Snapshot: 3/14/2020, Half Marathon 1:32:38
Well, unless you’ve been living on the moon you must be aware of the Covid-19 virus that is wreaking havoc across the globe. I imagine all of you have also been impacted by it in some way. Fortunately for me, the worst that I’ve had to deal with is simply some race cancellations, which, while being a disappointment, is hardly anything to whine about under the circumstances. I had been scheduled to run the Wendell Foster Half Marathon this past Saturday, but like most events it was postponed until the Fall. I have been training hard for the half marathon and I had planned on pushing for a PR effort at the race.
When I saw that it had been postponed, I was initially disappointed, but with schools closing, workplaces shutting down and people getting sick, I mean, a race getting postponed is a relatively minor affair. All the same, with no Covid-19 cases near me, I decided I wanted to go for a run and that I would push for a half marathon PR.
My friends in our local running group were all discussing various plans for the weekend and I mentioned that I wanted to go for a half marathon PR and got a lot of positive feedback from everyone. Seeing as I am the slowest person in the group, they all agreed to meet up with me and run it at my pace. I was absolutely thrilled, because two weeks earlier when I had set a PR at 1:35:19, I had been on my own and had struggled to finish strongly. The last mile and a half were a major chore and I barely made it standing upright. I knew having other people with me would be a major boost.
I had wanted to run the first two miles at about a 7:40 min/mile pace, but after the first mile we were moving along at 7:22 min/mile and mile two was no slower. After two miles, we dropped the pace down to about 7:10 min/mile and coasted at this pace for a while before creeping a little lower and a little lower each mile. At the 10 mile mark I realized that we had crept all the way down to the 6:55 range and we only went faster from there. Mile 13 came in around 6:45, and with a burst over the last tenth of a mile I came across the imaginary finish line at a new PR time of 1:32:38. I couldn’t believe it! I thought I would be lucky to beat my previous record and I ended up beating it by nearly 3 minutes! So what was different this time? How could I manage that? In a word; Friends.
Running with others is an absolute pleasure. I never could have run such a personally good time if I had been on my own. Two weeks earlier I was huffing and puffing and barely pulled it out even though I was on a similar course and had similar weather. This time, I felt like I was just gliding along. Being able to run with your friends is one of life’s simple pleasures and I credit them for helping push me to a new goal. Running on one’s own has its place, and it can be therapeutic to get lost in one’s own thoughts, but as much as possible I prefer to run with others and to learn from them and share stories with them. I’ve spent hours talking with fellow runners on an ultra marathon course and I’ve been encouraged and strengthened by total strangers. I’d like to think that I have helped people myself, but it seems like I take more than I give. And this past Saturday was no different.
I ran with 3 other friends from our group, all much more accomplished than myself, and I think what humbled me the most was their willingness to condescend to my level, to meet me where my limit was, and to spend their morning pushing me to a new goal. I loved that more than setting the PR and I am so proud to have such a great running group. I think this effort, more than anything else, taught me a lesson that I often forget; we may all run different paces, but running is, indeed, a team sport.
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