Long Walks On Leafy Streets

10/9/2016 Dieren, Netherlands (Thanks to Rama Satish).
This morning I had a great 20-mile run of which 19 were along the Rock Creek and the Potomac, all the way to the Roosevelt memorial and back. I was able to enjoy the fall scenery and the cooler air. This is my last long run before the Marine Corps marathon on the 30th of this month. I ran it at an even pace and was able to finish in a decent time (3.25 hours) in spite of running uphill and against a stiff wind most of the way back. My legs don’t feel as much pain or stiffness as they normally do, so I am feeling reasonable good about the marathon.

On Thursday morning I ran on the track at Howard before getting to work. For the first time I did interval training. Runners’ World magazine had something called Yasso, named after one of their own writers. Apparently he had found that if you can run ten 800-meter runs with 400 meters of jogging in between them then the average time of those 800-meter runs would be the number of hours you can expect to take to finish the marathon.
I ran a mile to warm up, then started running the 800s as fast as I could, without breathing too hard. The suggestion was to run them at a 10000-meter race pace. I am not sure if I ran faster or slower than a 10K pace because I have never run a 10K race but nevertheless after four or five laps my legs started getting weaker and my pace got slower. I guess that is the whole point – as you run more laps it tests your endurance more. I did manage to finish at a 3 minute 46 second average, in spite of a stiff wind coming from the reservoir side and also having to dodge various objects on the track put up in preparation for the Howard Homecoming football game. So I should at least be able to finish the marathon in under four hours, if Mr. Yasso’s predictions are true.

After finishing the run I felt a great sense of satisfaction. Based on my time in the Parks Half-Marathon last month – 1 hour and 51 minutes – it is predicted that I could run the full marathon in about 3 hours and 52 minutes. Nevertheless based on my last few long runs I have been feeling a bit pessimistic about my chances of finishing under four hours. There have been aches in various parts of my legs. Last Sunday after about 10 miles I felt like I could not run any longer. After slowing down considerably I was able to push myself to run another 7 miles. But given that the Yasso is based on good evidence now I feel confident about aiming to run under four hours.

More than that it gave me a great feeling of achievement in that I was able to overcome my own limitations and push myself further. Now I understand a little bit better what drives people, especially athletes, to try to achieve more and more ambitious goals. Maybe for some people it is a sense of superiority but more and more I think for most people it is about going beyond their own limitations. In a way, it seems, we are constantly trying to break free of our human condition. For me in particular running is helping me to change my own mental habits especially when it comes to keeping a calm and balanced mind during difficult times. I think I am getting a little bit better at it.

I must say I do miss walking long distance. I used to walk the 3.5 miles to work, a lot, but these days because I drive Prashant to the daycare I only walk a mile from there to my office. Friday morning Prashant woke up looking a little bit lethargic. He seemed to have a cold. Nicole decided to stay home with him and so I didn’t have to drive him to daycare. I took the 62 bus from near the Takoma recreation center as I used to. It is a very nice walk and the bus ride was also pleasant. It is really so much better and less stressful to be riding the bus than battling the traffic. Once can relax, think about or read something, or just catch up on rest.

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