Guest Post: Did I get it wrong? ...by Pat Walsh

* Did I get it wrong? *

A thoughtful post and constructive opinions are welcomed.

When I was younger and a bit quicker I concentrated on short, fast races. As I aged and slowed, I moved to longer distances to compensate and give myself a challenge. We will age and we will slow down, so is it a search for validation and achievement.?

But have I got it all wrong.?

Should I have done the longer stuff when I was younger and my body had the strength and resilience to cope with the mileage needed.

And then as I aged, to cut back on distance and try to keep some speed with a reduced overall mileage.

5 men in Ireland have broken 2.10 for the marathon in the last 18 months and none are old. New era in Irish running. Top 5 in the record list. They haven’t gone through the…. I’m aging, I’m slowing so I better do a marathon. They are young and going for it. 

Best of luck Fearghal, our Marathon record holder in Tokyo on Sunday.. 

We are all different, with varying ideas of what is right and wrong for ourselves.

No two bodies are the same and some have to ability to continually put up big mileage while others get injured if they train 3 times a week.

How many 50+ pick up some injury that threatens their running future while the same thing at 30 would be a rub of deep heat and away we go.

If we run longer we need to recover and our ability to do that lessens with age.

I got injured as I got older because my body could no longer handle the weekly totals. 

Why was I doing it? I was slowing down anyway.

My fastest marathon was as a 25 year old on a whim, with nothing better to do and a few weeks training.

My last marathon a few years ago, was 30 years after the first one. It was my slowest and I was preparing for 5 months for it.

Did I fixate on weekly mileage while ignoring strength and flexibility? I was slowing, so slogging out extra slow miles was actually counter-productive to my overall ability to run. 

I’m asking questions and not offering definite opinions. I have had a fantastic time running and met so many lovely people and made beautiful memories. Things I would never change, but it never hurts us to just ask questions about what is best for ME.

On a lighter note, I may be getting wiser in my old age and will be available with my free travel pass in a few years to come and lecture you.

Have a lovely week and for the benefit of your running future… ignore me. 

#pwr