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| Me out for a group jog last August (2cnd from right) |
On
Monday I went on a ten kilometre run. After about two weeks of doing only seven
kilometre runs at slow pace (plus quite a lot of Parkour), I decided to take
the start of my run pretty easy so that I didn’t run out of steam before the
end. I did a bit of stretching, then walked for five minutes to get my limbs
going. I had just stepped out onto the starting path of my run when the timer
indicated that it was time to go! So I set off at my planned plodding pace, on
a mostly flat but very slightly downhill path. After a couple of minutes I
spied a swishing ponytail in the distance that indicated a fellow female
runner, and I decided that I would keep this pace, her just in the distance, as
a marker to ensure that I didn’t accidentally speed up. Except that didn’t
quite happen. Concentrating on my breathing, I glanced ahead again to discover
I had halved the distance between us.
Shit on it!
I
didn’t think I had sped up! I tried pulling back, but she came nearer and
nearer. Her movements looked like fast, active running, and I was bewildered as
to how I was accidentally catching her up! I started running on the balls of my
feet, pretty much on the spot. Still, before long I passed her, and she was
watching my back disappearing. I’m so
annoyed at myself! Pace control is an important skill for any runner, and I
just had an epic fail.
Looking
back over my Nike Plus, I first commented on my inability to consciously regulate
my pace in August 2012. In August and September my fastest running pace was
7.24 min/mile, and my average was just over 8 min/mile. The jump was huge, just
three months after I started running at 11.49 min/mile. As my pace increased,
so too did the negativity of my training run comments. “Quite lethargic” said
one, and even “What’s wrong with me?” I took on board the link between the
increase and how I was beginning to feel during the runs. I know that
increasing mileage by too much too quickly can lead to overtraining effects
such as an increased risk of injury. So surely it was the same with pace of
runs? I eased back to 8.40 min/mile, and as I began to train Parkour more
regularly, 9 min/mile. Until I had accidentally upped my pace and couldn’t
correct it, I thought I was spinning along at a nice, medium and most
importantly, controlled pace.
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| Pacing back in August |
All this
thinking about pace took me back to when I was travelling to a race in Mid
March, and my, let’s say sedate looking, taxi driver told me that any runner of
value was doing at least 8.30 min/mile. Needless to say I took the utterance
with a little pinch of salt, but his attitude definitely reflects that of many
people – that a faster running pace should be more important than pace control
or indeed your enjoyment of the run.
But,
I wonder, am I immune to this kind of pace snobbery? Didn’t I in fact feel a
tiny bit of one-upmanship as I passed the other runner on the trail? Well,
maybe a little. Since my pace revelation began in August last year, I very
rarely run faster than anyone else out on the trails. I almost couldn’t believe
that I had passed her even though I was trying my hardest not to, and it did
make me a little proud of myself despite the lack of pace control it
demonstrated. This feeling also manifested itself when I saw a post on social
media recently in which a runner with only one mile to go was told “Only
another ten minutes.”, and they replied “Maybe on a bike!” I thought to myself:
What pace are they running that they
think a ten minute mile is only possible on a bike??
Then
I have to catch myself, for it is the same mentality that leads people to
mindlessly chase personal bests with no thought as to whether they are enjoying
themselves, or even as to whether pounding out these 5 min/mile or 6 min/mile
paces are even benefitting their health anymore. I wonder if people driven by
this obsession are looking at me, judging me for plodding along ever so slowly
in comparison to them, rather than examining their own running habits. I am determined
that the feeling of running, the freedom and the fitness, should always
overcome any arbitrary factors that anyone may judge my or their running by.
I am
feeling quite pleased at this conclusion as I reach the end of the first path.
I did a few loops around hilly woodland before beginning to run back along to
my starting point. Joining back with the main path, I was astounded to see the
other runner only just entering the woodland area. We passed each other with a
nod and a smile.
Blimey! I
thought. How slow was she running??
Oh
bugger. I think the pace bug bit me. I never said my philosophy was perfect.
Flatt7, slowcoach extraordinaire.
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