Old?

When I first started working in education I worked with a 4th grade teacher who was most likely over 30 years my senior. She had experience and was my mentor. As a matter of fact and out of respect I would have never called her "old." One day, a student asked her a question, common to unflinchingly candid students of his ilk: "How old are you?" She returned with deadpan off-handedness that she was 100 years old. Most students took this in stride and either accepted it or ignored it. We moved on. Or so I thought. A few minutes later, the same kid's hand rose and you could see his seriousness painted on his face.
"Excuse me, Mrs. S . . ."
"Yes?"
"Um, I don't really think you're 100 years old."
"Oh? You don't?"
I thought he caught on that she was not that old and just had to call her on it.
"No, I don't. You see, my brother had you a few years ago, and he told me you said then that you were 100 years old..."
Ok, she was busted, right?
"...and that was 4 years ago, so that makes you at least ..."
Wrong. I almost snorted when I heard this. Good thing the teacher had a sense of humor.
Now yesterday, I was picking up my students up from recess and we got into a discussion about who was the fastest in the 5th grade and I added that it would be me if teachers were included. That was followed by a lot of laughter with many kids saying that it wouldn't even be a contest and that I should just be happy I could walk. Huh?
After some trash talking on both sides, when pressed as to why they thought they could beat me in a foot race, one boy expressed that it was because I was old and since he was young and full of energy that he could beat me with no problem. I asked all of the kids who thought that they could beat me in a race and almost all of them emphatically thought they could.
A few of them were quite sure of it.
Today, I raced this group of students and let's just say that it wasn't much of a contest.
And they are not calling me old anymore.