Reflections on the Tarahumara & Boston Training Notes

Tarahumara runners. (Source: http://born2run.pl/raramuri-eng/)

"The Tarahumara treat running as a fine art, something to be learned slowly and perfected over a lifetime...the goal isn't necessarily to become fast, it's to become good. Artists don't obsess over speed; they obsess over mastering skills. For runners, that skill is form. The more you learn about moving your body lightly and efficiently, the closer you'll be to running like the Tarahumara."
-Christopher McDougall (Emphasis mine)




I love this quote about the Raramuri, the running people of Mexico known to us by way of Christopher McDougall's seminal book "Born To Run". It's so easy to get captivated by numbers in our sport - how many miles one can run per week, how fast one can complete this or that race, what PR's we may hold, FKT's on exotic courses, and the like. Then throw on top of that the requisite .gps data, heart rate zones, and VO2 max, and it's easy to become paralyzed by all that data. It's fun to track our progress as we train to become "fast", but isn't that is such a relative term? What is fast for one person is not for another. What is fast over one particular distance may not be in another. I find it extremely refreshing and encouraging to think that there is something far more fundamental in the sport of running than finishing time and metrics.

Running can be pure joy. Of course it takes some time and work to reach that point, as ours is not a culture of simplicity in movement like that of the Tarahumara. Sometimes it's difficult and frustrating. But I think there is much we can learn from our neighbors to the south. We can run not to just get faster, but to become better. Better in our form. Better in our mental approach to the sport. Maybe even better in our approaches to life. I for one can attest to the positive impact that the sport has had on my life - no doubt, many others can do the same. And for this reason, I'll keep at it for as long as I am able.

Training Notes

So today was my last "long" run in advance of Boston - an 18 miler with 9 miles at my projected marathon pace. I'm targeting 6:40/mi as my race pace, and despite some challenging Texas spring winds today, I was able to hold pace for the most part at or below my target. I'm encouraged by my progress this spring - my races have been on point, I picked up my half marathon PR, my workouts have been on point, I'm not dealing with any injuries (knock on wood), and I generally feel very strong heading into the big race. If I can stay healthy for a couple more weeks, sidestep any airborne viruses, and hope for some decent weather, then I may have a pretty good shot at breaking that 3 hour mark.

Sounds easy enough. I had a plan (well, my coach did!), and I worked my plan. Now it's just about time to execute the plan....2 weeks to go!