We're two days out from my annual physical fitness test, the Monument Avenue 10K. My time in these 6.2 miles becomes my gauge for what I'm capable of as a runner for the rest of the year. I put way too much emphasis and energy into realizing a time goal in this race. Failing to meet my goal or not running as fast as the previous year feels like some kind of personal failing. It really just means I didn't spend enough time training for the race.
The Monument Avenue 10K helps me understand my evolution and development as a runner. The first time I ran this race I trained almost exclusively on a treadmill. I would go to the gym on my lunch break and get in 45 minutes or so. I would be gone from work for a couple of hours. I rarely ran outside. Rowing was a big part of my training back then too. Now I do almost all of my running outside. I almost abandoned rowing over the last couple of years, but I've picked it back up after my August knee injury. My times don't really vary much over the years. I broke 50 minutes for the first time last year, but my slowest time is only 4 or 5 minutes slower than that.
I guess it's the consistency of my participation in this race that makes it so meaningful. I'm out there every year. Some years I've been able to train for months, while my training has been less than optimal due to injuries. I'm out there racing my younger self, and every year that passes gives that younger version of me more of an advantage. I have to work harder to keep up with him, and really put in the effort if I want to surpass my younger self. There are plenty of guys my age who run much faster than me. I have room to improve. The question is just how much I want to improve.
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