Iss. 7 - Weekly RunDown
Watching top tier running as your everyday average runner
Thought of the Week
Back in 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran the first marathon under 2 hours. While the feat in 2019, did not count towards the world record books, Kipchoge had already claimed the Marathon World Record. Around the running world, at many marathon running events, the hot commodity at expos was a 20 ft long treadmill (padded of course) that was set to Kipchoge’s world record pace and eventually the pace he ran to go sub 2 hours in the 26.2 distance.
In the original iterations of this the treadmill was set at 4:38/mi and once Kipchoge broke 2 hours the treadmill was set to a 4:34/mi pace
Now, whenever I watch elite marathon events, my mind wonders, “how long could I hold that pace. When I have this thought two things happen.
The very next thought in my mind is “not long.”
My legs start to hurt just thinking about it.
As I watched the Olympic Marathon trials yesterday, my mind was continually blown at the hard work each and every athlete put in to run. My legs hurt thinking about the paces every athlete maintained for 26.2 miles. The men’s winning time was 2:09.05 (which breaks down to 4:56/mi). The women’s winning time was 2:22:10 (around 5:25/mi).
Yes this is the front end of the field, but even backing up in the field, these athletes are crushing. I am in awe watching all of them run. While thinking about their paces, makes my legs hurt, it is still such a motivator.
I consider myself somewhat of an average runner, and yet, seeing all these athletes accomplish, gives me motivation to push myself. I know that time is not everything when it comes to running, but I love to test myself, push myself to limits, and get the best out of myself.
I am working on some reflections from the Olympic trials, that I will hopefully publish soon. However, for know the biggest thing I am carrying with me this week from the happenings on the streets of Orlando is, we can accomplish great things. We all have our own definitions of greatness. I will never qualify for the Olympics, but I can put in the work every day to be the greatest version of myself in my own way.
Go out and be your best self.
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Rev on the Run
This past week
The highs and lows of training continue. Overall this was a good week of training, with some very good quality easy miles. I am becoming more comfortable with my easy pace, and am noticing that easy pace getting a bit quicker as I get more consistent.
Beyond the easy runs, I came in with a bold workout on Wednesday to try and inject some speed in preparation for Shamrock. I challenged myself with some 800m repeats, hitting my goal on each interval, and doing it feeling very calm and relaxed.
The long run was where a good bit feel apart. I delayed it until Sunday, and was not properly hydrated and forgot my nutrition and hydration at the house. Needless to say, I bonked and my fuel did not keep up with where I needed to be. I tried to do some 3k repeats, pushing my pace around a marathon pace. I got the intervals but cut the last easy jog interval and ended up still getting 15k for my long run.
Luckily next week is a down week, so I will have some good time for recovery this coming week.
Weekly Mileage: 33.3 miles (53.61 km)
Around the Network
Latest Run Build Grow Episode:
I had a reflection this past week on how we make every mile count. It is a mantra I use for motivation and one that I use a closer on the Run Build Grow Podcast. Check out that post here
This past Saturday was the Olympic Trials, and if you missed it you should try and check it out somewhere (it’s was broadcast on NBC and Peacock, though if you don’t have those you might be able to catch some highlights on YouTube). As I mentioned above, I am going to work on a recap post, and maybe even some stories of what I enjoyed. Keep an eye out for those post, and in the meantime feel free to check out my preview article I posted before the trials. Click here to check it out.
I like to share my sermons with this community, because I do feel an innate connection to my faith as well as my joy of running. I hope that you get a kernel of insight into my faith from them, and even if you are not a person of faith or even a Christian, I hope you don’t hold it against me. I am always open for conversations about faith and my life and work in the church, and even if you have struggled with what that relationship looks like, know this pastor is a safe space for any harm you have experienced at the hands of those who were meant to care for you.
With that, check out my sermon this week as I unpack God’s voice in Isaiah 40 as we are called to allow our experiences of God’s voice in our lives to push us forward as humans.
