29:22



29:22

TL:DR – Earlier this year I had a goal to run a 5k in less than 30 minutes.  I accomplished that this morning, but only with the help of many. Here’s how it happened.

The Warmup

As you can see from the sheet, I (and others) had several goals for the year. I encouraged others to look at that list to see where they could help someone else. That help could be in better defining the goal, shared experiences with a similar goal, or help in achieving the goal.

In those pre-Covid months, Chastain would saunter up to me on long moseys, look at his watch and say, “You’re running at a 10:22 pace. You’re going to have to go faster to hit your goal!” At which point, I would slow down like a d-bag. It’s one thing to have a goal; it’s another to be public about it and invite others to hold you to account for it.

I like to run; I’m just not fast. So going to Pursuit for 5 or 6 miles isn’t painful for me. I thought I’d use that & Strava to work on speed & endurance. Overtrain. I was running, but not seeing consistent improvements. Turns out that’s not how anything ever works. Good days. Bad days. Horrible hills. Mental battles. It’s always something.

Fusebox picked up on this goal, too. Instead of running with me at Pursuit, he decided to virtually race me. My best 3.1 miles at Pursuit against his best 5k running through his neighborhood. I lost consistently. Even when I could see he walked sections & I didn’t walk at all.

Started going to the completely unsanctioned Waxhaw Express. Depending on the drill that week, I could feel some improvements. Sections of the workout where I felt a good combo of breathing, stride, & effort. And those times rarely came at the beginning, which told me I had to run up to a half mile before being loose enough to hit those strides. Great crew there, as well.

I had several 5k’s I planned to run throughout the year to gauge my progress. Of course, they all were canceled.

So when the Waxhaw Launchvergiversary™ offered a 5k option, I took it. I was incredibly humbled when Tuck showed up just to run with me. He asked what time I was looking to make, and he set his watch to that pace. When we started, he immediately said, “You’re going too fast!” Something I’d NEVER expect to hear him (or anyone else) say. Sure enough, within 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile in, I slowed way down, & not by choice. And I kept getting slower. I ended with a time somewhere in the 35-minute mark. Chastain also ran this, finished WAY sooner, came back along the route and found me. He tried to speed me to the finish, but I had already mentally given up. I was just trying to not walk.
But afterward, Tuck took the time to talk to me about pacing, which I clearly had never considered. It was why I could start off fast, crash in the middle, and make a small but insufficient comeback at the end. I had to change the way I was running. He suggested Runkeeper as a good app to help with that. I did use it at Pursuit several times afterward. It made it abundantly clear how much my pace would change throughout the run. This was such a gamechanger for my goal.

Then a few weeks ago, Weasel-Shaker-in-training Fuse comes back around, asking how that 5k goal is coming along. Why haven’t I knocked it out yet? Uh, I kinda gave up on it, maybe?
Chastain gets in the mix, too. They had put in the early work to let me know they refuse to let me give up on my goal. Do you have friends like that? How do you know? Have they proved themselves? Or has it been just talk? 
Chastain has the fanciest watch of the 3 of us. He’ll be the robotic laser. Fusebox will be the cheerleader, skirt and all.
1st mile goes great; 2nd shits the bed; 3rd wallows in it. Time somewhere in the 33rd minute.
Great! Clearly that proved to them that I need time to train on my own. I’ll notify them later when I’m ready to try again. Probably in a couple of months.
Fusebox looks at Chastain, “So we’ll do it again same time next week? Maybe cut that hill off at the high school?” Chastain agrees. Then they look at me.
“We’re doing this every Thursday until I get it, huh?”
“Yep.”
Fuuuuuuuu……

Here’s where it gets interesting. Now that I know these guys aren’t giving up on me, it becomes clear that I had given up on myself. Yeah, you probably saw that too, huh? I was happy to have a goal, happy to occasionally work on it. But I was tying my identity in the pursuit of the goal. Who am I if I actually ACCOMPLISHED the goal? Then things would change. And that’s scary. I may have to reevaluate how I see myself. But I’m so used to seeing myself this way; it’s just easier if I stay in this “struggle”.
If all that’s familiar but confusing, check out this recent podcast for a better explanation: https://soundcloud.com/artofmanliness/657-why-you-dont-change-but-how-you-still-can

The Thang

This morning, with the help of my friends, & all those mentioned above, I did it. I know there would have been plenty of others who would have happily run with me – in all sincerity – thank you, too. 1st mile was great; 2nd mile was not near as bad as before; 3rd mile was a struggle. I still had mental barriers in mile 2 & 3. I told them how to talk to me, and they did. I told them what does & doesn’t motivate me. And they did it. I hit several WXWXpress strides in different spots.

I wanted to cry, but there was no humidity in the air. I hugged Chastain with a gratitude I can’t put into words. Fuse knows I’m a hugger & has stayed 20’+ from me since we hit the finish line. Even now, I have had to work hard in telling myself that an accomplishment has been met.

Moleskine

  • I had to be vulnerable to allow others to help.
  • There are plenty of guys around who want to help.
  • There are fewer guys who will actually insert themselves to help. Most are waiting for an invitation.
  • Even fewer will refuse to give up before you give up. Most will only go as far as you will.
  • When those guys show up, try not to be a d-bag about it.
  • Be one of those guys to someone else.

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3 years ago

[…] again to show your progress. I didn’t get everything accomplished that I wanted last year, but I got way more than I ever did in years past when I just did it alone. I’ve read “The Power of Habit” & […]

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