One of the biggest challenges for me in racing has nothing to do with training or fitness. It has nothing to do with strength or speed. It's all above the shoulders. When I get to that point in a race when it starts to get painful, there's a choice to make. Everyone faces this choice, in virtually every race. Do you ease off the pace, or do you continue to push through the pain?
Sometimes it's a matter of how badly you want to run a good time. Sometimes it's easier than others. Let's face it. There are days when we feel good, and others when it's tough to get motivated.
What I'm thinking about, in particular, was how I felt in the middle of the last few races I've run. Stretching back to the Boston marathon in mid-April, through the Soldier Field ten miler over the weekend, I have run a variety of distances and had a variety of results.
During the Boston marathon, for a variety of reasons, I lost focus early in the race, and found myself just jogging along at the slowest pace I've ever run in a race. I was trying to enjoy the experience, and I did. But despite my modest goals, I was disappointed in the end.
In two half marathons since that run, I've been happier with the result. I've felt relaxed throughout the races, and can remember being more focused during the middle parts of each race. Last weekend's Green Bay half marathon was interesting because I was focused, not on my own running, but on the full marathon effort of my friend Greg. My own result was satisfying though, and a bit of a confidence builder.
That brings me to the Solder Field run. I went into it with no real expectations, other than I wanted to give a good effort. So when I went out the first mile with my friend Mark Wojchiechowski in 6:45, I knew I was positioned to run a good time if I was able to focus through the later miles. I let Mark go, but managed to maintain a 7:00 pace. Mark and I ran in high school together, and he has tremendous natural talent. He ran out of my sights in a matter of seconds.
That meant I was running solo for the next nine miles, with nothing to think about except how much effort I wanted to give. Fortunately, the conditions were just about perfect, and the 7:00 miles just kept rolling along.
This is the 4th year of the Soldier Field race, and I've done it every year. My best time was last year, at just about 1:12. But Saturday at about 7 miles in, I found myself in position to try to break 1:10 if I could keep the pace. I would have been happy with 1:12, but, sometimes when the conditions are right, you have to try to take advantage.
I have been running for what seems like forever, and I always struggle with motivation in longer races. My most success in running has come in much shorter races where speed is more of a factor than endurance. As I've gotten older, however, my speed has gotten lost somewhere, and I find myself in endurance races all the time.
My friend Tom Smithburg was in the race as well, and I sensed he was a short distance behind me, and may have been focused in on trying to catch me. I used that as motivation to try to keep the pace. I tried to focus on a random runner about 100 feet in front of me, and concentrate on keeping a good form.
That got me to the 9th mile at 7:00 minute pace, and from there I counted on adrenaline to push me in under 1:10. I tried to surge a little, but never seemed to pass anyone. It was an interesting experience, because I guess everyone else was thinking the same thing. We all seemed to pick up the pace a little during the last mile. When I crossed the finish line in Soldier Field, I had run 1:09:44. Mark finished in 1:06:20! Tom ran a 1:11:00! We were all very pleased with the results and agreed the conditions (temperature in the lower 50's, overcast, and little wind) helped a lot.
Congratulations to all 6000 runners! Everyone found their own motivation, and enjoyed a fun race. It was a great run, and the start of what should be a great running season.
I'll see you on the roads.
