Weathering the conditions

Part of any sport is the unpredictability. Sometimes the day does not go as envisioned.  Training and planning are essential, but as Mike Tyson once said: ‘Everybody has a plan… until they get punched in the mouth.’

Racing is no different. From freak injury to wild weather to hitting the wall, there’s a host of reasons why the run doesn’t go the way expected. And the first time it happens can be frustrating, especially if running has been a series of successful accomplishments.

But sometimes the unforeseen can be more of a learning experience.

Take this weekend’s Hypothermic Half Marathon in Victoria. Beautiful weather on race day, clear blue skies and temps around 4 degree Celsius; probably the best setting in the three years I’ve done the race. Now that should have set the stage for what was planned.

With the Boston Marathon less than two months, this race was meant to be a measuring stick of progress. The time was essential in determining progress – it was the only way, in my mind, to gauge what the next six weeks of training needed to include.

But as Tyson says about plans.

Now, the Hypothermic Half Marathon has been the start of the season since I began running again after my 30 year hiatus and each year it tosses up a lesson. The first year was about maintaining pace when you’re essentially running by yourself, the group ahead nowhere to be seen. Then last year, even though there was a five minute improvement in time, I didn’t place as high which was a stark reminder to run against yourself. And then this year it was the weather.

When the race director asked who was running their first half-marathon, there were a few hands that went up. He proclaimed they would be the only ones getting a personal best. And he was right.

Heading out the terrain was unknown. It’s usually a paved path around the airport and organizers had done what they could to compact the snow. But there was only so much that could be done. Footing was mutinous and soakers frequent. The narrow path meant there were times runners were passing each other on a narrow strip and the ankle dipped into fresh snow.

And it was a hoot. It didn’t take long to recognize the race director was right and so smile stayed plastered as the course was traversed, slipping and sliding along. But it wasn’t a loss in terms of preparation. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

It was a chance to see how strong the legs were, as muscles not often used found themselves called into action. There was some aches the next day but the response was encouraging.

The race was also an opportunity to run smart in the face of poor conditions. Coming second was an accomplishment, no stupid chances were taken and training can continue as planned. It would have been easy to really push and try and catch the runner in front by about 40 seconds. But that would have increased risk of injury.

At race’s end, some words from Pep Guardiola came to mind. To be clear, as a Manchester United fan I am programmed to dislike the man but he’s a brilliant coach. One of his sayings is ‘you learn from losing.’

And that is what rang through – that time isn’t always the determinant of success. Effort is. Commitment is. And matching those two things to the conditions of the day. So it turns out a slow time turned out to be an important part of the process. 

Hope to see you on the road soon.