Must Be in the Blood

Though he's only 13, I've taken my grandson to weekly PT with the Marine Corps recruiters and poolees on delayed entry.  The kid's been crushing it!

Last week we did an Indian run, with the added twist of a medicine ball.  The boy kept up and actually outperformed a good number of the poolees and other guests.  Yesterday, we did our monthly Initial Strength Test, which consists of each person doing a max set of pull-ups, a timed plank, and a 1.5 mile run.  The boy did 7 pull-ups, planked for the max time of 3:45, and ran the 1.5 miles in just over 10 minutes.  He outperformed poolees and other guests in every single event.

After we all finished our pull-ups, I asked the poolees to raise their hands if they did 10 or fewer pull-ups.  About half raised their hands, and I said "Congratulations, you just got beat by an old man."  I then asked the poolees to raise their hands if they did fewer than 7 pull-ups.  About a third kept their hands up.  To them, I continued with "Congratulations, you just got beat by an old man AND a thirteen year old boy."  When we finished the planks, the kids who hadn't maxed their time at 3:45 were standing in a group off to the side.  I looked over at them and said, "Congrats on getting out-planked by a 13 year old boy and an old man.  You suck!  Do better!"

I didn't do that for the run, though I should have.  The boy was one of the fastest ones there, finishing fourth, and I pulled out a personal best run time of 12:18, finishing faster than about 1/3 of the kids.  The recruiters seem to be enjoying the boy's presence.  I'm sure it is disheartening for these kids to get their asses kicked so mercilessly by the boy and me, and it should motivate them to do better.  Lord knows I'm proud of the boy.  It must be in the blood.