Natural Pacing

Time can be a runners best friend and enemy. Having the goal of a target finish time in a run or race provides the motivation you need, both at the beginning and when you're flagging. Another Marathon researcher, Richard Shipway, from Bournemouth University, is writing an ethnography of distance running for his PhD and has focused on runners obsession with the clock. Get talking to any semi-serious recreational runner and they'll go on at you about their times, Personal Bests, and how you might compare with them via the medium of hours, minutes and seconds. It can come across as one-upmanship on some peoples parts, a source of pride for others, and just plain tedious in some cases.

But it provides a measure for your progress, and as I'd advise anyone, don't let others intimidate you or make you feel inadequate, just because someone else might be faster in a race or at that point in their running journey. The point of taking times when you run is for you to see your progress. Its your journey, and damn the (predominantly) alpha males if they come across as cocky or arrogant.

In my research, I'm interested in the progression of runners development, from when they first start out as possibly nervous but inquisitive joggers, through to completing their first competitive race. Theres then another leap when people go about improving their performance, whether time based or in any other way (cadence, gait or breathing for instance). I'm sure I'd get picked up by physiologists on this point, but its my conjecture that it takes years for people to chip away at their personal bests, dependent of course on the amount of effort or bother people put in and the races they complete. With this in mind I took a run this morning to see what I comfortably run at. Sluggish as I was after a late finish yesterday, I ran my first mile by the watch and consciously did a 8 minute mile (to within a second). It felt alright and I felt up to speed. I then didn't check the watch for the next mile, but ran at what felt comfortable and in a steady rhythm. I eased off ever so slightly for 5 or so seconds, and hey presto, my next mile was completed in 16.03!! I tried to then do the same for the final mile home, but I am pretty confident in saying that it is almost impossible not to speed up when you know the finish is within sight. I did the last mile in 7:43.

My goal? Why am I doing this? I think for my next half and full marathon I don't want to be too much of a slave to the watch. It distracts your focus, but you need to know how you're making progress. My goal, is to be able to 'feel' a mile without having to really check the timepiece. I don't think I'm too far off knowing what that is but I'm going to practice. Give it a go. Sometimes runs get pretty tedious going round the same old routes and neighbourhoods. When you can let go and know you're on steady autopilot you can relax a bit more. And that is when running is most fun.