What Is Fast?
As someone who works in the shoe industry, I hear a lot of discussions about what fast is. Current and former track athletes discuss fast in terms of seconds per 400, 200 or 100. Football athletes may discuss speed in terms of how many seconds someone run’s the 40 in (not sure if this is yards or meters, though I’m assuming yards, cause America). Cross country and road runners often discuss this idea in terms of the mile, or their 5k PR. Adult onset runners often discuss fast in terms of their Boston Qualifying (BQ) time…
The dictionary has a number of definitions and I find it fascinating that speed isn’t the primary definition.
Firmly fixed, tightly shut, not easily freed
Stable
Loyal
Characterized by quick motion, operation or effect; moving or able to move rapidly; taking a comparatively short time
The truth is that fast is all relative. I may cover more mileage in less time than some, and cover far less mileage in far more time than others. To person A I am faster, to person B I am slower, and yet we designate some as fast and others as not.
Running is this beautiful sport and while it can greatly benefit the physical and mental health of the individual, the “fast” comparison can also be detrimental to the mental health of runners. I’ve seen incredible runners who devote so much time and energy into the sport be devastated at a race they performed incredibly at because they didn’t hit that magical BQ standard. They continue throwing themselves over and over on that wall, racing, falling short, and registering again looking for that elusive BQ.
Does hitting a BQ make you worthy of the title fast runner? Does taking an age group podium? Or most importantly, does taking a strava QOM make you fast? I guess the truth is that the answer to any of these can be yes or it can be no, it’s all down to the individual, and that is perfectly fine. The issue that I have when we talk about fast is that too often other peoples definition of fast gets projected onto someone else.
Let’s take a scenario:
You’ve just run your heart out in a race. You cross the finish line, stop the watch, look down and see you’ve set a new PB! It’s time to celebrate! You see a friend and share the news which often leads to the question: what was your pace? I hate this question, lol! So often that question gets asked and then when I answer, there’s a look that flys across the questioner’s face, and it takes the wind out from my sails. Why do we ask the pace question? Does it matter? Yes, there are people in my life with whom I wanna break down every detail of the run, but often, I just wanna celebrate the run, PB or not.
One of the things I am challenging myself to work on is to change the way I talk about the run, to change the questions I ask and the way I celebrate accomplishments with people. Yeah, a PB does involve a time element and a pace element, but how do you feel after the race? How did you feel during? Tell me about the experience! I may be projecting my emotions and thoughts onto the running society and I apologize if I am, but if we all start talking about running differently instead of terms of pace and time, perhaps we could infuse more joy into the community, into the world.
I was listening to a podcast with Meb that was recorded before this years Boston Marathon, the tenth anniversary of his Boston victory. I found it very exciting that while he did have a time goal, that was less important to him than talking to runners on course and getting high 5’s at every mile on course! Yes, with our gps watches and Strava it is easy to strip a run down to our pace per mile and whether we negative split the run and that is excellent discussion with our coaches and even training partners. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have time goals for races either or that celebrating those is bad. My goal in my own post run questions and discussion though is to expand the conversation. How did the process feel? How do you feel after? What went really well, or what didn’t?
I don’t want fast or not fast to be how my running is defined or how I define other runners. Speed is such a small part of what running is within the human experience and within the running experience. So in the end, what is fast? I don’t know and I’m not sure I care. I do care about always moving forward. Always pushing myself to be my next best version of me as a person and as a runner.
Be safe, be smart, and keep moving forward!