Nov

20

Road Racing

Filed Under Uncategorized 

After completing my first half-marathon on November 1st the first thing I said was, “That was horrible.” For the first time ever, I had walked in a race.  When I told my parents about my expirience later that day they told me I did great and I should be happy that i could just finish it.  But I knew why I walked.This look says it all

During the cross country season I had run 6 days a week consistently and did speed workouts, easy days, and honestly just whatever the coach said.  The week of the half-marathon I didn’t do squat.  Laziness and over-confidence kept me from performing at my best and it hurt at the finish line. (see picture)

When signing up for a road race, don’t forget that this is a race like any other.  Race to get a new PR, or to meet a goal of your own.  Remember to train for the race you are running; when I trained for the Zeitgeist Half Marathon I ran under thirty minutes for a week… not something I would recommend.

Training for a long race, or a fast race is hard work.  Here is a quote from Sir Roger Bannister fitting for this:

“The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.”

I would just like to change the word ‘win’ to ‘meet goals’.  Running is not about winning all the time, but it is about self-improvement.

If you have never run a race unattached, take some initiative and sign up for one!  Find a fun run or a race for a cause you support, you will enjoy it (with the proper training).

Comments

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    • Jacob Taylor at the Bob Firman Invitational 2007

  • About

      This is my blog where I write about running, training, races, and anything else running related. Because I run for Mountain View High School I may write about my team and opposing teams in the Treasure Valley. Everything written in this blog is my personal opinion and does not reflect the views of my coaches, my teammates, or my school.