“Why don’t you do the half-marathon?” I asked her.
My friend had just asked me if I thought she could race a marathon off the couch in 4 weeks.
Could she have finished the marathon? Sure. She’s fit, and has run several marathons before. But, WHY? Ramping up to a marathon in 4 weeks would be a harsh, brutal effort, and then the race would be miserable, from lack of preparation. This got me thinking about the difference in emphasis of training versus racing, and the holiness we place on distance.
I think these two factors are negatively affecting the average athlete’s long term health and performance.
First, what is racing? Is it the only thing that matters? If you could have a great race without training, would you? At every point in my life, I’ve been taught that process is more important than product. And I think in our athletic culture, we lose that ideal. We focus far too much on idolizing a racing distance (26.2 miles, 100 miles, 140.6 miles), instead of idolizing the training. As a result, we train less, race slower, and are injured more often.
I’m reminded of a story I read about Lauren Fleshman (US National 5000 meters champ in 2006 and 2010, 14:58 5000 meters best) on a flight back to the US after a track meet in Australia. She saw the man next to her reading a running magazine and struck up a conversation with him. After a minute or two, the man asked what she had raced lately, and she said, humbly, that she’d flown to Australia for a 5K. The man responded with something along the lines of “Oh, don’t worry, honey, I’m sure you’ll get up to marathon level soon.” And, sadly, I think that’s a common response. Where are we, as an athletic culture, that the gut reaction is that a marathon is “better” just because it’s longer? I guarantee that Lauren runs more miles, makes more sacrifices, and is more focused on life choices than 99% of marathon finishers. I would argue that it is those choices that are the noblest part of our athletic strivings. It doesn’t matter how far you are racing, or at what speed. It is the CHOICES that you make day to day that impress me as a coach, and as an athlete.
As we roll into another summer, some of you are gearing up for a racing season, and some of you are taking some time off before ramping up your off-season preparation. I would encourage you to think about what it is that you hold dear about your sport. Is it the distance? Is the race your highest ideal? Or is it the process, the day-to-day highs, lows, failures, and successes. I would posit that placing a higher value on the long term process and the day-to-day choices will leave you happier, healthier, and ironically, a whole lot faster on race day. Embrace the grind my friends.
