Going the Distance

MANILA, Philippines -- A few months into running, I started training for my first 10k race. I've had two 5ks under my belt then – the Adidas King Of The Road and the Milo Marathon. That was in mid-2007.

My friends were all more seasoned runners than I was, hence the looming insecurity that gripped me every time I saw the disparity between the colors of our race bibs. It didn't help that the running group I joined back then glorified mileage-building a little too much. The collective mindset was: the further you could run, the better you are. Some bragged about their 60km/week mileage condescendingly, making a neophyte aspire to reach that mileage. The pressure can take its toll on you if you are surrounded by mileage-hungry people.

But when Coach Ani de Leon and Senator Pia Cayetano guested in our sixth episode, they confirmed that the mindset I've had for the past year was a horrible mistake. For someone who has done all distances from 5 to 55 (nope, I haven't done a 42 just yet, nor do I plan to do so in the near future), I learned the lesson the hard way.

Running longer distances doesn't automatically make one a better runner. Sure, part of it does, as your endurance is built up, but in my relatively short period into running, I've felt more accomplished beating one 5k PR after another than running a half-marathon.

The lesson I learned was, respect the distance. Have utmost reverence for it. We all develop differently, having different lifestyles, different footstrikes, different body types, different goals. Don't feel left out that all your friends are doing the 21k while you do the 5k. Find your niche, find what challenge you, find worth embarking on. Who knows? You could be built to conquer the 5k event if you focus your energies into it.

When I ran a miler last month, the gripping reality sank in. The miler was the ultimate test of speed and endurance. With a 100m, it's still anaerobic. But the miler taxes both your lungs and muscles. I woke up the next morning with my shoulders more painful than my legs. It could be that vigorous. It was a new pain, a new experience, a new challenge. Since it doesn't happen too often – I got word that the next miler will be this coming November – I am more able to direct my energies. I guess it's a blessing in disguise that multi-race weekends that turn the metro into a saturated hotbed for runners do not include the miler in their events.

So I've found my niche distance. What's yours?

Marga Deona is the producer of Run Radio, the first show on running in the country. Tune in every Friday, 9-10pm at NU107 and visit http://runradio.wordpress.com for podcasts