Right now, speed is not everything
Watch out! There may be a lot of Chicago Marathon inspired posts this week! I will definitely post my race outfit and my bib number so you can watch for me or track me via text messaging.
Every once in awhile, I chat with another train passenger who gets off at the same stop as me. I’ll call him Bob. I’m not sure why Bob and I started chatting, but we found out we both run, so that is usually what we talk about.
On Wednesday Bob asked me if I have any races coming up. I told him I’m running Chicago in two weekends. I asked Bob if he done any races lately. Yes, he said, he ran a 5K in Palatine last weekend. I asked him how it went.
“I won.”
“What? You won the whole race”?
“Yes.”
Wow. His time was 18:39 (6:01 pace). He told me he was shooting for under 18:00. He seemed disappointed.
He asked me what my time goal is for Chicago.
“Uh… I just want to finish without any injuries,” I stuttered. “Under 5 hours would be nice though!”
Bob is so nice and encouraging. He knows about my stress fractures. He knows my running is not my best right now. But I still felt like saying it:
“It won’t be my best race. I am sure I will run a faster one in the future.”
Gah. He obviously is just excited that I am running again, and there I was, feeling like I needed to be running faster.
I am just happy to be running. At all.
And that conversation reminded me of it.
I might be “fast” someday again. I might not be. If I can still run, I will be happy.
To me, right now, speed is not everything.
What are your fitness and exercise goals? Speed? Endurance? Strength? Flexibility? Just doing it?
Themocracy
Hey Kim!
“To me, right now, speed is not everything.”
This is my mantra, too…. all the time. A Turtle Runner is happy to be out there, with plenty of endurance, just doing it!
I work really hard to overcome that need to explain sometimes… I think it’s tougher for non-turtle runners, because your expectations are different. 🙂
Counting down with you all the way from Orlando. Have a great weekend! We’re heading out to spectate the inaugural Disney Wine and Dine Half Mary tonight, with lots of runners (I suspect) whose speed won’t be everything either.
Oh, and Congratulations to Bob! 😉
*hugs* from Orlando!
I shouldn’t have felt like I needed to explain my “lack of speed” to Bob, because he’s so cool and understanding. It just came out. Came out of nowhere! I know a lot of people say that slower running is degrading running as a sport, but I have a lot of fun on my long slow runs 🙂
Have fun spectating at the race! I hope you take lots of pics to share with us!
*hugs*
My fitness goal is to just be able to run a 5K! I’m still working towards that goal. 🙂 And I’m also committed to running one 5K a month even if I can’t run the whole time. Knowing that I have a race coming up helps keep me motivated to keep running!
That is such a great goal! And 5Ks are a blast! Are there a lot in your area? I think I could totally do one a month here in Chicagoland if I wanted to. What program are you following to get to your 5K?
I’m just not fast and I never will be. That’s what I love about running, the fact that I only have to compete with myself. The funny think is the only time I ever placed in a race was a 5k when I was pregnant and reeeeeeealy slow. It was a small race and somehow I wound up 1st in my age group:)
thing, not think
You have a solid point. After being out of the game for two months and dealing with crutches and all that not even a year ago, I shouldn’t be so hard on myself with speed goals. But I am. It’s the competitor inside of me. Yet the only person I really compete against is myself…
Oh, the same thing totally happened to me last week at that 5K! And I was being competitive with others! But I’ve kept it really slow on all of my training runs… sometimes I have been okay with the pace and sometimes not 😉 I see my old times and want to beat them! But then I think about not being able to run… as you can tell, it’s all very back and forth for me! 🙂
With the marathon, finishing is my goal. Maybe after I’ve run 1 or 2 (you know, if I still want to ;)) that won’t be my goal but for now it definitely is. If I signed up for a 5k though and specifically trained for that for a couple of months I would definitely be going for speed :).
Wow, Bob is fast!
I hope that you finish Chicago AND most importantly, have a (mostly?) enjoyable time getting to the finish line! I think speed comes and goes, so it’s better to make different goals at different times. One of the managers of the running store has been nursing a pretty bad hamstring strain for awhile, and he’s “slow” now. However,I think he’s just happy to be back on the roads and can now work on getting faster again.
My goal is to get a little faster now, but I’m sure that will change in awhile.
What a great point – just go with your goal at the time. Speed for you right now (you totally have <2:00 in the bag for Indy) and staying injury-free for me. While it is frustrating to know I used to run faster, like your manager friend I am just happy to be on the roads again (being slow) 🙂
People say that slower running is degrading to the sport? Wow, that is really sad. Not a good way to encourage people to run more. 🙁
I’m glad you are grateful to be running! That’s a good mindset to be in!
There have been lots of opinionated articles about that in the NY Times, etc…. quite a few last year. It’s interesting to see how people respond to them 🙂
I’m pretty psyched that I’m running again, after 5+ years of not running except here and there. I just ran a 10k and my goal was to finish in 60 minutes. I know, 10-minute miles are very slow, but I still thought that just finishing would be a good way to celebrate a year since my ACL surgery. I totally surprised myself and ran it in 54.32. Yeah!!! Honestly, I’d like to just keep staying strong and to not suffer from injuries. That would make me happy!
So, I know what you are saying. Anyone coming off an injury probably has that hope in the back of his/her mind.
Good luck!
Ha. I would love to run a 10K in 60 mins! Congrats on surpassing your goal!
God, I hope I didn’t sound like an ass!
I am very impressed that you’ve been so determined to run a marathon despite a difficult training season. You go!
Oh no, you don’t! I am just saying you’re fast to me! 🙂
Thank you 🙂
I think it’s only natural to want to go fast…the whole point of running is to get somewhere quickly right? We learned how to run to catch our next meal, escape danger, etc. The only reason we’re here is because we learned how to run. Fast.
That being said though, take your time! I love that you have so much gratitude for your sport. Isn’t it great that a one-time survival technique is now a hobby, and most people don’t have to run unless they “want to”?
To answer your question, my only fitness goal right now is to get back into Yoga. It’s been an off and on thing for literally my entire life (my Dad was a yogi) but I’ve always had a hard time making it into a habit.
Bob sounds like my brother in law who has actually won a couple of races too – so amazing! My goal is to keep on running, avoid getting injured and hopefully improve my times as I go along. Maybe some day I’ll get to an age group where I might have a chance to win something (in my 80’s?), but if I don’t that’s okay too!
Mostly just doing it/fitness and exercise but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to lose speed. I’d love to be faster and to get PRs but I realize that as I get older it’s likely that I’ll get slower.
If your body is up for speed right now, I say “go for it!” 🙂
it is really funny how speed is SOOO relative. I totally get with being disappointed with an 18:40 if your goal was 18.
Don’t be disappointed or ashamed with yourself right now. Know that you’ve really overcome some pretty crazy obstacles and just getting to the starting line is a small victory in itself! Focus on the distance. Once you have that down, THEN focus on the speed.
Oh, I get it too. 40 seconds is HUGE in that short of a race!
And thanks for the supportive words. I live my speedy running vicariously through you anyway!
Ha, I’m with you, I’d just be happy to cross the finish line in one piece.
The fact that you are racing– though you know you will be able to run faster and stronger in the future– is amazing and a great example 🙂 So excited for you next weekend!
Oh I love this post!
Fast is totally not everything. It can sometimes be hard when reading blogs from all the fast runners, but the truth is, it is all relative to who you are and how you are running. I know for me, I am just happy to be running at all right now given what I have been through this year. Finishing 13.1 is going to be awesome no matter what!
You are going to be great!
Speed means a whole lot of nothing to me. Finishing does!
You have the rest of your life to work on speed….finishing strong (and like you said, without injury) is the goal! I am SO excited for you this weekend! I can’t believe it’s already here. I’m sending good thoughts your way, and I’ll definitely be anxiously awaiting your post-race post!
Thanks! I can’t wait to write it! 🙂