Let me set the scene. So here it is June 3, 1989 and I am in Wake Forest, North Carolina with 600 other runners for a 5K (3.1 Mile) Race. Our athletic club in Cary, NC has entered us in the team competition as you can have 4 runners and they count the first three. I am not a speedster by any means and if I finish in the 20 minute area I am happy. This is only my third 5K race ever, but I have found if I can be somewhere around a 6 and a half minute first mile, I am on target to not only finish but possibly break the 20 minute barrier.
The race is at 5:30pm on a Saturday as the temperature is still in the mid to upper 80’s. I usually run in the mornings with cooler temperatures. The other tricky part of this particular race is Wake Forest has some hilly terrain and we are starting at the top and the first mile is basically all downhill. My pregnant wife and 3 year old son are here to see me at the finish line and then there is a picnic after the race.
The horn blows and our four runners from Cary along with 600 strong are off and hopeful of a respectable middle of the pack team finish. I’m feeling quite perky with plenty left in my tank as we approach the one mile mark and our times being shouted out. Hoping for that 6:30ish call out, I hear “5 minutes 57 seconds” and immediately I know I am in trouble. I have never run that fast for one mile, knowing I still have over two miles to go. The second mile flattens out and then starts to climb up a long elevated slope. By the end of the second mile, Mr. Worry has set in along with his friend, Pre Rigor Mortis.
Halfway through the third mile our fourth and final team runner passes me easily as I am currently filming a jogging shoe commercial sponsored by a cement company. She yells, “You don’t want them to count me.” Thankfully we are approaching a slight downgrade to the last few hundred yards to the finish. I am motivated by wanting to be counted and my family cheering at the hundred yard mark. I end up passing my teammate and finishing at 19:57. After recovering from pure exhaustion, my family and I enjoy a tasty picnic. It cost me the whole next day as I devoured too much food in warm temperatures after the grueling run.
What did I learn from this experience? Obviously, I should train some under like temperature and course topography conditions. Just as if not more importantly, Pace myself! The only reason I finished well was out of pure pride to show my family and team I was a decent runner. That is not sustainable.
When I Google, “What does learn to pace yourself mean?” “pace yourself” “: to do something at a speed that is steady and that allows you to continue without becoming too tired. If you don’t pace yourself, you’ll wear yourself out. He quickly learned that he would need to pace himself so he could get all of his work done.”
How are you in the pacing department? Do you find too many times you are going 100 miles an hour and then you drop, out of pure exhaustion. Not a smart way to live, but on a bright note, you keep the energy drink companies solvent and the medical field employed….. I recommend checking out these flowers along your journey as it not only will slow you down but it will calm you.
I checked out www.prevention.com and found a great article titled, “15 Healthy Habits From People Who’ve Lived to 100.” Here are the 15.
“1. Stretch It Out
2. Get Outside
3. Don’t Smoke
4. Eat more vegetables
5. Have Faith in God
6. Be social
7. Eat beans
8. Stay positive
9. Be proactive about maintaining your health
10. Keep moving (on a personal note, I do not think this means addresses, unless your picture is in the post office)
11. Give back
12. Nosh on nuts
13. Have a sense of purpose
14. Don’t stress
15. Avoid skipping breakfast”
As we all have found in our trek through time, we have ups and downs. A slice of the pacing pie was best illustrated to me by Joe Paterno, former football head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. I am paraphrasing when Joe said, “When you are 5-0 you are not as good as they say you are and when you are 0-5, you are not nearly as bad as they say you are.” In other words, don’t get too high or too low, stick to your fundamental plan of a consistent work ethic and positive results will show up sooner or later.
I know in my younger years trying to slow down took not only discipline but it seemed like a job with a good deal of drudgery. There is little fanfare in pacing yourself but the ensuing health benefits are inevitable. Us in the mature circle find a bonus chip in our pocket of not having quite the energy level so the process is not as mundane. Look over the list of 15 again and see where you are now and can you work toward the 15.
To put a bow on it, this theory to have a long, healthy future does not come without defiance. Pacing myself in a race or a work project is a phenomenon I can buy into. The facet that continues to challenge me is my eating style. I was extremely fortunate growing up as not only was my Mom a great cook but in most cases there were seconds at dinner time. Once in a while though, Mother would set a plate in front of me of some specialty dish and she would say, “Bob, this is all there is, you can eat it in five seconds and then get out the PB and J or you can take your time, actually taste it and enjoy it.” I can visualize all of our former 3 dogs laughing and then raising their paws to ask what “taste it” means? Needless to say, after 68 years, I still need the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car in front of my fork at every meal.