Running Notes

Category Running
While plodding today (er, um, running) I came to a realization. First however, I must explain. I am not fast. I don’t try to be fast. I don’t come anywhere near top placement in races for my gender and/or my age. Heck, 90 year olds can beat me. I’m not concerned with that. At most, I just try to beat my own time on a particular course or distance. Although that isn’t even a goal sometimes. Just last April I ran my second half marathon, my goal was not to beat my first half marathon, but to enjoy myself. So, you see, I am not fast. And I am okay with that, mostly.

A critical lesson I have learned about running, and well, almost anything in life, is that I can push through the pain. More accurately, I have learned this through running, but it’s applicable to other parts of life. I can do anything. A bad run for three miles? So what, I can withstand pain for 30 minutes. If I can withstand the pain of running for two-plus hours, I can withstand a lot.

But here’s what I realized today. “Push through the pain” for other people means Go Faster. Push through the pain and move faster. “Push through the pain” for me means Don’t Stop. A big difference. Don’t Stop works great for a half marathon, and I hope someday for a marathon, but it doesn’t do much to make me faster. I wonder if my definition of pushing through will ever change. Can I change from a “Don’t Stop” runner to a “Go Faster” runner? Do I want to?

Anyone out there ever a Don’t Stop runner that changed to a Go Faster runner? Or were you always one or the other?