My Running Secret

I’m naturally a competitive person. As such, I don’t really like to share personal training secrets that might help the competition and level the playing field. But, in honor of Take It and Run Thursdays, I’m going to share with all my running fans the key to my running success. I came up with it last summer with the help of my running mentor. It took me some time to fully grasp the concept, but once I did and was able to apply it wholeheartedly, my performance on the road, especially in races, has grown in leaps and bounds. So you want in on my little secret? Okay, here it is, in exactly thirteen words:

The Secret to Running Success: Run Your Own Race and Know Your Limits.

Sounds simple enough, right? But what does it really mean? Like all great works of literature (okay, it’s a stretch…a BIG stretch, but I’m claiming poetic license here…), it is subject to personal interpretation. To me, it means trusting your running instincts, and letting them guide you in terms of how much to run, how long to run, and when to run. It also means not allowing some external force to lead you to run against yourself, and at the same time, setting personal boundaries and trusting them to keep a balanced life. I know I’m being somewhat abstract in my explanation, so I’ll give you a concrete example from my own running history so maybe you’ll all understand better what I mean.

Like most newbie marathoners, I used to live and die by my training plan. Before my first marathon and even a few half-marathons afterwards, I would spent an insane amount of time reading and researching every kind of training program and plan I could find. And after picking one (usually for some insignificant arbitrary reason), I’d stick to it like glue and would never allow myself deviate from it. If it called for a six mile run on Friday…I’d run exactly six miles. If it called for a long run on a day I was working late, well then I’d run outside at midnight. If it called for a seven miler followed by a five miler the following day, and I happened to be sick the first day, I’d invariably run 12 miles the next day just to make up the miles. I made it through the first marathon okay, but I really didn't enjoy the process of training. Every session felt like a chore that needed to be done. Boring! The next summer, when I decided to choose a tougher plan with a steep increment in mileage, life became even more miserable. I’d dread doing all those long miles and would be relieved when it was over. Eventually, I got so worn down by the grueling schedule, that I almost decided to quit the sport. That’s when my running mentor stepped in, took a listen to my crazy training plan and told me to stop the madness (yes, this was the beginning of running schizophrenia as you remembered it.)

Since then, I’ve learned to see a training plan not as some magic formula to instant running success, but as a general guide to good training. I’ve learned to use my own knowledge, my own experience, and cues from my body to tell me how long and how hard I should be running. If I feel sick or injured either physically or psychologically, I allow myself to miss one or two days without feeling guilty about it. Also, I have learned that I must set practical real-life limits on my running. Whether that is not drinking more than one beer the night before a race, or not running on mornings when I’m expected to round early on patients in the hospital, I know that I must abide by these rules to protect my passion and keep my sanity. I believe these self-imposed boundaries are what separates us from lower animals who do not have the capacity to control their urges or limit their aggression.

At the end of the day, we are all intelligent and creative individuals. How we choose to lead our personal lives and by extension, our running lives ought to be reflective of that fact. Isn’t that what running the good race is all about?

(Disclaimer: Disclosing my personal training secret fulfills my good deed quota for the year. Be appreciative, runners, but don’t tell me if by adopting this running mantra, you start training better than I do and ultimately beat me in a future race…)