I've said this often before, but it bears repeating: 26.2 miles is a long way to run, no matter how fast you cover the distance.
At some point, you're going to ache.
At some point, you're going to ask yourself why you're doing this.
At some point, you're going to swear you'll stick to 5-K races in the future.
At some point, you're going to swear...!
Even when you're coasting along at more than a minute per mile slower than your typical "race pace," these emotions and feelings come and go.
Such is what happened during my pacing duties at last month's Adirondack Marathon. I was guiding a group of runners at this upstate-NY marathon to a 3:30 finish. It was a total blast. It's the sixth time I've run the race (my fastest finish was a 3:03). And, even though I'm "in shape," I struggled for short stretches--pains and negative self-talk creeped in.
I crossed the finish line with my watch reading 3:29:54--mission accomplished! But, I was left feeling that the effort doesn't bode well for the rest of the fall, which consists of a lot of miles in a very short time.
This past Sunday, I pedaled through the Pennsylvania countryside with my colleagues at Bicycling magazine--a sister title here at Rodale, the publisher of Runner's World. Their Fall Classic featured rides of 10, 25, 50, and 90 miles. I opted for the long course, of course. A word of warning: Do not do this is you're a crappy cyclist, such as I. And don't forget such advice and repeat the ride a second year in a row... Thirteen miles in, the air came out of my tire, but not my sails. I spun many solo miles over the course of the day, and came in well after the lead group had eaten, gone home, and showered, but I had a blast--most of the time. Even though it wasn't a race, I had ups and downs--apart from torturously hilly terrain. But I came out without any serious wounds and so felt that was a small victory.
I'm hopeful for the same in a little over a week when Runner's World hosts its second annual Half-Marathon and Festival. Last year, I raced the 5-K on Saturday morning and followed it up with a tempo effort at the 10-K an hour later (see the photo above; I’m in the red singlet in the center). The rest of the day was spent working the RW Shoe Lab booth at the expo. By the end of Sunday's 13.1-miler, which I paced the 1:40 group, I could barely walk. My hip was screaming with pain. So I took a few days off and ran the Marine Corps Marathon the following weekend. Ouch. RW's executive online producer, Robert Reese, and I ran the first 20 together at a good clip (7:20s) before speeding up to the finish--he faster than me.
That exact sequence of events will play itself out this month. You see, I'm just not smart. What is that quote attributed to Einstein? "Insanity is doing the same thing and hoping for different results"? Well, technically, I am going to do something different. I'll probably run slower at MCM. And... I'll also run the New York City Marathon the following weekend! Yes, if you're keeping score at home, that's three big weekends in a row.
To be honest, I'll keep the pace slow on everything except the Runner's World 5-K; I'm racing that one all-out. But the rest will be [airquote] easy [airquote]. (See the beginning of this post.) At some point during each run, I fully expect to hate myself and the decision to run each of these races. I also expect to have a total blast and slide into Thanksgiving ready to eat the entire spread!
So, if you see me out there on the course in Bethlehem or D.C., listing to one side and swearing, be gentle, please! I promise to be sporting a smile by the time we cross the finish line and hit the massage tent.
Shoes & Gear Runner's World, guiding the brand's shoes and gear coverage. A true shoe dog, he's spent more than a decade testing and reviewing shoes. In 2017, he ran in 285 different pairs of shoes, including a streak of 257 days wearing a different model.
