The returning runner
Act 9 – Why race?
The screaming line of 17-year-olds flung around the shores of Lake Murray. Strung out, single file, they churned along in a tortuous line – alternating every minute or so to slow ever so slightly as the leader moved to the back of the line and the 2nd runner moved to the front. The insane idea being that you would get some slight recovery as you dropped to the back and then when it was your turn to be in front, that you would push the pace. They call this fartlek (a Swedish torture method which translates to speed play). I was dying. Last spot in the line felt all out. When I got to the front, rather than increasing the pace I actually slowed down – relishing the position that allowed me to control the pace and ease my convulsing breathing and screaming muscles. What never made sense was that within the line of boys who could torment me at fartlek, I could regularly beat most of them on race day. Apparently either they couldn’t focus as well on race day, or they were better at pushing themselves during training…
Anyhow, where am I going with this? Oh yeah, I’ve met runners who tell me that they just want to run for the rainbows, butterflies, fresh air, and maybe spotting an occasional unicorn. Hey, I love all that kinda stuff but there is a problem – you will never get to where you can relax and enjoy yourself during the “cruiser” training runs without pushing yourself at times. Say you’ve got two runners who each run 3 miles per day. Runner 1 cruises their 3 miles and every time the cruise is hard and not so fun. Runner 2 mixes is up with a day of hill repeats and one day when they push the 3 miles. Runner 2 can “crush” runner 1 if they do race, and when runner 2 does a cruise run it is fun and they do see a unicorn or two. So… you can’t improve by just doing the same thing – you’ve got to work in some harder or longer stuff. For me, pointing for a race helps me get there in two ways:
1. With a goal in mind, it makes it easier for me to stay motivated during training.
2. By frequently working in races, the races become part of your training – as I said I can be a bit of a wimp at training but find it easier to push myself during a race.
So… as I mentioned briefly in blog 4, start looking for 5k race options for a few months out. Later on we will talk about dialing things in with race prep and strategy.
Ferris Bueller: "You’re Not Dying. You Just Can’t Think of Anything Good To Do." – Ferris Bueller’s day off, 1986
(Now go out and think of something good to do)