"Coach Steve", friend and sub-three-hour marathoner, has counseled me not to attempt training runs of more than 20-23 miles. There's too great a chance of injury, he warns, if one tries to do a full-length marathon in circumstances other than competition where the result really counts. It's important to save one's mental energy for the genuine thing — and to preserve the magical aura that deservedly surrounds that historic long race.

"Respect the Distance," Steve advises.

No doubt he's right — for a serious runner. But I run for fun, and am hoping to do some slow jogs around my extended neighborhood that may stretch a bit beyond the 26.2 mile classic marathonic zone. Perhaps some day, in my fantasy-world, I'll even try an ultramarathon.

So I've come up with a mantra to describe a more light-hearted training regime:

But of course, the distance in turn is quite likely to be disrespectful of me ...

(see also SlowerRunnersGuide (30 Oct 2002), ... )

TopicRunning - TopicHumor - 2003-11-26

(correlates: Body Tides, WithoutLimits, Spam Patrol, ...)