I became a runner because I wanted to look good in a bathing suit.
I wish my reasoning was a little more girl-power and little less girly, but there it is. I began my running career not because I was born with a desire to be the next Joan Benoit Samuelson, but because I wanted to wear a two-piece in high school. Not exactly admirable or inspirational. However, I try not to dwell on this too much – no matter what the impetus was, I started jogging when I was 16 and haven’t stopped.
But in my six-year relationship with running, I’ve never competed in a race. Until now.
As of last week, I am an official racer competing in the Beach to Beacon 10K race. When I entered, I had no doubt about completing the 6.2-mile course that runs from Cape Elizabeth’s Crescent Beach to Fort Williams. But I’d never timed myself so I had no idea how quickly I could run a mile, let alone six-plus. However, I figured since I’d been running for years, together with my deeply hidden competitive streak that only surfaces once challenged, I thought I had potential to place pretty high in the pack – maybe not first, but hopefully top 20.
Oh, how wrong a girl can be.
The top-ranked (superhuman?) woman from 2007 was Luminita Talpos of Romania – with a mind-numbing, lung-burning end time of 32:20. However, she pales in comparison to Russian athlete Alvanita Ivanova, the 2006 women’s champ who crossed the finish line with a time of 31:26. That’s an average of a little more than five minutes per mile.
It’s a good thing I’d already officially entered the race when I discovered that tidbit of information; I’m fairly certain I would have auctioned my entry off on eBay if it were possible. The question now was not, “how high will I rank?” but rather, “alright, how do I not embarrass myself?”
Thus began my official (slightly panicky) training for the Beach to Beacon.
And let me tell you, it’s really hard to change your mindset from “hobby” to “have to.” Running had never been a requirement, it was always either a way to blow off steam or get outside during the summer. Now, I would have to make myself go running even if the weather conditions were less than favorable – for instance, last week during a ridiculously hot, sticky day, I participated in a B2B training run sponsored by Hannaford’s. Even though the four-mile route we ran circled the always-breezy Back Bay in Portland, the air still felt like oatmeal.
“Wow, it’s really hard to run through oatmeal,” I thought. “But who cares? I’m a racer. I’m an extreme-weather runner. I’m dedicated.”
And, I was miserable, sweaty and unable to keep up with the eight-minute-mile group. I finished the run in 33:10, which is about a mile every 8:30 minutes.
Although I was originally discouraged to find out I was no Kate-anita Power-inova, I took a step back from the situation and realized three things:
1. I would not win the B2B. But I’m OK with that – I’d rather pace myself and place further down in the pack then damage my body beyond repair trying to keep up with Olympic hopefuls.
2. When you go to a training race sponsored by Hannaford’s, they give you free Clif Bars and Gatorade.
3. This (most important) decision came after a conversation with another racer-in-training, Ben Hoffman of South Portland. He told me after the run that he hadn’t actually registered for the race; he’d simply decided to train as if he was to get in shape.
Hoffman, who was running despite suffering from asthma and a burn on his foot, gave a piece of advice that I found interesting.
“The days you feel like you shouldn’t go,” Hoffman said, “Are the days that you should.”
This idea is a deviation from my thinking. I’d always believed that you should never run unless you want to, otherwise you’d wind up resenting the exercise and thinking of it as punishment. However, if I was going to seriously run in this serious race, I needed to think more like Hoffman. So what if it was hot, so what if I was sore – I get to run in one of the most well-known races in New England. I need to run like a racer.
So, for next week’s training run I have a new pair of sneakers and a new attitude. The Beach to Beacon will still be the running relationship I love – one foot in front of the other – just with a new sense of purpose.
And hopefully, a little bit more speed.
OTHER TIPS:
John Rogers, owner of Maine Running Company in Portland, offers these tips for beginning racers:
1. “The days of ‘no pain, no gain’ don’t exist anymore,” said Rogers. Racers need to understand the limitations of their bodies and not push themselves to the point of injury, rather build strength slowly over a period of time.
2. “People think there are secrets, but there really aren’t,” Rogers said in regards to how people should be training. “It’s being persistent, getting a coach, getting a (training) program, and sticking with it.”
3. Many people, Rogers said, don’t run in races to compete against each other, but rather challenge themselves. “I think the main thing, the real goal is to complete the race,” Rogers said. “It’s not as much about running against the clock as it is running against themselves.”
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