Perhaps no more a vague title than the above can be applied to more things than in this exceptional time of uncharted bewilderment. I was just watching Current Mood on Instagram - a live show that John Mayer records Sunday nights on his phone - and one of the commenters, of which there are thousands ongoing throughout the broadcast (he typically retains about 25k veiwers during his show), remarked how so many things we are all going through are all the more relate-able given how this experience of self isolation around the world is giving a shared experience more than we've had in unison to which we can all so easily share and follow along given the power to post instantly on our smartphones. That's a lot to say that, the question of Where are we - is meant to carry a few ways to answer given that our running is not spared in the newly thrust upon us way of living, that has made us a bit disoriented on the fly. Perhaps me now at the keyboard is me getting ready to share a couple ways of insight to some answers that I've been thinking about and looking for along the way.
where we are is always a moving target, and yet it's also always a constant. where we are is where we are. it's a snapshot in time. and inventory of what is now. it's a transient state and also a fixed reality. we have control of the next "here" but that depends on where we were when we asked it previously, and how that answer satisfies based on where that place is the next time we ask. with running, distance in motion, time in space, we are always marking ourselves by a bevy of calendars. seconds, minutes, days, months, cycles, years. But maybe on a more large scale ask, "where are we" as a place of our on those scales, and the metaphysical where with running being something that we know and can identify, that even that has been called into question for some of us.
for those in a state of improving and grading our results against clocks and competitors, this is a challenge . If we ever leave out the variable that i would say is the soul of "why" we run, it's the run against, with, and in concert to our self. The heart of all our analysis has a base that is only compared and looked at as how "we" the collective mind body soul and spirit ran in unison and with excellence together that gives us our validation of accomplishment and true judgement. A result that might have looked good on paper, but didn't go with the grain of the whole person and the drive that is measured based on only our own acknowledgement of how we came into the run and did the run, can truly be a mirror to our own understanding.
think about your training. Each day you set out with purpose to register a run that will serve a later goal. if that goal is time or place, when we are in that race we will know if we met our self with our best that day or not, and this doesn't go without knowing what that best is on that given day. sometimes that is our best ever, and sometimes we just squeeze whatever we can from the juice that is there for the day....but we will know if we left pulp un-squeezed or if truly our hands are sore from the try.
that is kind of an overarching way to have realized running in what we do each day, for the last while or so. Without races it has brought back to mind that running really when all stripped away, is a dialogue with our self, a conversation of inventory and output and bartering or being exposed on what we really have and what we really bring to the table each time we embark.
yesterday was supposed to be Cherry Blossom 10 miler but here we are in week 4 of coronavirus USA. when i looked back at my training i saw that after a month of easy running and recovery from NYC marathon, i just finished 16 weeks of solid consistent running. that is a full cycles worth. In that period, i was able to race a 5k Jan 1st ( a PR, but not in peak shape), and a solid 10miler PR in mid Feb. The plan after that was Elizabeth 8k in March (would have been gunning for a PR (post collegiate-which would have needed sub 2622, i think i could have done as i did that in Nov at turkey trot and had been sharpening up the speed.)) And then another attempt at a lowered 10 miler PR at a bucket list largest race of 20k people in DC on a nice quicker course. I would have liked to have think i could have done what i wanted to do (PR again), but one thing i did get that i didn't expect was a Half Marathon PR on a solo training run (last week---1:22:10), one which i didn't consider going after until the last mile, just was feeling good wearing my race shoes. That was a nice 'Cherry' to end the "season"....also, along the way we have all started going after Strava crowns. Have added a good bit of those, although maybe they are taking away some structure but all is fine anyway, i have now ended my cycle and can rest knowing i put in a full load, and need this easy weeks before the next build up which hopefully includes races in the fall baring no more Covid delays.
