Run Like the Wind!

We've started a walking/running club during recess at school. This is quite comparable to the marathon challenge that I give to my students in the months of April and May each year: 131 laps around the playground (26.2 miles). The number of kids that walk/run each day continues to grow.

Today, I hauled two girls around with me who typically are stirring up trouble and talking about other people. They laughed as I hooked arms with them and drug them for the first part of the lap. They happily walked with me the rest of the way and picked up their pace when I told a group of other 5th graders who were becoming a mob on the track that if I beat them, they'd all owe me recess. =)  They picked up their pace, some holding up their pants as they ran, to complete before me. A few continued doing laps as I went on to interact with a few more kids on the course.

On my last lap, I caught up with two stellar running students. One student was in my class last year, and I consider him to be the PERFECT student: Always follows directions the first time, does his classwork and homework AND turns it in on time, has a great attitude no matter what we're doing, has a wonderful sense of humor, is kind and friends with everyone, and knows how to say things that make people feel better. Anyway, they saw me coming and I could feel a race coming on...

I booked it to catch up with them and then put my "I WILL beat these 5th graders" running legs on. I didn't run like the wind- I more so pounded like an elephant as I made my legs move faster than ever, determined to beat them. Each year my students say I'll never outrun them, and every year I feel the need to prove them wrong. I did not want this to be the year that I lost. I was pretty sure I made the mistake of running a much longer distance than I normally do, but I think that's what helped me in the long run... I felt my heart pounding, my lungs about to explode, but I worked my way past those two boys running for all they had and I won. I WON!

But then it took at least 30 minutes for me to regain my breath and start feeling normal again. I wonder if I'll be challenged to a race tomorrow...