Blessed or Cursed with Speed

As a long distance runner with a busy professional life, I tend to do most of my training by myself. This is fine by me as I can run according to my own schedule, my own pace, for as long or short as I want. Almost by necessity, I am very cognizant of my own effort, my own speed, my own progression as a runner but somewhat clueless as to how it relates in comparison to others. I am part of a running club, the NY Flyers, but they serve more of a social function in my running life than as a source of competition. I participate in road races, but more to provide an objective measure of assessment for myself than as a tool to rate against others. For what good is it to me, if I'm top 1% vs the bottom 1% if I know nothing and have no business, and don't run with any of them? I much rather race the clock and chase PRs. That way, I can interpret my race times as it relates to me, and I can modify my training or alter my goals based on them. In the end, am I not a better judge of me than some ranking based on assumptions about others?

Maybe I'm naive, but I've always assumed that others follow a similar path. Even beyond the obvious, "speed is relative"; we all experience the same joy when we crush a PR, the same pain when we hit the wall, the same sorrow when we come close but fall short at a goal, and the same happiness when others achieve success in their events. So why does it matter so much who's a fast runner and who's not? Does the person who runs a 5 hour first marathon not deserving of the same applause and accolades as a 3 hour tenth marathoner? Who's to judge anyway?

I have been left to ponder the consequence and randomness of speed ever since one of my friends told me the other day that many, many members of my running club secretly admire my running and that some are even intimidated by my speed. He threw out some names and explained that people generally don't look for me to run with because they respect my speed and, in a sense, fear it. This is a complete shock to me on many levels. First of all, many of these people are my friends and no one previously has ever mentioned this little known fact to me before. Secondly, who the heck should care about how fast I run except me? Yes I may be blessed with God-given talent that may make me a little faster than the average human being but I train and run and struggle and hurt and race just like everyone else. From my vantage point, there are people in front of me, and there are people in back of me. We're all trying to get to the same place as fast as our legs will carry us. I might get there a little sooner or a little later, but eventually, you'll get there too! And if you struggle, I will do all I can to help just like I assume those in front will help me too! Admiration? Intimidation? How does any of that figure into the equation when all of us are traveling the same direction and sharing the same roads? Thirdly, since when has it been considered a bad thing to run with someone who's a little faster? Anyone who's ever been in training for any sport knows you don't get better by training with those who are at the same level as you, you get better by training with those who are bigger, faster, and more experienced. So by the same token, runners should look for opportunities to run with faster folk. Just by virtue of hanging with them, learning from their experience, and running with them, you're most definitely going to run faster and race better too!

I'm been told on many occasions that I can be humble to a fault, and many people have tried on numerous occasions to convince me that I'm incredibly gifted, talented and fast. With all due respect though, my mind is incapable of comprehending those terms because to acknowledge those qualities means that by extension, I must think you are less gifted, less talented, and slow, and I don't judge by those criteria. Sorry! Instead, I would like others to regard my speed (for those who think I'm fast) as a possibility for them. I want to inspire people to view speed not as a dichotomy (fast and slow) but as a continuum bounded by nothing but your own imagination, dedication, and hard work. Heck, I didn't start out running 6 minute miles either!

For whatever the reasons may be, no matter how much I want to be in denial about this, I know now that I'm generally well-respected in my local running scene and in the virtual community for running prowess. In so much as I'm viewed as a source of knowledge (both running and non-running), I want to help others achieve better results, better health and a better overall life for themselves and for their friends and families. In the end, that's what motivates me to train hard, to be faster and get better each and every day. I so much rather be respected and congratulated for that than for some arbitrary time on a race clock at the finish line.

To improves the lives of those around me, physically and virtually, that's why I run.

(I wish you all a happy weekend! It's very frigid temps for much of the country so stay warm wherever you may be running. I have a big announcement to make on Monday so come back then and don't let me catch you napping! Haha! Repeat after me: Spring will be here soon...)

The NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon Pace Report

(Sorry for the tardiness of this post...my professional duties have been keeping me far too busy to attend to this blog earlier in the week!)

So this is my pace report for the half marathon I ran on Sunday. If you came here looking for a race report, please read Brandon's version of things from a racer's perspective. As this is the first race I've ever paced, my point of view will be slightly different...

If there is one thing I took away from this pacing exercise, it would be that in order to be an effective pacer, one much detach oneself from the race experience as much as possible. Like the backstage manager of a Broadway play or the offensive center of a championship football team, one must learn to be in control of the situation, understand every emotion and execute the game plan while remaining anonymous and out-of-sight. After all, it is not a race for the pacer and it would be counterproductive for him to regard it as such. Rather, it is his responsibility to establish and maintain a specified pace regardless of any external or environmental factors. And though I knew this going in, and even actually stuffed a post-it note with the words "PACE NOT RACE" into my racing tights, I still found it extremely difficult to suppress the racing instinct once the gun went off. It's like that old adage that says "You can take the runner out of the race but you can NEVER take the race out of the runner."

I met my crew of 3 a little before the race start and jogged over to the start. Since the runners who were running with me were a mix of blue and red bibs, we situated ourselves in the middle of the red corral and waited for the race start. The sky was damp and cloudy but not in the slightest bit cold. I debated wearing two top layers for this race but decided to go with one when it was revealed to me that it would be approaching 40F before race's end. I felt perfectly comfortable waiting there with my bandana, gloves, my Philadelphia Half Marathon technical top and running tights although I wondered silently whether shorts might have been more appropriate given these fair weather conditions.

Once the horn sounded, we waited for about 20-30 seconds before following the crowd to start our race. I told my crew that we were not going to waste energy bobbling and weaving. Instead we ran slowly and conservatively and saved our energy for Cat Hill in mile 2. At the halfway point of the first mile, I lost one of my runners who decided to run ahead to attempt a PR. During the last portion of Cat Hill, I lost my second runner who stopped off a bit before to run with his brother who he found on the course. This left Brandon and I for the full duration. After settling for a slow 7:56 in mile 1, we got things back on track in mile 2, running a 7:18.

The next several miles were uneventful as I kept a conservative pace for Brandon to follow. We sped down the downhills and climbed up Harlem Hill without much difficulty. I noticed we were passing people on all the uphills which was encouraging. At the bottom of the West Side, after one full loop has been completed, we gradually picked up the pace. By mile 8, after another Cat Hill was tamed, we ran a 7:15 perfect mile and was on par for a sub 1:35 finish. Unfortunately, Harlem Hill came soon after and shattered my dreams of going 1:34. My mate came so close to losing it after battling the hill that he tasted a bit of his impending vomitus in the back of his mouth. Although I couldn't see his face as I was in front, I could tell from his heavy breaths and shortened stride that he was indeed tiring. For the rest of the race, I did the best I could and encouraged him to push the pace as much as possible - 5K to go, 2 miles, than 1 mile to go. We were able to pass some, but many others ran past us in that last half to quarter mile. Eventually, the finish came, and we sprinted as best we could toward the finish. Once over the line, Brandon lost his balance and slumped onto me. He gave his full effort and finished a hilly half marathon in 1:35:20 (7:16) for a 9 minute PR! Woohoo!

In retrospect, I am glad I was able to help out a friend and secure an epic half marathon PR for him. Not only was it so much fun, I also learned many valuable lessons that would help me pace better races in the future. I've already decided I'm going to pace 1:30 for a half-marathon over the summer. Then who knows, maybe a 3:10 for a full marathon in late fall or early spring? As long as it fits into my training schedule, I'm more than willing to help out fellow runners to have better results in their races.

What about you guys? Have you ever paced others for a race, or have used a pacer yourself? What was your experience like? What qualities of a pacer are most important to you?

A Prelude to Pacing

As a member of the global running community, I'm always fascinated in the myriad of ways by which our presence as individuals and as a whole enrich the lives and experiences of those within and outside that community. Some of us run races to raise money for charity. Others take on loftier challenges and bigger goals to bring attention and raise awareness for public health concerns (See Sara Stanley in RunRideInspire Project). Still others write blogs, engage in twitter, and produce podcasts that educate and inspire their audience with stories from their own adventures on the road. Heck, even the lonely runner who does none of these things but only complains to his non-running buddies about his ITB acting up in the middle of a weekend long run is contributing to the community by advocating for our sport and engaging others in a conversation about health and exercise. What a wonderful feeling it is to know that no matter who we are, no matter what we do, or who we know, as long as we're consistently getting out there, day after day, running, biking, swimming and staying active, we are all doing our part collectively and sharing our passion for everyone in our communities, our cities and our country to lead healthier lives.

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I am heading into the city to participate in the NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon. For me as well as for a lot of the local runners I'm sure, it will be our first road race of the new decade. The excitement and energy for this 13.1 mile race through two loops of Central Park has been palpable on blogs, twitter, and facebook for the past few days. The race has been sold out for weeks and during my visit to the NYRR headquarters for bib and t-shirt pickup on the first day of registration, I overhead a conversation between the volunteers that they had to call in extra help because there wasn't enough manpower to handle the crowds at the t-shirt station. Wow!

Personally, when I was putting together my race calendar for the first half of the year, I never envisioned that I'd be running this race. It's still early in my marathon training cycle, I'm still building up my mileage slowly, and I'm nowhere near my tip-top racing shape. But when my friend Brandon asked me to consider pacing him for his PR attempt in this race a few weeks back, I did not have to waste much time coming up with a response. Unbeknownst to him, he inadvertently created the perfect scenario for me to participate, run, but not race this race! Not only will I be completing my scheduled long run for that week at a 7:15 pace that is perfectly comfortable for me, I also get to run in scenic Central Park, help out a friend, hang out with other Flyers and friends who I haven't seen in many months and develop my skills as a consistent race pacer! (I have serious aspirations of being a BQ pacer in a marathon later this year or the next, but that's another story for another day...) Since the inception of this idea, we've invited several other twitter friends to join us and our impromptu 1:35 pace team for the race tomorrow. I am absolutely thrilled, extremely excited but a little nervous at the same time. The Central Park course, as anyone who's ever run there knows, is extremely technical. There are so many hills, big and small, that to maintain the same pace throughout will be difficult to do. I will do my best to maintain a consistent effort and avoid having to speed up or slow down too much at the end. I sincerely hope I do a good job and everyone who runs with me will have a pleasant experience.

Best of luck to those racing this weekend, both here in the city and elsewhere! Let's all get out there and inspire!