I've been following the running adventures of Jenn over at Runs with Pugs for a while now. Incidentally, she is the inspiration for this post so thanks Jenn! Anyway, Jenn ran the Walt Disney World in January and immediately afterwards (Actually, I'm pretty sure it was well before that) made the decision to not run marathons and focus on other things; specifically work on her 5K times. Something she has accomplished successfully by the way. She has already managed to go sub- 30 minutes in training and is about to do so in a race pretty soon I'm sure. You go, girl!
Jenn's journey this year has gotten me thinking about how we set goals and how we, and others view those goals. While it is certainly different for everyone, when runners gather together (whether in person or online) and talk, we can sometimes make it seem like running a marathon is the ultimate goal for every runner. It almost feels like finishing a marathon is the core requirement before you can consider yourself a runner. If Runnerville is the place where all runners live, then the marathon is the gate you have to go through.
Of course, this is totally untrue and not only that, I have personally never heard any runner actually stating something like that (thank goodness, I know some have) but again, when you gather runners in a discussion, invariably some will be marathoners. They will begin talking about how rewarding it is and how challenging. They will talk about how it was probably their greatest running accomplishment (guilty!) and of course this creates unconscious peer pressure. You want to be one of the cool kids. You want to be a marathoner.
It also doesn't help that many people look at 5K's as a "first step" and therefore an easy one as you develop your ability to go farther. We make it look sometimes as if a 5K or even a 10K is just something you do on your way to running Half and Full Marathons. Again, this is totally untrue. I will argue in fact, that training for a 5K is one of the hardest things you can do.
Marathons are in essence, a test of patience. Especially to us slower folks. You train your body to keep moving for hours and hours until you reach the finish. In many ways, it's a grind which is probably why the Disney marathon is so popular: it actually gives you stuff to see and do while you grind your miles for hours and hours. You do something other than running with your time.
Time, on the other hand, is what you don't have on a 5K. It is a mad dash to the finish. It doesn't matter if you are a 20 minute finisher or an hour finisher. A time improvement at this distance requires a gargantuan effort, mainly because regardless of your fitness level, a 5K is a sprint. Sprinting is hard. Have you ever tried to sprint for 30 minutes? You have if you have run a 5K.
Exhibit A: Yours Truly. In the course of a year, I improved my Half Marathon time by a half hour. That is a HUGE PR. (and you will recall, a very memorable moment for me) On the other hand, my quest to run a sub-40 minute 5K was... well, difficult. I finally managed to pull it off in November 2013 and to this day, I have not been able to improve that time despite many efforts to do so. Sure, when I train I don't focus on that distance. I have spent the last 2 years working on Halves and Fulls but it goes to show you: A 5K PR is not something you wake up one morning and simply do. It takes a lot of hard work. Just as hard as training for a marathon. Don't think so? Ask anyone who trains for 5 and 10K's for the Olympics and such to see if it is any less hard.
I love this post! I have met the time goals I have given myself for the 5K, 10k, and half but not the marathon. I should in fact give myself a new goal to reach in those other distances but I guess I am am truly a runner at heart and won't be satisfied until I get the chance to run the marathon at my true ability ( un-injuired).
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting that half marathon time down a half hour. The 5k is always the hardest to improve in. -M
Well, you've only done the marathon once. So the PR was assured! lol Though I KNOW you will crush it the next time, injury or no injury.
DeleteFrank, you are too sweet!
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of runners who won't touch the marathon with a ten foot pole. They respect the distance and know themselves enough to know that it's not for them. You have to WANT the marathon. There are very few people who can just throw themselves into 26.2 without a seriously deep desire (and a great level of physical prowess). That doesn't make the people who choose not to accept the challenge any less in the world of runners. In my totally biased opinions, it makes them sane and logical runners LOL!
That being said, the 5K is hard as heck. For me, it's second to the one mile sprint. I was not built to fly like the wind, and that sub30 eludes me by seconds. I WILL get there, but not without some significant work on my part (and bribing a friend to pace me on a fall race to help get me there).
Congratulations to you and all you have accomplished. I can only hope to see that kind of half marathon PR. I'm working for it, but I tend to psych myself out when it matters, so who knows what will happen at Space Coast this year.
Keep up all your hard work!
Yeah... those people who throw themselves at the marathon... I'm not one of them either. LOL In many ways, the only reason I'm actually doing another marathon is the Goofy Challenge. The chance to take it a step further. It remains to be seen whether I will continue aiming for marathons after I get that out of my system. Although there is always Dopey... or trying to get faster in the marathon... I'll kepp you posted.
Deletei absolutely agree that 5K's... any shorter distance, in fact, are really challenging. the challenge is different for short races than it is for longer races. the perspective is different. i started out running 5K's because they were short and easy. i graduated to halves because it was an easy distance for me to run on the regular and seemed like the logical next step in racing. once i moved up to the longer distances tho' (ran my first 50K trail race this past may) i stopped racing 5K's almost altogether. they are HARD! my goal in any race is to race it hard and fast. leave everything i have on the course. that is easy to do in a 5K because you have to go, go, go from the gate. in a longer distance you have to have patience and a pacing strategy if you don't want to murder your legs before you finish. i only know how to run fast... i want to be fast... i ran a 5K the weekend after my 50K and i would say that in a lot of ways it was more difficult than running the longer distance. more physically uncomfortable in ways that i don't like. this is a great post! i used to think that if i ran a marathon that i too "made it". now tho' i have longer distance aspirations.... lol! i never want to run a 5K again... i hate them. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt is a problem for us slower folks. There just isn't enough time to really do anything except sprint and we are just not good at that. Which makes PR's that much more satisfying I guess. In a way.
DeleteI remember telling a friend once that a 5k was a 3 mile sprint, as it truly is. I have just as much respect for someone who can blast out a 20-minute something 5k as I do for someone who can finish 26.2. Whatever distance you're talking about,it's still just an accomplishment to get out there and should garner due respect!
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