If I were a boy...

I think I could understand How it feels to love a girl.... Just kidding, but I am actually wondering about what life would be like as a boy. I'm not talking about wearing cargo shorts, roughhousing with friends, or even experiencing locker room shenanigans-- even as a girl I have experienced all that. No, what I'm curious about is how being a boy would affect my speed. We ran on the track this afternoon. Every time we have a track workout the boys team seems to be right there, up close and personal, watching and critiquing us as we run lap after lap. Running on the hot track my hair is always a mess, I'm covered by a sheen of perspiration, and I tend to grimace during intervals. This was no exception. Today's workout consisted of a continuous procession of a 1200 (decreasing in pace), then a tempo run for about 1.25 miles, held at the pace of the last portion of the 1200, then another 1200, which got progressively faster. It's an endurance session that I personally love, but it wreaks havoc on my already less than glamorous appearance. To make matters worse, part of the boys team was sharing the track with us, though thankfully not the distance team. After our workout, Molly commented on how we hate when the boys watch us work out but they enjoy it when we see them. For Molly, this isn't a big issue-- she's a 5:11 miler who can run as fast as many of the boys. But for many of us, as my other friend Halle pointed out, working out in front of physically superior boys is just humiliating. Though some of the anxiety stems from appearance, much of it, for me personally, revolves around feeling slow in comparison. The slower boys can still run as fast as I can. This makes me feel inadequate no matter how I try to spin it. The frustrating part is that I am at a natural disadvantage when comparing myself to boys; all girls are. We are composed of more fat than boys, have less testosterone, and, to put it bluntly, we have child bearing hips. I try to remember this when I start to measure myself against boys, but it isn't always easy. To give you an idea of the true difference between boys' and girls' natural ability, I found a conversion factor. Supposedly boys are 12% faster than girls of comparable ability. Thus, to figure out a comparable boys time for a given girls time, divide by 1.12. This is not completely accurate, but it is interesting. It helps give a little perspective when finishing the sentence, "if I were a boy...". In addition, I would like to comment that I believe in a girl's ability as much as a boy's. We are mentally strong and amazingly dedicated, and the girls on my teams have proven that time and time again. So while it is an interesting question, my personal opinion is that I'm proud and content to be a girl, whatever the disadvantages.