With the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k only a few days away, we wanted to know what the biggest lesson learned from 20 different people. The responses vary greatly, but there's a lot to learn from these runners.
Danny Shea, 10k training team head coach
Where do I begin? There are so many lessons that I have learned over the years. Upon reflection, it seems that an appropriate lesson should be something that, once applied, enables me to continue my passion for running, since running is a lifetime sport. What resonates with me, is that if I want to still be doing this thing when I'm 80, then I have to do a series of things to stay in the game. Topping the list are ... Being consistent, staying motivated, and remaining healthy.
Finding ways to remain consistent and stay motivated, is an evolving process that changes from year to year, but remaining healthy means always incorporating regular REST into my workouts.
Whether I'm training for a 5K, a marathon, an Ironman or nothing at all, infusing sufficient REST into each week is critical for running longevity. Through rest builds strength. The benefits of running are not being reaped through the actual workouts. They are being manifested during the rest period. Accordingly, the importance of rest cannot be underscored enough.
Listen to your body.
Greg Roth, West End
Results cannot be faked. When the day is done your results as a friend to others, a spouse, a
parent, a business person, or a runner are reflective of the effort and commitment that you and you alone put forth. If you're not willing to put forth the effort in any aspect of life you are wasting your time.
Sara Trump, Chesterfield County
I am a novice runner training with the Chester YMCA team. When we started to reach the 5-mile mark in training process, I started to doubt myself and wonder if I could really do this. In my mind I kept saying, "my knees hurt, my shoes are not as comfortable as before, why am I doing this, etc." Around the same time I was browsing the news and came across the story about a 101-year-old man that would break the world record in April for being the oldest person to ever complete a marathon. Not only does he run, he stops along the way for a pint of beer and a cigarette. After reading that article, I immediately shut up, stopped my worrying and got my butt outside to complete my training run! All that being said, I suppose the lesson learned is, "Shut up and run." (If a 101-year-old man can do it, so can I.)
Don Garber, Richmond Road Runners Club president
Be realistic with yourself as you age. If you started running at an earlier age, once you reach the age of 35, you will slow down. It is a biological fact that as you age, you will slow down. About 5 percent every 5 years. Better, maybe harder training can slow the decline. So, there are two things you can do. You can get upset with yourself and beat yourself up. Or you can realize the joy of running and think in terms of where you rank with people of your similar age or with yourself. This came home to me a couple of years ago when I was running the Colonial Half Marathon. I realized that my time was going to be way off my expectation. Then I realized my expectations were where I had run 5-10 years ago. So with a new mental focus and with a realization that I did enjoy running races at any age, I finished very happy with my running.
m1njg00 (User name on Richmond Road Runners Web site)
Train your way and run your own race.
James Bryant, Chesterfield County
I guess the biggest lesson I have learned from running is that having a negative attitude seems to work for me. Approaching each increased distance run with fear and dread, I was pleasantly surprised when successfully completed the challenge. Early on I had envisioned a scenario when after running a short distance I would have to stop and have to struggle to even finish. Even now I at times after to go ahead and give myself permission to fail and make a deal that once I get to a point ahead I can stop and walk. Then I find once I have accepted “defeat,” I manage to continue on and don’t need to rest after all. This seems to mirror other aspects of my life now that I think of it. Frequently when I am excited about something, it doesn’t turn out so well. But when I expect the worse, I am thrilled when it turns out to be not so bad after all!
Kelly Warren, member of the Richmond Dukes 10k team
I am not a "naturalist" when it comes to running, which means that I need my music! So, the biggest running lesson I have ever learned is to plan my music based on the type of training run I have to do that day. For short fast runs, I always choose upbeat, dance-type music, like Timbaland, Black Eyed Peas or Kanye West. For longer runs I use music to help me stay at a good, steady pace, so I pick artists like Dave Matthews Band, The Beatles or Alicia Keys. Believe me, it helps me reach my goals, avoid injury, and have great runs!
Gahearn (User name on Richmond Road Runners Web site)
I learned mine directly from Danny Shea himself after he ran the L.A Marathon … never take 11 Gu's in a race.
Richard Lampe
"When the student is ready, the running shoes appear." For 12 years I lived with a fervent belief in this principle -- the classroom of the road. Running, as severe a taskmaster as any, was ready and all too willing to teach patience, persistence, pursuit ... if the vessel were only worthy ... But the vessel in this case, proved all too unworthy. A case of severe tendonitis put an end to the joy of running, replacing it with a frustrated hobbling that was not like running at all. In the end, the biggest lesson I had to learn was the last lesson that running could teach me: how to walk away from the sport and find something new. Nowadays, I happily take instruction from a new master in the blue liquid world of a 25-meter pool where the same lessons -- patience, persistence, and pursuit -- still apply.
Mark Iscool, Team Captain of Old & In The Way
Following my first marathon in 1981 (Philadelphia, which still stands as my marathon PR), I had dinner at a friend’s home in the city, and at around 8 p.m. left to make the drive home to Newport News. That was certainly the most painful and difficult drive of my life. Each year I run the JFK 50-Mile race in Hagerstown, Md., and make certain that I spend race night in a hotel there. There is nothing like a good meal and resting my legs after an endurance event.
Bart Yasso, Chief Running Officer of Runner's World Magazine
Race by effort rather than pace.
Curtis Newton, Powhatan
I joked for many years that I ran so I could eat or drink whatever I liked. A few years ago when
I stopped running regularly but continued my eating and drinking habits. Health issues arose, so I am back to running.
Tony Basch
I started running in 2000, the day after stepping on a scale and seeing an unfamiliar and unwelcome number staring back at me. I woke up that morning, looked at my wife and said, "I think I'm going for a run today." My wife looked back at me, sighed, and said, "Well, we live 10 miles from school and only have one car. I guess I'm going for a run today too." Looking back at that first month, when I was embarrassed to make it less than half way around the track before I had to walk for several minutes, I realize that running has given me more than I could have imagined when I took those first steps. I have learned a number of important lessons from running, some of which are not widely applicable outside running, such as spotting the telltale signs of when and in what direction a runner ahead of me is likely to spit and buying products with names like "Body Glide" and "Nip Guards" with a straight face. The best lesson I learned from running, however, is that when a group of strangers go out together on a run, barriers tend to fall away. There's something about working together toward total exhaustion that weakens the walls people construct between themselves and others. If you happen upon a group of runners who have just finished a 20-mile training run, you'll see people of all types stretching and talking about a variety of things not running related, caring only about the fact that the person they're talking to is a fellow runner whose presence they enjoy. I run with atheists and ministers, blue-collar workers and white-collar workers, students and retirees, and I wouldn't have it any other way. My running buddies the best and most dependable group of friends I could've ever wished to have.
Sean Cusack, Short Pump
There is a distinct difference between the "pain" caused by working hard and the "pain" caused by injury. Knowing the difference is the only way to avoid serious injury. The biggest non-running lesson learned through running is: I can do anything I want if I am willing to do the work! (In five years I have lost approximately 75 pounds, quit smoking and have run six marathons, including qualifying for Boston twice. If someone had asked me seven years ago if I could run a marathon or bike 100 miles in a day I would have laughed. Now I do it.)
Ruben Foster, Chesterfield County
After topping out at 275 pounds four years ago (lost 50 lbs) and feeling terrible about my appearance and health, I have learned much from running. I have learned to enjoy the outdoors and get off the couch. I have learned there is a quiet serenity in running that breaks us from the fast pace of home and work. But most importantly I have learned from running with hard work and determination the seemingly impossible can actually become possible.
Brad Jordan, Fort Belvoir
I once ran a marathon with a bad shoe/sock combination. I quickly developed blisters that covered both of my small toes. At mile 23, the blisters broke, (first one, then the other about 300 yards later) leaving only the raw skin underneath. The run from there to the finish line was unforgettable.
Gary Hearn
Know where you are going. All the preparation and the training in the world does you no good if you are running in the wrong direction.
Glen Chalkley, Byrd Park runner
I believe that one of the biggest lessons that I have learned from running is that running at my age is more about personal goals and that I needed to check my ego at the door because I was no longer a teenager able to run sub 5-minute miles. I am now a 50-year-old man that did not run for about 30 years. A couple of years ago, I started running and working out in an effort to keep myself in shape so that I could continue to paddle my kayak and canoe, but I found myself drawn to racing and group runs. I love the social aspect of group runs (I run with a group called the Byrd Park Group), but I still have a strong competitive desire to improve my times and distances in running. There is something strangely satisfying about posting a new PR for a distance or running farther than you have previously. Learning that through a little training that you can go farther and faster than you had been able to before.
I believe that some of this revolves around my old "race mentality" and competitiveness, but it is tempered with the knowledge that I can no longer run as fast as I did in high school. Age can be a cruel introduction to reality for some of us middle-aged boomers. So, the old ego must be kept in check to avoid becoming frustrated by the reality that you are no longer an 18-year-old athlete and learning to find the small victories such as PR's can provide great satisfaction.
One other aspect of running that has given me great joy is participating in group runs and having coached the half marathon training team last year (and I will doing the same again this year).
The satisfaction of experiencing vicariously the joy others realize in attaining their goals. Seeing the pride and joy that people exhibit from running farther or faster is very satisfying.
In addition, the friendships that I have developed from running are as valuable as any PR. What you learn about others' life experiences as you run can be incredibly interesting.
Sabrina Hamilton, Chesterfield County
I have learned never to box myself in and to challenge myself on a daily basis. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you choose to step outside your comfort zone.
David Kunnen, Near Byran Park
Never get too down after a bad run or race ... it's a blessing to be able to run at all.
w LAST TIME OUT: Robert Bolling, the new executive director of the William Byrd Community House.