Oh, to be young... (Read 315 times)

thanks for the brief remembrance of yesteryear.   got me thinking of those days for abit,  you know, old girlfriends, hanging out with friends, my first car, running track & having energy to do anything,  etc etc.   but then I came back to reality & remembered that my 40th HS reunion is this summer.    ugghh.  oh wait, wonder how many of my old buddies & girlfriends will be there.  good chance I will be the fittiest person there (have 2 mths to work on that)

This morning, I dragged myself out of bed for a hot, humid 16 miler.   Wasn't really looking forward to it, but as everyone here knows, sometimes you gotta' "Just do it!".   So, with that in mind, threw in my earbuds, cranked up some tunes, and out the door I went.

 

I was just getting into rhythm around mile 2 when suddenly, I became aware of someone behind me.   I glanced back and saw the varsity cross country team from our local high school gaining on me.  I had resolved to hold my pace and let them pass, when suddenly I was engulfed in a sea of fit high schoolers.

 

For a period of time, I just cruised along with them--kind of when you get boxed in by a couple of 18 wheelers on a highway--you just go with the flow.   What struck me was how effortlessly the team ran--no heel strikers here.  No one breathing fast or suffering--just power and grace in motion.  One of the kids turned to me, smiled, and gave a cheery "Good Morning!", which I reciprocated.  (I'm sure he was wondering: "When's this old geezer gonna' keel over with a heart attack?").

 

In a flash, it was over.   They moved on as they found their pace and I maintained mine.

 

As they left, I began to think about those halcyon days again.   When I was their age, the only thing I had to worry about in the summer was doing the workout, eating, working part time, and staying out of trouble.  While I seemed so busy then (and I'm sure these teens are far busier today), it was nice then to not have to be concerned with the gaping maw of a day job, coupled with the responsibilities, uncertainties, and cares of the world.

 

I soon reminded myself that this was certainly a rose-colored view (the "good old days" are rarely as good as we think).   Yet, for a few brief moments this morning,  it sure was fun to revisit them, at least for a little while.

Nice.

thanks for the brief remembrance of yesteryear.   got me thinking of those days for abit,  you know, old girlfriends, hanging out with friends, my first car, running track & having energy to do anything,  etc etc.   but then I came back to reality & remembered that my 40th HS reunion is this summer.    ugghh.  oh wait, wonder how many of my old buddies & girlfriends will be there.  good chance I will be the fittiest person there (have 2 mths to work on that)

Similar memories here, except I didn't run track back then. My 41st high school reunion is tomorrow (Saturday) night - we didn't have a 40th reunion last year, being the apathetic lot that we were. Pretty sure I'll be among the fittest of them all, at running anyway. I'm only about 5 lbs heavier now than when I graduated high school. It may be a eye-opening experience to be surrounded by so many "old" people, and then realize I'm one of them . . .

Great post, ShuffleFaster.   Being young, certainly has a lot of freebies built into it, speed, agility, toned muscles, and good looks, all without having to work for it.  I do think though, that now I'm in better shape then when I was young like that.  Although I ran, I didn't run for as far, and I certainly didn't keep up a good schedule for week after week, month after month.  Age gave me the patience to stick with it.  You really don't know how far these kids were running (not that it really matters) but you do know you were doing a SIXTEEN miler out in the heat.  That's pretty darned good, and I bet those kids would even be impressed.  By the way, now days, lots and lots and lots of kids are not in very good shape, unfortunately, and you could probably beat them in speed and distance. 

My 40th high school reunion will be next summer (or fall), and while I'll most likely be one of the fittest there, I'll probably be a long-LONG way from my high school weight.  Currently I'm an easy 50 pounds above the weight I was entering my Senior cross country season, and while I *may* be able to drop another 20 or 30 between now and then, getting below 160 will most likely happen only after I'm rotting in my grave.

 

Funny thing, I recently found my "utilities" from when I was hooked up with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children back in the mid to late 1970s; I'm the same height as back then, probably 25-30 pounds heavier, and yet I'm way-WAY bigger, for better or worse.  I tried putting on the top of my uniform and that was a non-starter, I probably wear a size 40 men's suit jacket these days, the size of my uniform top was either 34 or 36 (hard to read the label).  The pants to my uniform were a different matter entirely; hell, I don't ever remember having a waist smaller than 32", however, the tag on the pants to my utilities said 29".

 

Yeah, to be so young, small, and lithe.

I joined the US Coast Guard after high school, and wore a 28" waist in the seafarer style jeans they issued us.  I still have one pair of them packed away somewhere, but haven't tried them on - I was up to a 36" waist for while at my heaviest, but wear a 29" waist now, and don't think  I could quite fit into a 28 comfortably.

Oh, to be young again WITH what I know now. Without that caveat, I'd just live the same exact life, and make the same mistakes (which includes NOT running cross country in high school--almost did). When I turned fifty, I went through a period of nostalgia that I found disquieting. Perhaps, that was my mid-life crisis. Since, I avoid nostalgia, and keep moving forward, creating anew. The brain keeps getting freer, but the body not so. Weird reality we live in, isn't it?

Last night after work I got a second run in. Had two encounters with teens. First, was two kids on a dirt bike, who gave me high fives as they rode by. Second, was two punks in a Lexus SUV who slowed to say "wanna race?" and peeled off before I could answer. Wild guess as to which pair were probably on the xc team...