Cross Country

[slowspeedster]

Truth be told, if anyone had told him back home he'd be teaching people how to run, he would have laughed in their faces, but he had to admit his class seemed to be going well. The idea had started when Cissie asked for help surviving her Cardio class, but actually teaching was something he never thought he'd enjoy, let alone be good at. Now here

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[spirited_lissie]

Felicity was a runner. Even back home she was always told to 'run, not walk', and that was back when she had to wear stays. That was why she signed up for the class in the first place, because it sounded like fun and a nice alternative to the other PE classes she was taking that term.

That wasn't to say that the class wasn't a challenge: quite the contrary, the first week of class left her leg muscles sore for nearly a day, but atleast she could feel herself getting better.

The que to cool down still came at a relief, as Felicity could feel her legs siezing up as soon as she was allowed to stop. Inspite of having it in a ponytail, a few wisps of redhair seemed to stray all over the place, and it was a matter of going between stretching, and trying to re set it in it's hair tie.

[slowspeedster]

Bart watched Felicity as he did his own stretches. He needed it, even though he hadn't started to push his own limits. But the way she was moving said that she was possibly close to cramping, and that wasn't what this was about. Mr. Barnes had a class that pushed people to the limits of their endurance, and beyond, but that wasn't the point of running.

"You know, I did ask you to say something if you were starting to hurt," Bart said, smiling ruefully at himself. "You okay?"

[spirited_lissie]

She nodded. She did remember what he said at the start of class, but it was like last time: how was she to know if she'd get this sore.

"I'm fine, really I am." She said, easing out of a stretch. "Not nearly as sore as I was the first time around."

[slowspeedster]

"One of the leading causes of muscle cramps while exercising is dehydration," Bart commented, just as an aside. "As long as it's not a sharp pain or actual cramping up, you're fine. Do you run a lot?"

[spirited_lissie]

Felicity looked up. It was one of those facts that he told her, it should've made sense, but then it wasn't something she normally considered. Of course, she usually drank a lot of water after class, but maybe the soreness would lessen even more if she did so beforehand.

There was a canteen with some of her camping gear: she made a mental note to bring it with her next time.

She nodded, smiling. "As often as I can, just not as long a distance as we have done in class."

[slowspeedster]

Bart nodded, considering. "Like I said, we're not training for a marathon. I think it's more important around here to know how quickly you can cover ground and at what speed without wearing down. If you have time outside of class to run, it might not be a bad idea. Even if it's just a half mile or so. Not everyone is a freak like me who considers the hike from the compound to the fence-line a refreshing distance," he said, adding the last as a joke.

"What are your goals for running? Any milestones you'd like to achieve?"

[spirited_lissie]

Felicity laughed. "Of course I run after class.." She thought a moment. "Oh, you mean 'serious' running." Not like in a race or anything. "I could do that, easily."

She paused again, thinking. She'd just signed up for fun, not for any milestone achievements. "Not sure, I just signed up for fun."

[slowspeedster]

"Well, think about it, and when you decide where you want to go, we can talk about how to get there," Bart said with a low chuckle. "For now, I'm more interested in making sure you don't push too far too quickly. Since this is supposed to be fun."

[spirited_lissie]

She was smiling so much her face started to hurt, but there was nothing fake in the smile so she didn't care.

"Oh, it is fun." She laughed in return. "Oh, of course, and I do mean to let you know when I've gone to far-just sometimes I forget myself and do go too far without realizing it."

Until her muscles start protesting, but when did that stop her.

[slowspeedster]

"Don't chill the water," he said, remembering. "It's better not to shock your system with the cold. And we'll see how you feel with that. Not to mention maybe setting some goals for the term?"

[spirited_lissie]

Felicity shrugged.

"I wasn't really thinking on goals, I just wanted a.." She tried to think of the best way to describe. "Most of my classes are academic, so I usually go for two or three PE classes so, to use Jack's phrase 'my brain doesn't fry."

It helped that she usually enjoyed PE as well, they were fun and taught her things like how to do cartwheels, surfing and 'propper' racing.

That did bring on something. "I would like to try actually running a cross country race." That was a goal, wasn't it.

[slowspeedster]

"I think we might need a few more people involved for that," Bart said. "Watering stations and the like. In a real race, you don't want to risk the extra weight of a water bottle. A few more runners."

He'd certainly thought about it, but getting people to organize and arrange it, not to mention designing a trail, that would be trickier.

[spirited_lissie]

Felicity thought some more. "Why not, though. I mean there are emergency call stations about, why not watering stations. Even if there's no race, it'll be a relieve for those taking walks and not worry about their next water break."

She attempted to retie her hair. "There are 300 or so people on this island, surely there's enough to start a race."

[slowspeedster]

Bart looked at her fighting with her hair, and considered. "You might try a french braid. They tend to bind in the shorter bits a little better. Or so the girls always said," he mused aloud.

"And I suppose the real issue with that would be plumbing and filtration. Although I was just thinking of the people who hand out cups at the Boston Marathon and other events. Volunteer medics, the kind of thing you need for keeping people from getting too badly hurt if they overexert."

[spirited_lissie]

"I can't do a french braid without an extra set of hands." And she only had one. She settled with just redoing her ponytail: she wasn't entirely sure of a lad, even a teacher, touching her hair.

The next idea made more sense. "Aren't there people qualified for those sorts of things, maybe you could ask some of the medical staff. I read you could make cups out of hollowed out bamboo, and volunteers could simply sign up."

[slowspeedster]

"It's just the organization. I'm not really a huge planning type, that was always someone else's job. I can do the running because that's who and what I've been my whole life. And if I get stuck, I just remember what Max would do," Bart admitted. He didn't know the first thing about planning major events. Especially not a large-scale race.