A Passion for Running

So, I was talking whining about how tired I’ve been lately to Adeel. He responded with the following comment (which I love):

You should be feeling pretty tired right now if the race is four weeks away. A lot of people seem to think that the hardest part about running a marathon is gutting out the last 10k, and that all you have to do is get tough in that last 10k.

They’re wrong. It’s in the month before tapering when you crawl out the door to run when you’re already exhausted that your race is made. You’re making your race right now.

He could not have said it better.

It was warmer today than last Monday. It was also extremely windy – lots of gusts to contend with.

But, more than that, I knew it was going to be a hard run due to what my heart was doing. Despite starting out nice and slow and gradually, my heart rate climbed very quickly. Way too quickly. Hello again, Mr. Fatigue.

Pace, I knew early on, was slower than last week. And, by the two hour mark, my heart rate was climbing above target (150 to 160) at a slow pace.

The run was extremely difficult but it got done.

We endure pain in training so that the pain is less on race day. Or, at least, so we have experience handling pain on race day!

Time: 2:44:30
Distance: 19.4 miles
Pace: 8:28 min/mile
Average Heart Rate: 159

Seven days including one last long run and I begin the taper.

The numbers below show the improvement in my slow/easy pace over the last 10 months. Heart rate is included to really drive the point home.

Mid-November 2006: 9:30 minutes/mile @ 152 beats per minute (bpm)
July 16/07: 8:35 minutes/mile @ 153 bpm
August 19/07: 8:00 minutes/mile at 153 bpm

I wrote this on Saturday. Here is a video of me babbling about what’s written below (you’ll need the latest version of Apple’s Quicktime – a free download – to view it).
——-
I’ve got less than two weeks of hard training left before I taper. And, man-o-man, am I ever fighting off the fatigue. Pretty much every day for the last two weeks, I’ve been tired. And every day, I run despite the fatigue.

Many people – especially non-marathon runners – would really question the sanity of a person who continues to run every day despite being beyond tired. I’m sure this behaviour is exactly the kind of thing people point to as an example of the crazy, obsessed runner.

And I get that but, believe it or not, there is a method to the madness. In fact, there is some science behind it.

It is precisely when you push past fatigue where you stand to gain the most. By running through fatigue, your body is spurred into action by creating mitochondria. And more mitochondria means more in the tank for every run after that.
——-
Today (Sunday)

Running through the fatigue is definitely worth the discomfort. Today’s run…

Miles: 11.16
Time: 1:29:20
Pace: 8:00 minutes per mile
Avg Heart Rate: 153 (targeting 145 to 155)

The pace in and of itself is nothing remarkable. What is remarkable is the heart rate for that pace. It was not long ago when 153 beats per minute required me to run very, very slowly. Now, eight minutes per mile is an EASY run. A very easy run.

Two long runs and eight days of hard training before the taper begins. To say I’m looking forward to Regina Marathon is the understatement of the year.