Yesterday I did something I’ve never done before — I ran a half marathon without having any idea of my pace. I’ve been training like that for weeks now with the goal of rediscovering my love of running…
I had reached a point where I was burnt out on training for speed, as well as a bit overwhelmed with other stuff in my life that required a lot of time and attention. So rather than bail on one of my favorite races, I devoted myself to putting in the training miles, but without the added pressure of trying to achieve a specific pace. I’m a very Type-A person and I love having ALL THE INFORMATION, so the only way for me to do this was to relinquish my GPS-watch completely and instead just run by effort.
Whaddya know, it worked! Suddenly I wasn’t dreading my training runs anymore and I was actually accomplishing all of my planned workouts. Well, until I came down with a(nother) cold during my week of peak training. How frustrating! I missed my longest training run, and it wasn’t until a week ago that I was sure I’d be healthy enough to run the race. Quite honestly, the Berlin half marathon seemed doomed! But I wanted to carry this little experiment all the way through to the end, so I made my plans to travel to Berlin and intentionally left my watch behind in Bremen.
And guess what? I had SO much fun! Along the entire course I made sure to take everything in and just enjoy myself. I mean, how could I not while running through the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie and all through one of my favorite cities in the world? I had a much better sense of orientation than I did when I ran it for the first time in 2012,and always knew exactly where we were in the city. Part of that is knowing Berlin better these days, but a lot of it has to do with being constantly present and aware while I was running.
Not to say that the race was a piece of cake, by any means. I felt really strong and that gave me the confidence I needed to push myself and make myself uncomfortable. It was amazing! It was even more amazing because I didn’t do it to achieve a time, but rather because I was having a blast. There was absolutely nothing else in the world that I would have rather been doing than pounding out 13.1 miles on a chilly and damp morning with tens of thousands of other crazy runners.
Mission accomplished, wouldn’t you say? Today I’m back in Bremen with some sore muscles, but otherwise feeling good. I’m still reflecting on the experience and thinking about how I can carry this feeling forward into my future running and training. I can’t wait!
P.S. For photos along the actual race route, check out my race report from my last Berlin half marathon, which was on a much sunnier day!
P.P.S. Here are a few other race reports you might enjoy:
Yey! Congrats on finishing it. I have now started running again, thanks to the Zombies, Run! app which makes everything a zombie apocalypse audio book that you are the star of. Good times. Maybe I should try out a half marathon…
Hey, whatever works to get you moving! I think that would freak me out though. ;) I love the half marathon distance — it’s long enough to require some serious training, but is way less intense in terms of time and mileage than a full marathon.
Awesome work!
Thanks!!
Wow. That is really zen (I will use this word since I am in Japan at the moment). Being present is something I also struggle with in life and running. Since I started ‘getting serious’ with running I am constantly thinking: training, distance, pace, etc. Well, that is an inspiring blog post. Thank you.
Hey Nate, thanks for the comment! It’s something I constantly struggle with in life. Although it’s been so awesome to see my running improving with increased training the last couple of years, I have to remind myself that better times aren’t the *only* thing that’s important to me about running. I hope there’s a here a way to balance both training/improvement and being present!
Yay, yay, yay!! Mission definitely accomplished. Sometimes I think I can get so caught up in the numbers. How freeing to just be.
Yeah, numbers can be great, but it’s good to remember that they’re not everything!
Eons ago, a running guru and author named Dr. George Sheehan wrote in one of his books about the three phases of running: jogging, racing, and running – in that order and with the goal of becoming a runner just for the pure joy of running. Age and miles on bad knees are pushing me to not be a racer and jogging would actually be detrimental now as well. So I’m being forced into being a runner and it is starting to become enjoyable.
I’m glad that you’ve had this experience fairly early in your life and know that “racing” is not the final phase. I really enjoyed reading about this 1/2 marathon as well as your later posts with the five senses.
Thanks Uncle Clyde, that’s really motivating to hear! I’ll have to have a look at Sheehan’s books because that sounds right up my alley. :)
Congratulations! Sometimes it is nice to take a break from paces and heart rates and just run for fun. I got really burned out by my training last year so a break from structured training was just what I needed.
Agreed! I still want to improve my times, but it’s good to remember that I can enjoy running for other reasons too.
It is really freeing to run without worrying about time. I do it when I’ve had a particularly bothersome day and I just nee to blow off some steam. It sounds like you had a great race. Thank you for sharing on the link up!
Thanks! And what a great idea for a link up!
congrats to you! running sound be fun! I am glad you found it again :)
Congrats. I like all the thoughts related to motivation.