybe it illustrates why I'm running. I'm running to prove I can do it and at 41 I refuse to sit around and let life pass me by. Not only can I keep up, but I can take on anyone who challenges me.

Walking back after my run there was a young female runner behind me coming down the same narrow sidewalk I was on. I stepped off to the side when she passed by. "Thank you," she joyfully said after passing. "M-hm, sure," I answered. Runners get my respect. It's a tough activity to take up. We shouldn't critize them, no matter what. They're doing something positive in their lives. Let them run free without trying to break their spirit. Give them some room and get out of my way!