I stood at the starting line of my local Thanksgiving 5K and took a good look around. With just minutes to go before the start of the race, I noticed runners stretching, jumping around and readying their watches. In that very moment, I transcended into that void between my ears, investigating old photoshopped moments in my brain of races past. I'm not talking ultra-marathons.. I'm talking 5K's, 10K's... marathons. I'm not about to get into the debate of ultra-runners vs. road runners. I could fill this blog for months with mindless banter about the subject. But I do want to hone in on just a few observations I've had over the years and to issue a challenge to you for 2010.
Why wear the watch? Maybe it's something that I just don't get. If so be it, thats fine. But really.. why the watch? In ultra's, you're typically on your feet for an amount of time too long to really care about what time it is. From time to time, I might ask for the time of day to simply plan when I want to eat lunch. At home I eat lunch at Noon and dinner around 5 or 6. In an ultra... I try to keep to those times. I don't really change anything from my regular day to day habits for a race. Time... what is time? Perhaps I'm racing the clock... "What time is it?" "2am" "Hmm... 2 hours to go before the sub 24 cut off.. I better move." And that is what I do..
But in your local road race.. these people stand on the starting line with their fingers on their watches. Someone yells go, they strut a few steps ahead and as soon as their feet hit that starting line, you can hear the echo of a collective "Beep." Off they go.. they look ahead and watch the road, they look down and eye ball their watch.. "Oh Shit! I'm 3 seconds off... better pick it up!" And then their feet hit the pavement a bit faster.. the constant up and down of their heads literally shakes their brains from it's skeletal hold. At mile 1.. a digital clock displays their pace... "8:01" "::Gasp:: I'm a second behind!" Oh brother... why have the watch when you have this digital clock? The clock re-appears at miles 2 and 3.. in marathons you might seem them at 3, 6, 13, 16 and 20... why do you need to watch? Who the hell are you racing? These runners are so obsessed by the time that they forget that they are sharing the road, the trail or an experience with a few hundred others runners... making the event not so much social as it could be and more rather self indulgent..
Recently, my friend and I were out for a run. We'll leave parties nameless for this.. but he told me of a time he ran with an acquaintance of ours. The run was typical of a runner who upholds that typical road runner mentality. (Refer to the White Rabbit above). The runner talks of his most recent times, "Dude.. I ran that 5L the other day at 6:56 pace..." As if we give a crap.. good for you pal... good for you. And yet as this runner can bang out a 5K in under 20 minutes... he is somehow falling behind on a 10 mile runner with an endurance guru. No kidding... different muscle sets! The fast 5K runner uses more fast twitch muscles, while the ultra/endurance runner uses slow twitch. Yet.. he continues with his myriad of memorized times.. and then he begins to trail off on the run to the point that he feels an apology is warranted. "Man.. I'm sorry I'm so slow.." And then.. my friend tells me his response. "you don't get it do you?" "Who cares how long it takes you man.. it's not about that. Just enjoy the run.. the journey."
Ah... the journey... imagine for a moment you arrive at a race.. your local 5K and NO ONE is wearing a watch. There are no clocks on the course... it's just runners... legs... feet... earth. You all keep your head up, your wrists down.. and you run. You smile.. you talk.. you engage in moments of human interaction outside of your bubble of unnecessary competitiveness. Ya.. I own a watch.. and I almost never wear it in a race. My watch doubles as a GPS unit.. I run with it to help me find my way back.. because my runs are long. I use it to tell me how far I ran today.. so I can record the miles in my log. But do I use it to look at my pace? To see how long it took me? Yeah.. at the end.. and usually I give a chuckle. Because it's not about the time... it's not about the damn time.
And as an aside, a few months ago I did watch a video of The Western States 100.. and I've seen it myself. The ultra-runner come across the finish line, and the first thing he does before placing his hands on his knees.. is push that button on his watch. After 100 miles... some how.. for whatever reason time matters. But how bout that journey? Another ultra runner posted on his face book that he ran a few 800's and 400's.. I don't even know what an 800 or a 400 is... or how it makes you a better 100 mile runner. To me.. what makes you a better runner is running more.. running longer.. and running as part of your journey within.
A Challenge
My challenge to all of you this Christmas Season is to take the "watch" off of your running Christmas List and put the word "Journey" in there instead. Ask for some time to embark on a journey. A journey where time does not matter.. take a day.. and just run. Run for the sheer joy of it.. run because it makes you happy. Run because it makes you healthy.. Run to simply smile, to be and to be a part OF something with others. I challenge you to leave the watch off in 2010. Leave it at home, after all... time is something that was made up. It does not exist.. it is nothing.. No body REALLY cares what time it was when you crossed that finish line. Chances are they are only asking you "How did ya do?" to compare their time to yours. Ever notice how quick they are to tell you how much faster they were? And they play it off like it's "no big deal." Think about it for a minute.. got it? Who ares how long it took you... this is why I LOVE Ultra-running.. when you tell someone where you ran last.. if they ask at all.. it's one of the last questions and its a simple "How'd ya do?" I did great, I had an amazing adventure.. and I got a great finishers award.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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Nice post SJ. I wear my cheap Timex to let me know when to down a gel, but I'm far too slow to worry about splits!
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand your points, it was a decade spent racing on the roads that prepared me physically to move up to ultras. Nowadays, people just skip the build-up in the sport of running or triathlon - they go straight from the couch to a 100 or to an Ironman.
I feel that I learned a lot about myself in those road racing days, certain parts of the training still help when getting ready for ultras, and the watch and HRM were part of getting as fit as possible. Without a watch, I wouldn't have broken 18 in the 5K; I needed to see where I was to help me push at the right time. The watch helped me keep my pace steady for my sub-3 marathon. Those might be meaningless goals to you, but I think they helped me learn how to hurt, which has helped immensely in ultras. Of course, these days, I'm an injured, sort-of runner, so what do I know.
Well...it's all relative. Ultrarunners are not so concerned with the seconds or minutes, but they are concerned with hours (ie. cutoffs and sub 24 hours etc). If you love to run 400, 800, 5K, 10K, then seconds and minutes matter to you (or not). The clock matters to most of us (even you!!) because we are competitors, whether we are running against the guy next to us or are trying for a personal best. The journey is more important to me as well, but I have goals too.
ReplyDeleteJohn, You say time doesn't matter but every one of your Ultra's lists the finishing time. Apparently time DOES matter :-)
ReplyDeleteDon't knock people because they wear a watch, it is a race after all and time does matter (for most). Whether you run against others, yourself or for a cause doesn't matter much to me. To each their own.
Now if you want to criticize runners for wearing a camelpack or fuelbelt in a 5k, well I'm right there with ya!
Yup... I post the finishing time.. and I have no problem deleting them all just the same. The only time I care about are the ones where I need to run Sub 24 for a nice buckle... and even then.. I leave the damn watch at home.
ReplyDeleteSteve... if it was really a RACE... more people would concentrate on catching and passing other runners as opposed to looking at a watch. I mean.. are they racing people? or numbers?
Accept the challenge or don't... I guarantee you your runs will be different without your care for "time"
SJ, great post. Blogs should be opinionated and sometimes polarizing. That's what makes them interesting. Less we not forget that time and space are inexorably linked. Our position in the universe is defined by both. Interest in 'time' is encoded in our carbon. I don't race many 5-10k on the road any longer, but I don't begrudge those do. We are all, in fact, searching for the same thing...a expression of self through the physicality of human performance. With or without a watch.
ReplyDeleteNovel idea.
ReplyDeleteWe all run for different reasons and in my case racing gives my running purpose so personally I care about my time. I also care about the time of the other M50 runners at the race. That's why it's called a race.
So taking the watch idea to the next step why not just save all the entry fees, drive to the trailhead or road of our choice, and have at it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI like your style... tis why I ran across New Hampshire (Twice) for shits and giggles... just say when and I'm there!
ReplyDeleteA smart post, I'm right with you on the concept of time. I sometimes wore a watch for track workouts to time 400/800's, but when it broke I didn't bother buying a new one.
ReplyDeleteMore important than finishing time is the effort put into a race. If I give 100% effort, I feel satisfied, regardless of time or place. This can be extended to the dreaded DNF - if I give full effort, but an injury or illness prevents me from finishing, I still feel the race is a success.
Goal wise, what is smarter, to allow the achievement of a goal to be determined by external circumstances (e.g., goal is to beat runner X, therefore accomplishing goal is partially in the hands of runner X. No matter how hard I train, I may never beat runner X because he is genetically more gifted than me. Thus I will always be thwarted in reaching the goal, through no fault of my own, other than the stupidity of creating such a goal), or to create a goal wholly within my means to accomplish (e.g., goal is to try my best to beat runner X. No longer does runner X have the power to thwart my goal. If I train hard, and give a 100% effort throughout the entire process, then regardless of whether I beat runner X, the goal has been accomplished)?
As in most things, balance is the smart way to go. Sometimes it is fun to see if I can break a certain time in a race, so on that day time does play a role. Other days I realize the folly of always running against the clock, so I instead run by feel and let time land where it may.
Does the clock/watch exist for me, or do I exist for the clock/watch? Same can be said for the finish line of a race. I once stopped 5 yards short of the finish line in a race and refused to cross it. Not because I did not have the physical power to step across the line, but I wanted to prove to myself that the finish line does indeed exist for me, and not the other way around.
As to seeing many runners at a 5k checking their pace with a watch, it makes sense since the goal of many 5k runners is to break a certain time. Most ultra runners have time goals, but pace in a long race is determined more by feel, so a watch is not as important. A 5k runner can feel like crap but still push down to 7:05/6:05/5:05 pace and not suffer a bonk. If an ultra runner tries this there will be hell to pay 2 hours later.
JW