Some years ago I frequented a nice blog RunsLikeAGirl. I even met its blogger once, although I’d see her now and then along a popular local path. Then one day it was gone. RacesLikeAGirl emerged as the butterfly from this metamorphosis.
I don’t recall whether she said why the change, although she likely did. But I thought of it as I walked home from the train tonight. Is it not the perfect way to describe the runner who steps back early in the year and maps to a greater or lesser extent a “program” for getting from the start to the finish of a specific race as fast as possible? Applying the periodization principle. Twenty-four weeks divided into 4. Races en route ends in themselves but more are the means to racing that one race as fast as possible.
Every run made a chance to shave seconds. Every run missed a foregone opportunity to shave seconds.
Nothing to do with speed in some absolute sense. As my friend Pascal noted in his wonderful 2008 marathon report (PDF), 2:20 is unreachable for us, but it’s a stroll in the park for Geb. It’s a state of mind. Jogger. Runner. Racer.
RunWestchester 
4 comments
Comments feed for this article
March 12, 2009 at 1:15 pm
AnthonyP
Very cool that I found your blog. I sent you some info a while back on the “no group” rule at Rockies for your Westchester Trails site.
March 22, 2009 at 1:26 pm
“What kind of runner would I be?” « RunWestchester
[…] My advice led one person to pose the title question, i.e., “What kind of runner would I be if I just gave up because of a minor setback?” Putting aside that this was not a “minor setback,” my answer would be a racer. […]
March 22, 2009 at 3:37 pm
threlkeld
Somehow I managed to miss this post. Thanks for the mention.
The name change was for both prosaic and philosophical reasons. Prosaic because I wanted my own domain and “runslikeagirl.com” was unavailable. Philosophical because, as you describe, at some point in 2008 I’d clearly set myself on the evolutionary path from fitness jogger, to unfocused runner, to dedicated marathon racer.
I was blind but now I see.
December 15, 2012 at 8:11 pm
cg9m
“a foregone opportunity to shave seconds.” i guess that’s why you’re not racing anymore…
o.m.g. the attitudes on this blog never cease to “amaze”. and disgust.