Running and racing
Taking it down a notch
It’s almost the weekend before Thanksgiving, which means it’s marathon weekend in Philadelphia! Last year I had a great experience doing the full marathon, and this year I’ll be doing the half with some friends from Austin.
The group text with those friends has focused a lot in the past few weeks on how exactly we’ll be running the race. We’ve had a couple folks drop for various injuries and the rest of us have firmly established that we’ll be running, not racing, this half. Racing would mean being focused on speed and setting PRs. Running means a relaxed long run and chat.
I’m infamous in my running group for saying I’m not going to race, and then doing it anyways. It’s a hard mental switch for me to make. I’m no high performance runner, but when I do something, I want to do it well, no matter what domain of life we’re talking about. When I sign up for a race, it’s to run it to the best of my ability.
But this time I really don’t have the fitness to back it up. Running has taken a back seat this year to the whole moving across the country and starting a new business thing. Attempting to race this half would be uselessly painful and unpleasant, so an easy run it is.
This distinction, between going all in and taking it down a notch, is of course not limited to running. It’s something I think about every year at this time. With the holidays approaching, I stop trying to make regular social plans until the new year and focus on getting tactical work done, rather than strategic work. It’s as much a holiday tradition for me as watching the Nutcracker.
This down season gives me the energy to take on new goals in the new year. I’ve got the Broad Street 10 miler in my sights for spring racing and some exciting work projects in development. But for now, I’ll be on the couch with the cats.
Where might you want to take it down a notch this holiday season or beyond?
Enjoy the run, Jen!