Am I a running snob?

When I indoctrinated myself into the club of running, one thing I noticed that was a constant conversation/concern was speed. Even when I ran by myself and didn't have another runner to keep up with there were always articles, apps and races highlighting faster runners. So naturally I assumed that speed was the thing to achieve at all costs and I became obsessed with it. I would push myself to run at speeds that were way too hard for me in the beginning which is probably why I stopped and started for so long, and also why I constantly suffered minor injuries.

Speed is something that seems to be an either popular or sensitive conversation and I have been on both ends of the spectrum. Unfortunately I have been one of those people who didn't want to run with the "slower" crowd. I put slower in quotation marks because everyones idea of slow is different. I was always under the impression that unless I was running hard and fast every single time, then I wasn't reaping the benefits of running.

Just yesterday someone vented on Facebook about being called a jogger because their pace is in the double digits. My initial thought was Ouch! No one and I mean NO ONE in the running community wants to be called a jogger. That's the most derogatory thing you can say to a runner. And yet other runners use that word so casually when it comes to people who run a 10 minute per mile pace or slower. Unless you were running everywhere as a child, or your body is perfectly designed for running, or you're from Kenya you had to start somewhere. And even the previous examples I gave doesn't mean that those people will start their running career at a 7 minute mile.

I tell people all the time that I love the running community because we are all inclusive but more and more I see that this isn't really the case. As human beings we have a tendency to want to categorize ourselves whether for our own comfort or to put others down (or both). The running community is no different in that we tend to idolize the fastest runner, yet talk bad about the slower runner. Now that's not to say that we can't congratulate the people who are faster, who have trained harder and committed themselves to this sport day in and day out. But I also think that we should honor the people who struggle to finish a mile without stopping.

Truth is that the boom in running is due in large part to the middle and back-of-the-pack runners in races. These are the people who on top of working a full-time job and managing a family, have decided to take up the sport of running and do it because it fulfills a need. A friend also reminded me that many runners whose pace is in the double digits tend to be overweight, another group that is overlooked (and sometimes criticized) by other runners. 

In the past I didn't say bad things about runners slower than myself but I also didn't say really positive things either. My perspective soon changed when I got a taste of my own medicine. I started a training plan over a year ago that had me running at about two to three minutes slower than my pace was at the time. To a non-runner that may not seem like a lot but it is a considerable difference. I remember reviewing the plan and thinking I can run so much faster than this. Why am I running so slow? Though I wanted to drop the plan I had already made the commitment and decided to keep it.

After only one week I was beginning to eat my words. Running at the slower pace was much harder than it was running at my faster pace. I found out that my form was absolute crap, something that was hard to detect when I ran faster. I also discovered that I really had no endurance. When I ran at a faster speed I could go no more than seven miles max without completely bombing. The slower pace helped me to gain endurance, built up my cardiovascular system and mental capacity for longer distances. To solidify my change in thinking I ran a race at a slower pace and discovered that all the other people who were running around me were working just as hard, if not harder, as the runners who already finished.

Another interesting experience that I've had is with the group that I currently run with. I've been with the group for only six months or so. When I started the group I only did the longer distances so I often ran at a slower speed. After doing some speed sessions and the other runners noticing that I'm a faster runner than they thought, more of the members began to engage me in conversation. I didn't want to think that this was the case but it was pretty hard to deny the truth. Now that I'm viewed as a fast runner amongst the group, my slower paces are considered smart training practices. 

I don't post my running stats as often as I did before. When I do post I often debate whether I'm sharing my experience out of sheer excitement for my new achievements or I'm just showing off. Before I click share I have to ask myself What am I trying to convey by sharing this? I don't always get it right but I continue to work on it.

All the runners who've been doing numerous marathons at break-neck speed had to have a beginning. Even those of us who continue to reduce our times the more and more we race get caught up in chip times and paces. How soon we forget that it wasn't always this way and we had to work hard to cut our 5k time from 40 minutes to 35 minutes. The trick is to not look at the back of the pack with disdain but with admiration.