So maybe the key to the whole things is lack of sleep.
The KEY - we are all looking for the secret to our running successfully, the key to it all. Is it diet, sleep, training, shoes, gear, weather, certain courses, morning vs. night, lucky socks, a beard 0r mustache, not showering or showering the morning of a race, watching the right pump up movie the night before, not getting pumped up at all, music, no music, the right music - the list goes on and on and on. If you're a runner you know what I'm talking about.
And then sometimes to our ultimate surprise when all factors are against us we turn out some time or performance that should not have been - we feel better than expected and just run well. No way around it. Sometimes everything is done perfectly and we run as anything but perfect. So what is the key?
This weekend I ran a race after 2 hours of sleep, if you can call it that. My job lends itself to being crazy with high school kids every now and again, and though I tend to try to stay away from all-nighters for my own health and for the health of my marriage, you just "have to" as they say every so often.
But the 10k, which I am not in shape to run based on training or mindset, went surprisingly well. It was no PR and certainly nothing crazy, but my body should not be running 5:45 pace for 6 miles right now and be feeling easy - especially after 2 hours of sleep... or should it? Because it did!
I think those great runners out there are laughing at me. Maybe they have realized, and I've heard a lot of stories about Pre and others that would back this up, that when it comes to race time you just run. You leave the rest behind and all that matters is pushing yourself with everything you've got for the allotted distance. You run.
Maybe there is no secret. Even the secret of training hard to race hard betrays me and some other folks I have known. Maybe the elusive unicorn in the depths of the forest wants to be found and we just have to run to find it, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in or around. I am not sure but in spite of bad diet, the worst diet, the night before and no sleep here I have a good run... Thoughts?
I've had some of my best races after doing everything I could think of to spoil my odds.
ReplyDelete"When it comes to race time you just run" sums it up pretty well. I think that's part of what makes racing so much fun - it doesn't matter that you didn't sleep, got a C on that exam, were turned down for that job. You're just in the present & much of the time that's all you need. It's all very zen.