Now that I’ve been writing this column for a while, more people notice me out running, or so it seems. In addition to friendly greetings, I’ve also received advice on various topics including my running style, running clothes style (or lack thereof) and my demeanor. A few folks my age or so who have seen Joan Benoit Samuelson, the renown marathoner from Maine, run, or films of her running, say I’ve got a similar form. Since the great Mrs. Samuelson (who at 50, is in my age group) is still able to rip off a sub 2:50 marathon, any resemblance between us is at best, fleeting. Her coach once described Joan as “a bowling ball with legs,” so that must be the connection.
The comment I get most often, however, has naught to do with anything even remotely flattering. No, the most-oft heard remark is in the form of a question and runs something along these lines: “Say, you write that running column? In the Journal?” I nod. “So how come when I see you running you don’t look happy? In fact, some times, you’re frowning!”
While this is true, let me hasten to point out that if you, in your travels, see me out running, do at least say hello. Whenever I see another runner or walker on the streets or bike path, I try to smile and at least wave. I love running with other people. In the last marathon I ran, I met a dermatologist from Florida who ran with me for miles. We talked about running, of course, and many other things: books, work, children, travel, etc. Please don’t be put off if I happen to be frowning and feel free to join me if you’re out running when I am, even if only for a mile or two.
In checking with some of my running friends on the frowning issue, I learned that they too have heard something similar about themselves while running. It’s caused me to spend some time contemplating why we appear to be unhappy when involved in an activity we profess to enjoy. If it’s fun, we should be grinning, right? Or does running draw the masochists among us?
One of my other leisure time passions is reading. Rather than tunes, I often listen to audio books when I run. (Now, if I could find a book club that runs, that would be truly sweet.) When I’m sacked out in my favorite seat at home, cat on my lap and immersed in a book by a favorite author, or exciting new novelist, I’m wonderfully content. And I don’t think I’m frowning.
That comparison left me wondering (just for a moment) if I really do love running as much as I think I do. While reading is a pure pleasure, running presents its challenges. There are certain days when it takes discipline to suit up, tie on my shoes, and go out for a two-hour run. One Sunday in late December the flags around town—even the huge one at Perkins—were being blown straight out by strong winds. I found myself puttering around the house doing any number of tasks (even cleaning!) instead of heading out for my run. Eventually, I got out there, but it was a tough workout and I know I wasn’t smiling until I got home.
That last line is the key. To be good at running requires a commitment to run regularly. That takes more energy than reading, even if you factor in lighting a fire in the fireplace and brewing up a nice cup of tea to go along with the book. Getting to the end of a good book is nice. Getting home after a punishing run is way beyond nice, more like exhilarating.
To be good at running often requires scheduling some runs wherein you push yourself. Runners plan speed work, where we run shorter distances with sets of fast intervals, e.g., one day, I might run 6 half-miles at my race pace, with slower half-miles in between. While they don’t have to be, these runs can be accomplished on a track. They often feel like work, not play.
Other types of workouts include hill runs, which might just be a hilly course or running up and down the same hill, as with the intervals and tempo runs. Tempo runs call for a runner to warm up for about 15 minutes, then to run fairly hard for at least 20 minutes, followed by a cool-down for the last 15 minutes. “Fairly hard” is hard to define; I’d describe it as a slower pace than what you’d run in a race, but uncomfortable enough that you’d enjoy slowing down. The overall length of a tempo run depends on the distance for which you are training. There are other types of training runs, but along with long slow distance runs for half and full marathoners, these are usually thought of as being key.
What about your other hobbies? Are they pure pleasure, as reading is for me, or do you have one that causes you to frown? My college roommate was an excellent seamstress and loved to sew. I can still recall accompanying her to the fabric store, where I’d find a secluded corner and pull out my book until hours [so it seemed] later when she was finished shopping and we could go home.
As I think back, I remember hearing her in the next room when she was embarked upon a project, e.g., she made her dad a suit coat one spring. The sewing machine would whir for a bit, then stop. “Shoot!” she’d mutter. Then I’d hear the sound I recognized as her seam ripper being used in a vigorous fashion. You can be sure her brow was furrowed and her lips set in a determined line as the coat took shape. One day, I wandered over to her at her sewing table and asked her why she was doing this if it was so frustrating.
Her immediate response was that she wanted her dad to have a coat that would fit him really well and be what he really wanted. “But in general, why do you like sewing when it’s so hard?” I pressed. She thought for a little bit, then tried to explain. She talked about the feel of the fabric, the hum of the machine, the sense of creation in your hands and finally, the thrill of accomplishment when the piece is completed.
I’m not sure I fully grasped what she meant then, but I think I do now. Most of the time, I really do love running. There are days, however, when I’m working at it. Those are the days when you probably see me frowning, as well as paying more attention to my watch than to the scenery. The payoff comes at the end of a race that’s been run well, where I’ve maintained a steady pace, not hit “the wall,” and finished within my goal time.
We all have pastimes that are pleasurable and do not require much effort from us. Reading, watching TV, playing computer games: one of these must be on almost everyone’s list. These are fun, or perhaps even soothing after a hard day. Think about the other things you love to do that require a bit more effort: gardening, playing an instrument, making or refinishing a piece of furniture. Despite your skill at and enjoyment of these activities, I’ll wager that they cause you to frown at some point while you’re involved in them. If you reflect for just a while, you probably can articulate why you continue to pursue them, just as my roommate did about her sewing.
Despite the occasional discomfort, stubborn weed, intricate rhythm or knot in the wood, we persist. Perhaps “despite” is used here incorrectly. Is the underlying explanation that it is because of the hurdles faced and cleared that we feel so bound to our passions? A bit of adversity jumpstarts our adrenalin and engages our minds. As we work through the hard bit, we learn more about the subject at hand and improve our skill level. Conquering the tough conditions or solving the puzzle brings a surge of confidence and mastery.
The next time I’m torn between getting outside for a training run in winter weather and staying inside with my book, I’m going to try to remember writing this column. Then I’ll put down the book, layer on the running clothes and head on out, reminding myself to smile as I begin my warm-up. It may not last, but it will return when I complete my scheduled miles and am jotting them into my log. And you know, the book will be right where I left it.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
LOTS OF WAYS TO PR
Say the “word” pr (pronounced pee-are) and most people will probably think you are making some reference to public relations. PR firms endeavor to shine a flattering light on some person, entity, or idea. (An interesting aside: many attribute the origins of the notion of public relations to Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, who used his uncle’s theories on our unconscious minds and motivation to create the field of public relations.)
To runners, the word pr has a very different meaning. For us, pr means personal record. Almost all runners who race competitively keep track of their finishing times. A pr is your best time in a race. Since races come in all kinds of lengths, e.g., 400 meters, 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, marathons, ultras, etc., it is quite common for runners to have many prs.
Runners are a compulsive lot; our families could form support groups over living with us when we are not able to run due to injuries, work-related demands, or other impediments. We not only love running, we are entranced with the detailed recording of our daily runs and records. We delight in statistics and timing our runs, which explains those large watches we tend to wear, to keep track of our pace and laps and lots of other details. We squirrel away all this data in our logbooks; some runners have whole bookshelves full of their logs.
People who have been running for decades will often keep different sets of prs. If you were able to run a 15 minute 5K in your youth, you might start keeping track of your “Master’s (age 40+) prs” in order to give yourself a realistic time goal for improvement.
Courses differ markedly, which adds an important dimension to this pr recording. I ran one 10K in April of 2007 in 45:43, then another in August in just over 43 minutes. That’s over a 2 minute difference in a 6.2 mile race. Was I that improved or was it the course? While I’d love to claim the former, I have to report it was the course, as the August race was on the Mickelson Trail and predominately downhill.
There are myriad ways to subdivide one’s prs. One of the ways I review my past races and prs includes the significance of altitude. I ran a marathon in 4 hours, 18 minutes in June of last year, then another in 3 hours, 25 minutes just 3 months later. It wasn’t because I’d improved that much, nor was it the actual physical lay-out of the course, but rather due to geography. The first was in Estes Park, Colorado, at an average elevation of 7785 feet (the high point on the course is at 8150) and the September one was in Indiana, at under 1000 feet. Consequently, the 3:30 I ran in Denver in October is in my mind a more estimable achievement than the 3:25 in Indiana.
December is the time of year when runners assess the goals they set for themselves and start thinking about new ones for next year. Some of us set annual mileage goals, another form of pr. I will miss mine; I usually run 2,000 miles a year. I retreated to the elliptical on several occasions this year when I felt I was courting an injury and I don’t count that in my mileage totals. Since my first goal is always to stay healthy and injury free, I don’t mind missing the mileage mark as I did run and finish all the races I started. (Well, I don’t mind too much; but I’m still setting a 2,000 goal for 2008!)
While this is the season for reviewing the past year, most of us also dream of setting a new pr in at least a couple of distances, and start looking ahead to which races will be target races. One way to keep your training fresh is to pick several races over the course of a year in which you aim to improve your pr. Not every race we run is an all-out effort. Runners training for a marathon and following a 12 or 16 week training schedule will usually try to work in some 10Ks and a half-marathon or two within that training schedule. They may not run those races as hard as they are able because they are saving their focus and strength for the goal marathon.
Our running magazines print long lists of upcoming races in the January issues, and there are big shiny adverts about various races tempting to us to select them for our upcoming year’s running schedule. Articles promising new training plans to help you achieve your pr abound. The spring shoe preview appears, complete with new innovations sure to cut seconds--or even minutes!--off your old prs.
If you are a gardener, or have ever lived with a gardener, then you know how December brings the big and bright seed catalogues to the mailbox. Plans for expanding the garden, or trying heirloom plants are dinner table topics. This is comparable to how it is for runners, especially those of us in colder climes. Since storms and freezing temperatures tend to curtail at least some of our daily runs, planning for the year ahead provides an outlet for our pent-up energy. In our imaginations, we are fleet and strong and effortless.
Curled up on your sofa with an afghan and cat snuggled by your side, it is oh so easy to be enticed by photos of runners clad in shorts and sleeveless tops or halters, running past leafy green trees and lawns (Run Buffalo!) or along Lake Superior in June as colorful balloons dot the sky (Run Grandma’s Marathon!) or through Churchill Downs in April (Run the Kentucky Derby Festival!). “Fast, flat, and scenic!” many of the ads promise. Ah, how can you not succumb? Indeed, there is a fairly steady market in a certain racing t-shirt that has this observation blazoned across the back: “18 weeks ago, this seemed like a good idea!”
Whatever your goals are for the year ahead, I want to suggest adding another kind of pr to your list. I am using pr here to mean “personal responsibility.” As runners, we benefit from the efforts of all those people who volunteer at races to make them possible. There wouldn’t be a race without the Race Director, the people at the aid stations, the people at the start and finish lines, the people handling pre and race day registration, traffic control, medical services and awards, and that’s not a complete list (someone has to coordinate the porta-potties, too). When you make that list of the races you’ll be running, and the prs you will be seeking, why not add at least one in which you’ll volunteer? That’s a gift you give that has a real ripple effect, benefiting not just your fellow runners, but also the community.
Another way of thinking about a personal responsibility pr is to look for races that benefit a cause you can feel good about supporting. Here in Rapid City, Wellspring, an organization that provides many valuable services to children and adolescents, holds a 10K at the end of April, called the “Wellspring Stampede.” To learn more about Wellspring, go to www.wellspringrc.org. CASA, the Court Appointed Special Advocate program (citizen advocates for children caught up in the court system) in Spearfish sponsors a half marathon in mid summer. To volunteer for the 22nd Annual Half Marathon and 5K Walk, call the CASA office at 722-4558. More details may be available at www.nhcasa.com. Even if you are not a runner, you can volunteer to help out at a race.
There are races across the country if you are a traveling runner. The Dallas White Rock Marathon benefits Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, a pediatric center that treats orthopedic conditions and dyslexia in children; the St. Jude Memphis Marathon benefits the St. Jude Children’s Hospital. In Dallas, the police officers providing traffic control for the race give up their pay in order to allow for more funds to go to the center. Those are just two of many.
Whether or not you improve your pr (personal record) next year depends upon a host of factors; how well you train, remaining healthy, picking the right races, the weather and at least a little bit of luck. The beautiful aspect of the pr (personal responsibility) goal I’ve set forth here is that it is a sure thing. You will not need to look too far to find a race director who will greet you with open arms and a job assignment (and maybe even a volunteer’s race t-shirt). In doing so, you will help others, feel good about yourself, and you just might contribute some good pr (public relations) to our sport along the way.
To runners, the word pr has a very different meaning. For us, pr means personal record. Almost all runners who race competitively keep track of their finishing times. A pr is your best time in a race. Since races come in all kinds of lengths, e.g., 400 meters, 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, marathons, ultras, etc., it is quite common for runners to have many prs.
Runners are a compulsive lot; our families could form support groups over living with us when we are not able to run due to injuries, work-related demands, or other impediments. We not only love running, we are entranced with the detailed recording of our daily runs and records. We delight in statistics and timing our runs, which explains those large watches we tend to wear, to keep track of our pace and laps and lots of other details. We squirrel away all this data in our logbooks; some runners have whole bookshelves full of their logs.
People who have been running for decades will often keep different sets of prs. If you were able to run a 15 minute 5K in your youth, you might start keeping track of your “Master’s (age 40+) prs” in order to give yourself a realistic time goal for improvement.
Courses differ markedly, which adds an important dimension to this pr recording. I ran one 10K in April of 2007 in 45:43, then another in August in just over 43 minutes. That’s over a 2 minute difference in a 6.2 mile race. Was I that improved or was it the course? While I’d love to claim the former, I have to report it was the course, as the August race was on the Mickelson Trail and predominately downhill.
There are myriad ways to subdivide one’s prs. One of the ways I review my past races and prs includes the significance of altitude. I ran a marathon in 4 hours, 18 minutes in June of last year, then another in 3 hours, 25 minutes just 3 months later. It wasn’t because I’d improved that much, nor was it the actual physical lay-out of the course, but rather due to geography. The first was in Estes Park, Colorado, at an average elevation of 7785 feet (the high point on the course is at 8150) and the September one was in Indiana, at under 1000 feet. Consequently, the 3:30 I ran in Denver in October is in my mind a more estimable achievement than the 3:25 in Indiana.
December is the time of year when runners assess the goals they set for themselves and start thinking about new ones for next year. Some of us set annual mileage goals, another form of pr. I will miss mine; I usually run 2,000 miles a year. I retreated to the elliptical on several occasions this year when I felt I was courting an injury and I don’t count that in my mileage totals. Since my first goal is always to stay healthy and injury free, I don’t mind missing the mileage mark as I did run and finish all the races I started. (Well, I don’t mind too much; but I’m still setting a 2,000 goal for 2008!)
While this is the season for reviewing the past year, most of us also dream of setting a new pr in at least a couple of distances, and start looking ahead to which races will be target races. One way to keep your training fresh is to pick several races over the course of a year in which you aim to improve your pr. Not every race we run is an all-out effort. Runners training for a marathon and following a 12 or 16 week training schedule will usually try to work in some 10Ks and a half-marathon or two within that training schedule. They may not run those races as hard as they are able because they are saving their focus and strength for the goal marathon.
Our running magazines print long lists of upcoming races in the January issues, and there are big shiny adverts about various races tempting to us to select them for our upcoming year’s running schedule. Articles promising new training plans to help you achieve your pr abound. The spring shoe preview appears, complete with new innovations sure to cut seconds--or even minutes!--off your old prs.
If you are a gardener, or have ever lived with a gardener, then you know how December brings the big and bright seed catalogues to the mailbox. Plans for expanding the garden, or trying heirloom plants are dinner table topics. This is comparable to how it is for runners, especially those of us in colder climes. Since storms and freezing temperatures tend to curtail at least some of our daily runs, planning for the year ahead provides an outlet for our pent-up energy. In our imaginations, we are fleet and strong and effortless.
Curled up on your sofa with an afghan and cat snuggled by your side, it is oh so easy to be enticed by photos of runners clad in shorts and sleeveless tops or halters, running past leafy green trees and lawns (Run Buffalo!) or along Lake Superior in June as colorful balloons dot the sky (Run Grandma’s Marathon!) or through Churchill Downs in April (Run the Kentucky Derby Festival!). “Fast, flat, and scenic!” many of the ads promise. Ah, how can you not succumb? Indeed, there is a fairly steady market in a certain racing t-shirt that has this observation blazoned across the back: “18 weeks ago, this seemed like a good idea!”
Whatever your goals are for the year ahead, I want to suggest adding another kind of pr to your list. I am using pr here to mean “personal responsibility.” As runners, we benefit from the efforts of all those people who volunteer at races to make them possible. There wouldn’t be a race without the Race Director, the people at the aid stations, the people at the start and finish lines, the people handling pre and race day registration, traffic control, medical services and awards, and that’s not a complete list (someone has to coordinate the porta-potties, too). When you make that list of the races you’ll be running, and the prs you will be seeking, why not add at least one in which you’ll volunteer? That’s a gift you give that has a real ripple effect, benefiting not just your fellow runners, but also the community.
Another way of thinking about a personal responsibility pr is to look for races that benefit a cause you can feel good about supporting. Here in Rapid City, Wellspring, an organization that provides many valuable services to children and adolescents, holds a 10K at the end of April, called the “Wellspring Stampede.” To learn more about Wellspring, go to www.wellspringrc.org. CASA, the Court Appointed Special Advocate program (citizen advocates for children caught up in the court system) in Spearfish sponsors a half marathon in mid summer. To volunteer for the 22nd Annual Half Marathon and 5K Walk, call the CASA office at 722-4558. More details may be available at www.nhcasa.com. Even if you are not a runner, you can volunteer to help out at a race.
There are races across the country if you are a traveling runner. The Dallas White Rock Marathon benefits Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, a pediatric center that treats orthopedic conditions and dyslexia in children; the St. Jude Memphis Marathon benefits the St. Jude Children’s Hospital. In Dallas, the police officers providing traffic control for the race give up their pay in order to allow for more funds to go to the center. Those are just two of many.
Whether or not you improve your pr (personal record) next year depends upon a host of factors; how well you train, remaining healthy, picking the right races, the weather and at least a little bit of luck. The beautiful aspect of the pr (personal responsibility) goal I’ve set forth here is that it is a sure thing. You will not need to look too far to find a race director who will greet you with open arms and a job assignment (and maybe even a volunteer’s race t-shirt). In doing so, you will help others, feel good about yourself, and you just might contribute some good pr (public relations) to our sport along the way.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
FIND YOUR DISTANCE
My early running days were not spent on a track or trails, but instead between the bases. I love baseball. In order not to get picked last on the Detroit sandlots of my youth, I had to develop some basic skills. Given my body type and lack of pitching ability, the remaining strategy was learn to field, bunt, and run fast.
While I went on to develop an appreciation for other sports, I remain a diehard baseball fan. My team for nearly the last 40 years has been the Boston Red Sox. Currently, the Sox have a young relief pitcher, Jonathan Papelbon. Considered a “closer,” Papelbon spends most games out in the bullpen. He’s called upon in the last inning of the game to come in and retire the side, saving the win for the team and the pitcher who started the game.
Last year was his first full year in the majors and he was brilliant in the role as saver. Still, that wasn’t the plan. He’d spent 3 years in the minors under the assumption he’d be a starter. Accordingly, he was slotted for a spot in the ’07 starting rotation this year in spring training. He was working every few days as a starter and things were looking good. Except for one thing. To Papelbon, it felt all wrong. He described it as “dying a slow death.”
Before the start of the 2007 season, Papelbon and the Sox announced he’d be returning to his role as the closer. A lot of people were startled, shocked even. Starting pitchers are in many ways the prima donas, the stars of the show. Relievers, even the best of the closers, have it tough. They often come into a game in a pressure-packed situation and need to get three outs without allowing a run. There isn’t a lot of room for error.
Papelbon doesn’t make many. He just became only the fourth player in major league history to save 30 games in his first two full seasons. “It just feels right,'' he’s been quoted as saying. "Me closing games, it feels like a good marriage. Like maybe I was made for this role.''
That’s how I feel about running the marathon distance. It suits me. I don’t like 5Ks or 10Ks . I run them but they’re just too fast. In a marathon, I get to chat with other runners for the first 10 miles or so. It’s a standard piece of advice to run a marathon as if it is really 3 races: the first 10 miles, the second 10 miles, and then the last 6. If you leave it all on the road in the first 10 or even 15 miles, you are almost certain to limp in that last 10K.
Right now, it seems that marathons (26.2 miles) are a popular distance. People who keep “life lists,” i.e., goals they want to achieve over time or in the next 5 or 10 years often seem to have “run a marathon” on that list. That’s fine if it’s just the marathon experience you’re after, or perhaps the finisher’s medal to hang on your wall.
If you want to develop your running into a rewarding lifetime habit, however, it would make more sense to take the time to figure out what distance is right for you. Some people just want to run for health or for enjoyment and never consider competing in organized events. If you are in that group, you’ve probably already marked out a route or routes in your neighborhood, or have your treadmill routine that you follow.
If you compete or want to compete at organized runs, there are a number of distances available, from a mile to a half-marathon to an ultra marathon. Some common ultra distances are 50K, 50 miles or 100 miles. (A “K” is a kilometer, and .62 miles, so a 10K is 6.2 miles, a 5K 3.1) Ultras are often run on trails and at a slower pace, which makes sense due to the greater endurance necessary to complete them. There’s no reason to chase after running marathons if you are happier running long trail runs, developing your technical running skills. Perhaps you are intrigued at working out a 10K strategy that allows you to hold back something and pass people in the last mile as your turn up the speed.
Experiment with a distance you haven’t yet tried. If it is longer than your usual, do by all means get a reliable training schedule and follow it. Next to wearing cheap, worn out or ill-fitting shoes, increasing your speed and/or your distance too quickly is the best method known for injuring yourself. You need to do so gradually, and never increase both in the same week.
Here’s what I mean. You are trying to increase your speed, so you start running 3 miles with a partner 2 days a week who is a little faster than you. Don’t decide in those initial weeks of running faster to also up your normal weekly mileage from 10 miles to 15. You should wait to add total mileage until you’re cruising along with your fast friend at the faster pace, or take a rain check during the week you add on some miles. Even then, do that gradually too; going from 10 to 12 miles would be smarter than from 10 to 15.
Once you find a distance that feels right and is fun for you, see if there are races around you could enter. You can start your own life list. Maybe instead of running one marathon, you’d like to run one 5K race a month some year. Another standard running rule is take a day off from hard running for every mile in a race. If you run a 5K all out at the top of your speed, you should rest or just run easy for 3 days following the race. Clearly, one advantage of shorter distances is that your recovery time is lots shorter and you are ready to race again!
You may have heard of the “50 Staters,” a group of marathoners who strive to run a marathon in every state (and D.C. too). If that’s not for you, make your goal running half marathons (13.1 miles) in 13 states (by the way, please do not refer to that race distance as a “half-mary”—this is akin to wearing the shirt you get for running a race as you run the race. No-no-no. Wear the shirt only after you have finished the race.)
Just keep running. An open mind is useful, too as the distance that suited you when you were in high school may have changed. When you find the one that fits, that feels “like a good marriage,” you’ll know. That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t run other distances. Most runners do enjoy competing in runs of different lengths and of course we all run varying distances from day to day on our training runs. Choose your distance by what feels right from within, not by what the latest fashion or fad seems to be. Run for a lifetime by finding your distance.
While I went on to develop an appreciation for other sports, I remain a diehard baseball fan. My team for nearly the last 40 years has been the Boston Red Sox. Currently, the Sox have a young relief pitcher, Jonathan Papelbon. Considered a “closer,” Papelbon spends most games out in the bullpen. He’s called upon in the last inning of the game to come in and retire the side, saving the win for the team and the pitcher who started the game.
Last year was his first full year in the majors and he was brilliant in the role as saver. Still, that wasn’t the plan. He’d spent 3 years in the minors under the assumption he’d be a starter. Accordingly, he was slotted for a spot in the ’07 starting rotation this year in spring training. He was working every few days as a starter and things were looking good. Except for one thing. To Papelbon, it felt all wrong. He described it as “dying a slow death.”
Before the start of the 2007 season, Papelbon and the Sox announced he’d be returning to his role as the closer. A lot of people were startled, shocked even. Starting pitchers are in many ways the prima donas, the stars of the show. Relievers, even the best of the closers, have it tough. They often come into a game in a pressure-packed situation and need to get three outs without allowing a run. There isn’t a lot of room for error.
Papelbon doesn’t make many. He just became only the fourth player in major league history to save 30 games in his first two full seasons. “It just feels right,'' he’s been quoted as saying. "Me closing games, it feels like a good marriage. Like maybe I was made for this role.''
That’s how I feel about running the marathon distance. It suits me. I don’t like 5Ks or 10Ks . I run them but they’re just too fast. In a marathon, I get to chat with other runners for the first 10 miles or so. It’s a standard piece of advice to run a marathon as if it is really 3 races: the first 10 miles, the second 10 miles, and then the last 6. If you leave it all on the road in the first 10 or even 15 miles, you are almost certain to limp in that last 10K.
Right now, it seems that marathons (26.2 miles) are a popular distance. People who keep “life lists,” i.e., goals they want to achieve over time or in the next 5 or 10 years often seem to have “run a marathon” on that list. That’s fine if it’s just the marathon experience you’re after, or perhaps the finisher’s medal to hang on your wall.
If you want to develop your running into a rewarding lifetime habit, however, it would make more sense to take the time to figure out what distance is right for you. Some people just want to run for health or for enjoyment and never consider competing in organized events. If you are in that group, you’ve probably already marked out a route or routes in your neighborhood, or have your treadmill routine that you follow.
If you compete or want to compete at organized runs, there are a number of distances available, from a mile to a half-marathon to an ultra marathon. Some common ultra distances are 50K, 50 miles or 100 miles. (A “K” is a kilometer, and .62 miles, so a 10K is 6.2 miles, a 5K 3.1) Ultras are often run on trails and at a slower pace, which makes sense due to the greater endurance necessary to complete them. There’s no reason to chase after running marathons if you are happier running long trail runs, developing your technical running skills. Perhaps you are intrigued at working out a 10K strategy that allows you to hold back something and pass people in the last mile as your turn up the speed.
Experiment with a distance you haven’t yet tried. If it is longer than your usual, do by all means get a reliable training schedule and follow it. Next to wearing cheap, worn out or ill-fitting shoes, increasing your speed and/or your distance too quickly is the best method known for injuring yourself. You need to do so gradually, and never increase both in the same week.
Here’s what I mean. You are trying to increase your speed, so you start running 3 miles with a partner 2 days a week who is a little faster than you. Don’t decide in those initial weeks of running faster to also up your normal weekly mileage from 10 miles to 15. You should wait to add total mileage until you’re cruising along with your fast friend at the faster pace, or take a rain check during the week you add on some miles. Even then, do that gradually too; going from 10 to 12 miles would be smarter than from 10 to 15.
Once you find a distance that feels right and is fun for you, see if there are races around you could enter. You can start your own life list. Maybe instead of running one marathon, you’d like to run one 5K race a month some year. Another standard running rule is take a day off from hard running for every mile in a race. If you run a 5K all out at the top of your speed, you should rest or just run easy for 3 days following the race. Clearly, one advantage of shorter distances is that your recovery time is lots shorter and you are ready to race again!
You may have heard of the “50 Staters,” a group of marathoners who strive to run a marathon in every state (and D.C. too). If that’s not for you, make your goal running half marathons (13.1 miles) in 13 states (by the way, please do not refer to that race distance as a “half-mary”—this is akin to wearing the shirt you get for running a race as you run the race. No-no-no. Wear the shirt only after you have finished the race.)
Just keep running. An open mind is useful, too as the distance that suited you when you were in high school may have changed. When you find the one that fits, that feels “like a good marriage,” you’ll know. That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t run other distances. Most runners do enjoy competing in runs of different lengths and of course we all run varying distances from day to day on our training runs. Choose your distance by what feels right from within, not by what the latest fashion or fad seems to be. Run for a lifetime by finding your distance.
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