Good Racing 'Round The Corner

At first glance, cross-country practice might resemble a practice for any other sport: a bunch of guys sweating it out together. That said, it can often be more difficult to quantitatively or qualitatively measure the strength of a performance at a given practice. If I played basketball, I could get a sense that I was doing particularly well from 3-point range, and if I was a tennis player, I’d know whether or not I was having a hard time getting my serve in. In order to gain a similar metric, runners have split times. I’ve never understood the science behind the pace charts coaches use to determine how fast runners should go depending on the type of workout. Instead, I know that a pace chart exists for a reason, and that all I need to do to have a successful day is to hit my paces.

Yesterday, a new pace chart was posted in our locker room. That served as a clear warning of a workout to come. After a number of flat and hilly repeats of 600-1200 meters, I finished the workout feeling better than I did before practice. Obviously, I was significantly more fatigued than when I showed up, and it might seem a little strange that being exactly on pace at the end of a workout would create such a feeling of accomplishment, as opposed to being faster than my target. However, there’s a reason my target pace was put in a certain spot, and if I hit my marks like I did yesterday, I know I’m going to have some good races down the road.

As for today, I ran seven miles before my first class, and I’ll be bobbing around in the pool this afternoon. And yes, this is what I consider a “restful day."