Thursday, April 20, 2006
Believe It If You Need It
I've been getting the urge for running fast lately. It's partly the weather and partly my shape, but I need to resist this urge. Everyone seems to want to add speed to their running, and like everything else that "everyone" does, I want little part in it. Speed is like that hot chick you see in the mall as a kid. You may flirt with her a bit, but you won't keep her. There's always someone better than you.
I remember in high school I had this great period in which I was unbeaten in final kicks. I could actually state that I had never been outkicked in a duel. What a concept, to be undefeated in a head-to-head showdown. Everyone likes to do well in a final kick. It means points, but more importantly, it's pride. Everyone's watching.
Then I lost. By a longshot. It was the end of some crappy race -- maybe an 800 -- and some bigger guy started to kick against me at about 100 to go. Just blew me away. He had a whole other gear to go to. I had my foot on the floor and the engine was just making noise. Undefeated no longer.
But that kind of thing is so false. It took me until college to realize what kind of runner I could be and to learn the value in racing a whole race, not just a decent race with a fancy finish.
So, onto more miles and miles. And I'll leave the speedwork to the cocky guys who spend all their pre-race time flexing their abs and jabbering about racing flats.
I remember in high school I had this great period in which I was unbeaten in final kicks. I could actually state that I had never been outkicked in a duel. What a concept, to be undefeated in a head-to-head showdown. Everyone likes to do well in a final kick. It means points, but more importantly, it's pride. Everyone's watching.
Then I lost. By a longshot. It was the end of some crappy race -- maybe an 800 -- and some bigger guy started to kick against me at about 100 to go. Just blew me away. He had a whole other gear to go to. I had my foot on the floor and the engine was just making noise. Undefeated no longer.
But that kind of thing is so false. It took me until college to realize what kind of runner I could be and to learn the value in racing a whole race, not just a decent race with a fancy finish.
So, onto more miles and miles. And I'll leave the speedwork to the cocky guys who spend all their pre-race time flexing their abs and jabbering about racing flats.
