The "problem" of pacemakers or rabbits

Two or three months back in Runners World there was an interesting article on recreational marathon pacemakers. I don't believe these cats are quite "elites" but they are hired by several marathons to lead pace groups. Groups that want to break 4 hours in a marathon, or go under 3:45. This sort of thing.

The article was excellent. The author spoke of a time when he was leading a pace group but fell short of his goal and his guilt dealing with that. At the time of writing this article he was leading a group through the Philadelphia Marathon, and he had one cohort with him to lead the group. This time he and his partner made the finish and nearly everyone in his group made it as well in there time. A job well done.

I'll be honest, part of me looks down on these sort of groups as a way to reach a goal. But,in Philadelphia when I was doing my last half, around 8 miles when I realized I went out far too fast my mind drifted back to this article. I thought how it would have been nice to have been part of a pace group to insure that I didn't go out to fast, and that perhaps a sub 1:40 would have been much easier.

Granted, I never ran track in high school or college. I sure as hell haven't run professionally. It's a sport I picked up for myself just in the past year. But, I also watch as many races as I can. And when I watch these college meets, pro meets, or even World Record attempts, it's not uncommon to see a pacemaker. For a 1500, you'll see someone charged with taking them through 800 at a set time. In a marathon you sometimes have a rabbit leading them through 10 miles or so.

This past weekend in Chicago, there was a rabbit. One of the elite runners kept pushing the rabbit to go harder, and the rabbit obliged for a little bit. But eventually, even before mile 10, a group of elites left him behind. I read an interview with the always posi Abdi Abdirahman at Runners World this week where he mentioned that NYC in November will not have a rabbit. He said that was good. That it adds excitement to the race, I tend to agree.

Back to Philly. I kept going on my own, and I struggled towards the finish line. My last 5k was awful. Something I could have remedied by running a smarter pace at the beginning. I still set a PR by 1:55, but didn't reach my high end goal. Still, by setting that PR I found a sense of satisfaction in myself, and in doing it on my own.

It's difficult and a bit arrogant to say my satisfaction of doing that on my own is greater, or more deserved than that of someone who hit say 1:40 a minute and change ahead of me in a pace group. At the end of the day, that person ran a better race than me pace aided or not. They were quicker, and props to them. That said, to me, someone who has never been on a XC team, or training team (outside of the legendary The Kip Winger Running Team) running is an individual sport, and a test against what an individual can do.

I understand the limits of the human body. That there may be no reason to think an elite can run a 330 mile, and maybe a rabbit makes sense in a track meet for a mile to hit a certain goal. I don't think that sort of mindset should apply to the recreational runner.

Yes, it may be absurd for me to think a 1:25 half is possible given my training. But if I go into a race thinking the absolute best I can do for a half is 1:40, I've already capped my potential and lost half the battle. On the starting line, I just don't see a reason to have goals set in that way. It's cheesy, it's a hallmark card. But the sky is the damn limit. If I don't believe that through my training my body is capable of doing something greater than it's ever done before, that I can shatter even my own expectations, why am I on the starting line in the first place? And better yet what the hell have I been training for?

90 % of everything is 50% mental

Less than a week till the Philadelphia Distance Run. I guess I am feeling good. Lingering doubts from last weeks quad soreness has dissipated. I got in a final longish run on Sunday of 9 miles in ridiculous humidity, even for the morning. 3 miles of speed work today. 6 miles on Saturday morning. Probably two more 6 mile runs this week. While I won't quite have the aerobic base I had for the Indianapolis Mini, I feel confident enough to run and run well.

13.1 miles is a long way to run though, and a longer time for doubts to fall in. And that's will probably be the hardest part of this race. Sure adrenaline will carry me through the first 4-5 miles. Then there is the halfway there boost. But it's around mile 10-11 that I had my slowest mile in Indy. And part of me thinks I should be able to run my own pace and then use the last three miles as an adrenaline boost and just crush the last 5k. But, of course, it hasn't worked that way in longer runs, and it definitely hasn't worked that way in Indy.

I've tried to find what is that which I have been thinking of when I've run my best times, and when I've had my more productive long runs at race. And the thing is I have not been thinking about pace. Or form. Or some sort of negative split strategy. Instead, my mind has just been blank, or rather not thinking about anything connected with running. It just wanders.

The thing is, come race day there is no preparation that's left to be done. I can stretch, but that's it. Other than that, it's just a matter of enjoying the race. When I watched the Fam Run Like Hell video the thought was to look not of the race as a challenge of your training. Your training is already done. The race is just a celebration.

I've mentioned that Brooks Run Happy ad campaign a little while back and mentioned how I thought it was a bit silly. But really, come race day if it really is about a celebration, they may be onto something.

The Competetion

After two days off to rest the quad, including a very late night in the city on Wednesday to see an incredible Paul Weller concert, I knew that I had to get back out there Thursday, even if only on three hours sleep, and after a full day of work.

At lunch I visit the Runners World website and find more motivation. None other than 2 time Olympic Silver Medalist in the Women's Marathon, Catherine "The Great" Ndereba will be running the Philadelphia Distance Run as well. Not bad.

Several months back, in the beginning of summer two fellow members of The Kip Winger Running Team ran a race in Bellmar, NJ. In talking with the teamates before the race we were laughing at how the elite section of the race was full of Kenyans and Ethiopians. As the race got closer, "Down with the Ethiopians" was the rallying cry.

So now, just over a week away I have the face of my competitor. Sure, when she finished third at a half marathon world championship in 2007 (I think) her time was roughly 37 minutes better than mine. That's okay. I'm going to Philly aiming for a personal best anyway, so my prior time isn't the gauge.

Next Sunday, Catherine...