The Power of Connection

Getting together with other runners has reignited my fire

Sep 18, 2020

This weekend was the first time in 6 months that I’ve run with more than 1 person.

What did I do? I ran a race!

It felt so good and such the right thing to do to line up with other runners to compete in the Run the Ave 5k down in Vineland. Andy did an AWESOME job of keeping everyone apart from each other at the start. I felt I did my part and did all of my pre-race running away from crowds; I did striders and drills away from the start line. Only in the last 3 or 4 minutes did I ever get remotely close to anyone and I was masked up and still off to the side. Even as the race started, I wore a mask to ensure I was doing my part.

If you were wondering, the race went very well for me. I was predicting a 17:50-18:10ish effort. I guess you could say I surprised myself with a 17:36. My first mile was 5:22, which is the same pace as I ran my sprints at the end of last week’s workout (:40 seconds for 200s), so that came as a bit of a shock, but then we all settled in and I ran splits of 5:51 and 5:48.

I really think I needed this in-person race to justify and solidify why I did all the summer running that I did. Since school has started, training naturally took a bit of a hit, but I’ve been keeping up my momentum (hello 6 am runs) and while my training volume has gone down, the fun I’m having continues to grow.

I’m hoping that in the next few months I can create/find some new challenges to tackle, as well as get my wife healthy enough so that we can both go for runs.

Are you running any fun events? Have a running challenge you think I’d like? Please, send information my way!

Friday’s Action Plan:

Look to support your local running community: shop local, share a social media post, or join an in-person or virtual event.

What’s Got My Attention:

Article: Review of the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%

Article: I’m a long distance runner: this is how I prevent post-run stiffness

Popular Newsletter Sessions:

Active vs Passive - Sept 2019

Saving the Racing for When You Are Ready - July 2020

Quote of the Day:

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it, time will pass anyway. - -Earl Nightingale

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Thanks for following along on the journey! Have something you’d like to add? Have suggestions or comments? Email me: TrainwithMarc@gmail.com

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Marc is a middle school teacher and coach but also works with distance runners online. I help distance runners around the globe by providing support, writing customized training plans, and designing workouts to help them reach their racing goals. I write for my blog every Wednesday morning and newsletter every Friday morning.

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