High school is life school

It doesn't matter if they were the best years of your life or the worst. High school is at the core of who we are. The relationships and friendships made during those four years define how we behave today.

I was at the local high school today doing my speed workout on the track. Every time I step onto a track I flash back to my freshmen year in high school. Running was always something I was good at and it gave me confidence. It is the foundation of my athleticism.

Today, the end portion of my speed workout was 6x200+200R. Meaning I had to sprint 6 200m with a 200m recovery between each. I haven't sprint a 200 since I was 15! Talk about painful! I felt like I was trying to haul 400 lbs around the track. Involuntary moans and grunts expelled from me as I pushed through. Each rep. was harder than the last and recovery seemed shorter each time.

I timed my track workout just right, because as I finished a high school gym class was on its way out. As I watched the teenagers file onto the track in their various clicks and groups I was instantly taken back to my time in this world. The thing is, I felt like I was still living those days to some degree. I was able to observe these kids with a wise eye, but also felt no better or more evolved then they were. The insecurities, the awkward behavior, the feeling that this is your entire world and that nothing outside of it matters or really even exists.

On my way out I thanked the Coach for letting me use their track (I guess I have gained some manners if nothing else). The short exchange between he and I was taken into account as well. I guessed the coach to be around my age, it was then that I realized that I live in the coach's world and not the students. I felt more in tuned to the students, but the reality is that I was no longer one of them and the fact that I was now 'on the other side' seemed to sink in. I'm not old, but I am not a peer. I am somewhere in the world of limbo which appears to be full of hurdles. Good thing I was on a track! Time to brush up on my leg again.