Argomenti trattati
I first discovered distance running by accident. As a sophomore on the sprint squad, I was asked to run the 800 at a meet with no special preparation, and the result surprised everyone—including my coach. After that race the coach directed me to train with the distance group, and that shift marked the beginning of my running story in 1987. Over the years I ran intermittently, keeping my habit most often during summers because I work as a high school English teacher at Ballard (yes, Go Bruins!). That early moment of being placed in an unexpected event shaped how I view challenge and adaptability on the road.
When schools closed during the pandemic I transformed those intermittent miles into a steady routine. With time to spare I signed up for many organized events, starting with frequent 5K races and gradually extending to 10K, 15K, and eventually a half marathon. Each race felt like both a milestone and a laboratory where I tested pacing, fueling, and mental strategies. Running became less about proving anything to others and more about refining the personal metrics that matter to me.
Why I keep lacing up
At the heart of my practice is the idea of self-improvement through measurable progress. I love competing against my own past efforts; the goal is to beat prior times rather than chase someone else on the course. That kind of focus builds mental toughness, sharpened endurance, and clearer thinking—all benefits that spill into my work and daily life. I often describe this concept with the term self-competition, a mindset that treats every run as an opportunity to improve one variable: pace, distance, or consistency. That inward competition keeps training purposeful and prevents the routine from feeling hollow.
Training philosophy and race strategy
Pacing, breathing, and hill management
Effective racing depends on a few manageable variables: pacing, breathing, and handling the terrain. My practical advice centers on disciplined restraint early in a race and patient effort on hills. The first mile can be misleading—what I call the first mile deception—because it may feel too hard or deceptively easy, and that misread can ruin the rest of a race. Focus on even effort rather than speed in mile one, control your breathing patterns, and use hills as strategic moments to settle into rhythm rather than burn out. Over time those small controls compound into consistently better finishes.
Making long distances manageable
I train with a simple framework: the 5K is my foundational unit. Treating longer races as multiples of that base makes pacing feel more accessible. For example, when I approach a 15K I mentally map it as three successive 5K segments, each with its own tiny plan for pace and effort. This segmentation turns an intimidating distance into a sequence of achievable targets. Using the 5K as a building block also simplifies workouts: interval sessions, tempo runs, and recovery runs all relate back to that core distance.
Routes, races, and the local running community
Although I don’t live there, St. Matthews remains my favorite neighborhood for training. I typically begin my runs in Seneca Park and weave through the community streets, enjoying both the scenery and the runner-friendly routes. The area supports varied paces and terrain, which is helpful for the mix of speed work and endurance training I like to do. The familiarity of certain stretches—knowing where the hills come and when to recover—makes races there feel like tests of specific plans rather than unknown challenges.
Why River City Races matter
The series of River City Races plays an outsized role in my calendar. Their frequent scheduling gives me regular targets and tangible reasons to sharpen workouts throughout the week. Signing up for an upcoming event provides motivation to get out of bed and run on mornings I might otherwise skip. Beyond logistics, the races are well organized and have introduced me to many fellow runners, creating a social layer to the sport that complements the solitary satisfaction of improving one’s own times.
All told, running started for me as a thrown-together experiment at a high school meet and matured into a discipline that supports both body and mind. The combination of a clear training philosophy—centered on the 5K as a foundation—deliberate race management like pacing and breathing, and active participation in local events such as the River City Races keeps the practice rewarding. Whether you’re beginning with a single fast lap or planning a sequence of longer races, a few consistent rules will make the miles count.