"FAST"-idious Genes

Friday, that is...yesterday, we went to a track meet for Teaghan. No, she's not in track, it's just a once a year track meet for 4th through 6th grades among the various schools in the area. They have the options to run the hurdles, the 400m, the mile, the 100m dash, etc. They can choose any and all if they want. Teaghan's team, put together by Kyla, ran the 440m relay. There was the four of them, and if you don't know what the relay is I'll refresh your memory: the one with the baton handoff. Ahh, now you remember. Teaghan was the second runner, and I have to say, we were somewhat surprised how fast she really was. She made up time, even being on the outside lane. She was really booking! All four girls did great, but the other teams were just faster. It was just fun to see them out there with some of the other kids from their school, and they all cheered each other on. Teaghan and her three other friends ran the the 100m, which is just basically a sprint. Teaghan has always been fairly fast, maybe not the fastest in her class, but within the top 5 definitely. However, as she has gotten older, the kids don't really race each other anymore, not like you do when you're 6 and 7, so we weren't really sure how she'd fare in the 100m since we hadn't seen her run in a while. I'll let you watch the video below to find out how she did.

On a side note, having spent 3 hours at the meet yesterday, it got me thinking about how quick I used to be. There was only 1 boy who could beat me in elementary school. His name was Jeremy Griggs. Gosh that boy was fast. It would just kill me that I couldn't beat him, especially when we were usually neck and neck. As I got older, I sort of forgot how fast I was, and really, racing didn't hold a stick next to the plethora of boys in Junior High that I had realized weren't all that icky. I had now officially moved past being a 'child.' (in my mind at least.) Then one day, when I was 16, well maybe 15...or 17, I can't quite remember, my parents and I were talking in the kitchen. I don't remember how the subject came up, but I recall my dad saying how fast he used to be in High School. Now, my dad is 5 foot 8 inches, very broad shouldered and a somewhat stocky fellow, but when he was in High school, he played sports and was in good shape, as you usually are when you're young. He told me of an incident involving another student who thought he could beat my dad. Keep in mind that most of the school knew my dad was fast, but apparently this guy didn't believe it, so he challenges my dad to a race. Dad accepts, and needless to say, Dad wins. "No big shock," says dad. At this point in his narrative the skepticism must have shown on my face because he said to me, "Let's go out to the street right now..you and me, and we'll race." Keep in mind that my dad, at this time, was in his mid 40's and wasn't exactly in the same shape as he was when he was younger. Plus, my dad is ALL torso. He has short legs. I, on the other hand, have long legs, thanks to my mother, and so I thought I had the advantage. In the usual, "I know everything" teenage bliss, I said, "game on!" We exited out the kitchen, went through the garage, and out to the street. I think at this time my mother tried to dissuade me. I thought she just wanted me to spare my father the embarrassment. I was SOOOOO wrong. She wanted to spare ME the embarrassment. We decided on a spot to race too, which was only two houses away, and we ran. I ran my guts out! And then I picked them up and ran some more! And he beat me. That's not even a good adjective. The man annhilated me! He just breezed past me like he was Zeus riding on a cloud.

I have never forgotten this. Even though I was taken down a notch, I couldn't help but admire the man, who at 45, could make a punk 16 year old eat dust. I don't think I was more proud of my dad than at that time.

Needless to say, I'm hoping the gene creeps up into one of my children's double helix. In particular, I think Andon might have inherited Grandpa's DNA. He looks more like my side of the family than Doug's, and I will be thrilled if he inherits Grandpa Lee's quickness. So far, three out of the four kids have exhibited some amount of quickness. Yes, maybe even Zak. Right now I'd say he's the quickest/slipperiest. Since he's a lot like Doug, and Doug ran track in High School, this logic sort of makes sense. So watch Teaghan and find out what place she took.

As you heard, she placed second! She did awesome and she was so proud of herself! She wants to race in Middle School as well, so it'll be interesting to see if she gets even better. Can't wait though! It's such a great feeling when your kids do something well and they feel that sense of achievement. We are so proud of her!