Funny story for you. I’ve been running and cycling for most of 40 years. This winter was my best run winter in probably four or five years and I’m probably faster than I have been in my 50s. So ten weeks ago, my 25 years old son tells me he wants to start running again to balance out his life. He’s working and going to school, married with one child. They live in my basement. He hasn’t run or trained since COVID killed his first (only) college season after one race. So he starts running 30 minutes a day 4 to 5 times a week. Maxed out at 4 hours a week and the last two weeks have been busy for him. Two or three times he ran a little uptempo with me and only the first time did he have issues. I coached him in high school so I have been really curious to see how long it is going to take him to pass me up this time around, so I ask him if he wants to run a 5K in the next town over. He arranged to get off work a little early and we drive down, warm up and do some strides. We see a couple dudes who do are doing strides way faster so we know we have our work cut out for us. Honestly, I did not think he was ready yet and I’m pretty confident. I’m running in some 1st gen Endorphin Pros and I loaned him a pair of old Asics Superblast that have 50 hours on them but are the best I can offer since he doesn’t have any of the new fast shoes.
Gun goes off and he takes off down the first downhill section among apple trees in blossom and I’m thinking 'what?", already? So I just sort of hang in and hope that he might fade a bit when we start going back uphill. We hit the low point and I’m still about two strides back, sucking air, still slightly disbelieving. The course was really rocky, uneven and poor footing so there is a lot of input going into my oxygen starved brain and I’m just hanging on. Right before two miles, we turn onto a section of paved road about 500 meters long and I think, “Ok, now or never.” I go to two-step breathing and he still looks as smooth as ever. At the next turn he had doubled the gap and now I’m hanging on. Into the last turn and we both surge a bit but he beats me by 8 seconds.
We knew there were two guys in front of us, so he knocks me off the podium. His wife sees the picture we send of him on the third step and me on the ground and says, “Well, he brought his own demise with him.” I really thought it would take longer, but apparently all he needed was ten weeks. The last time this happened–ten years ago–he was a sophomore in high school coming off of his XC season. I feel really blessed; my two older children ran in HS but stopped after and neither of them shared my obsession for multi-sport. I hope some of you have had the opportunity to race with and against your children. My son showed me again, he was a gamer. He never loved training like I did, but he was always a big-race performer and never let pressure phase him. Good times.