The Hare & The Tortoise

The Hobopoet talks about one of his latest ventures - training for a 50 mile ultra. I ache and long for such an audacious goal... He outlines his training strategy: slow-oh-so-slow and steady. Sounds like good solid 'hare and tortoise' principals, and puts me in mind of the last marathon I ran - The Great Ocean Road in Australia. It's an amazing route, with scenery to cherish for all eternity. They close the roads for the morning, so the runners have probably one of the most driven tourist routes in the whole world, all to themselves! Magical. And also fairly hilly.

For the first 18 miles or so, I was mostly level with a guy with a very audible heart-rate monitor strapped to his chest. On the uphills, he'd barely take a few steps before his wristband started beeping frantically and he'd drop his pace to a walk. I'd keep chugging along at my steadily trained 'marathon pace', catch him, pass him, leave him in my wake (that turn of phrase makes it sound so glamorous!). But no matter how long or steep the hill, he'd always glide by me again before long, whenever we reached a downhill or a flat stretch. This pattern continued till around mile 18, when I began to break. The hills and the headwind got the better of me, and my steady pace broke down into a faltering mix of walking, shuffling, and pained jogging. The man with the monitor continued, effortlessly it seemed, off into the distance. I checked the results later, and found that he finished more than an hour ahead of me.

Slow-oh-so-slow works a treat. I don't know why I'm surprised. 'The Hare & The Tortoise' was one of my favourite childhood stories.

Image by rmricci