(photo credit: Jackisue/Flickr)
I love 5K races that do not involve waking up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday. This Memorial Day weekend, I had the exquisite opportunity to sleep in late yesterday (Saturday) morning. I also had the exquisite opportunity to have Friday off due to our Executive Director's decision a few months ago to add the Friday prior to Memorial Day as an official office closure day (thanks, Rich!!). I don't know why he did that, but this is one situation where the "why" is pretty insignificant.
When I planned tonight's blog, I planned to post my review of "You're Not the Boss of Me -- Brat-Proofing Your 4-12 Year Old Child" by Betsy Brown Braun. Since I am not done with the book, and my review can be posted as late as Tuesday, that idea got jettisoned. I have a commitment to blog weekly, though, and for me that is every Sunday night.
When I was listening to a RunRunLive podcast this week, the host (Chris Russell) conducted an interview with Erskien Lenier. At one point in the interview the two were discussing the condition in which runners cross the finish line. I think it was Chris who commented about how totally spent the elite runners look when they cross the line. Spent, as in at the point of collapse. The point was that these runners leave it all on the course. And he went on to ask of us listeners: how much are you holding back when you race? Are you leaving it all on the course? Is there something else you can pull out of your arsenal as the race elapses that can help you more effectively reach your goals?
Most of you know that my running-related goal is to run a 5K in less than 30:00. I started training for this in December 2008 and have felt somewhat "plateaued" over the past month or two. I have seen enough athletic training (including a zillion hours watching young gymnasts train when my daughter was a gymnast) to believe that an athlete should be exceeding in practice what they want to demonstrate in competition. So, since I have not broken 30:00 in my usual workout routines, it's not going to happen tomorrow night in Bainbridge.
BUT, what I can do is pledge to myself to leave a little more out there on the roads of Bainbridge. And I can tell all of you that that's my plan so that you can help hold me accountable!
I read a great quote that sums up my feelings about tomorrow night's race:
Every person's work...is always a portrait of that person. - Samuel Butler
The work I do tomorrow night in Bainbridge will hopefully convey a portrait of perseverance.
I'll drop in tomorrow night after the race and provide a follow-up comment.
Then I'll "run" into you all again on Tuesday, for my review of "You're Not the Boss of Me"!
2 comments:
Great post. I was recently wondering if I didn't hold back a bit at the end of my last marathon, as the amount of recovery time and soreness afterwards has been far less than in the past. Perhaps once I knew I'd meet my goal, I didn't push the last 3 miles as tough as I should have.
I think that not every race should be run leaving everything on the course; sometimes they do serve more of a training purpose. However, for your "A" race, you should definitely feel as if you've given your all. I need to keep that in mind on my next "A" race early next year. Thanks for the reminder!
So......I promised a follow up comment.
The ironic thing about all my big talk about leaving it all on the course in hopes of a better finish is that I FORGOT TO CLICK MY WATCH OFF WHEN I CROSSED THE FINISH LINE!!! But I followed up w/the course director and my time was 36:26. Good enough for 3rd in my age group (yep, small field but 3rd is 3rd!).
Other pluses: getting to see my new friend Kaycee finish her first 5K (she started WALKING 1 month ago) and get 3rd in her age group!
Seeing my son and his friend Alex compete in the fun run and come in as 1st (Alex) and 2nd (Wayne) boys!
I could almost feel the support of my followers and DM friends. Thanks to those of you who were thinking of me!
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