The 27th mile

On October 9th I ran in the Melbourne Marathon, my second marathon for 2011 and my fifth overall. When I ran in May, I went out too fast, holding about a 3:10 pace for 30km, and then hit the wall in the last 8km to finish in 3:23:25. This time I was determined not to repeat that mistake. Despite the threat of rain, and some wind, it was a good morning to run. Primus was running in the 10km starting half an hour after me, and a kind friend came with her children to keep Secundus company while we ran.

I started more gradually (necessary anyway when there are 6000 people), and stayed ahead of the 3:20 pacers until at least the 20km mark. I stuck with the pacers (who had little flags), until near the 30 km mark. To here, I been averaging about 4m 47s per km. Over the last 10km my speed dropped a bit, to 5m 03s per km, but I held it together. Unlike in May, I could still enjoy this section to some extent, keep my head up and maintain my form (meaning the way that one runs). I crossed the line in 3:23:15, only 10 seconds ahead of my May time, but feeling relatively better. I say relatively because my experience from marathons is that my legs hurt for about the first half hour after the finish.

Should I be happy or disappointed that I ran a more evenly paced race, and was only 10 seconds faster? I usually have a hierarchy of goals. This time it was

1. start the race (could be prevented by illness or injury)
   
2. finish the race
3. Under 4 hours
4. Under 3:30
5. Under 3:17 (my fastest time)
   

So in this perspective I achieved just about everything I set out to do. I also have to take account of the effects of getting older. It's estimated that past 40 one's marathon time increases by about 1 minute per year on average, so on that reckoning I'm still doing well.

As I've also expressed before, the race itself is much less important than the training. Now I regard the race as a motivational tool to keep running - up until this marathon I'd run 1700 km in 2011. Keeping fit and healthy is one thing that increases my chances of seeing the boys become adults.

Now I've reacher the 27th mile, the post-marathon recovery period. This time around I'm taking two full weeks off running. Although the stiffness wears off after a couple of days, it's recommended that one takes longer to let the body recover from the mechanical stress. I'm also enjoying getting all this time when I would otherwise be running, especially on weekends. The drawback of distance running in my life is that it takes away time from other vital things, such as being with the boys.

The other characteristic of the 27th mile is wondering what else I could achieve if I put an equivalent amount of effort (four months of training and 800-1000 km) into some other activity. Apart from all its other benefits, I enjoy running, and it gives me an uninterrupted space to myself. One of my tentative plans for 2012 is to do some theological study. The nearest college is only about 10 minutes drive away from home, and I could take a subject on one evening per week. In the first half of next year it would be early church history, which is for me an exciting prospect. The most likely option at present is to audit the course, rather than pay full fees.

As the boys get older, I feel that I have more flexibility with my time. As I often say, it's not anything, it's everything -- I can choose to do one demanding activity like distance running, but I can't choose everything at once. The challenge is to use time well, to balance my interests and needs against the bigger picture of keeping everything going, of running the longer race of being a single parent.