Age of reason - Philip McCouat
(As published in the April 2001 issue of Runner's World)
A little while ago, it dawned on me that it was 15 years since I'd last set a PB. Fifteen years! The funny thing was that I'd never really admitted it to myself before. I'd always kind of explained it away.
I'm just too busy to train like I used to, I told myself. My motivation is not what it was. Theses clunky new running shoes I've got have slowed me down. And, when all else failed: This damn watch must be wrong.
Of course, none of these were true. But I believed them. Because I still felt that I was going as fast as I used to. I still got just as puffed. I still put in the same effort. But, inexorably, the clock ticked on. And despite all the denials and excuses, I finally had to face it - I'd got slower and I was almost certainly going to get even worse.
Now, for most sensible people this simply is not a problem. They decide to leave their running watches at home and enter a new, stress-free level of running. They refuse to be haunted by the burden of past PBs.
Naturally, I too tried this approach. Just go out and enjoy the run, I told myself. Experience the joy of running free. This sensible approach lasted me only three days. The problem was obvious - deep down, I did still care about the clock. And, short of a major personality change, I probably always would.
So, what to do? My first solution was to develop a deep interest in age categories. I worked out that if I managed to maintain my current level for the next 29 years and if I changed my sex, I'd be a shoo-in for at least a placing in the 80 to 90 years category of my local fun-run. Highly desirable, sure. But somehow it wasn't quite satisfying enough to qualify as a lifetime goal.
Enter plan B. I realised that if I couldn't set PBs at standard distances anymore, there was an alternative - I'd create new distances. The initial results were spectacular. You may, for example, be surprised to hear that I am the unofficial world record holder for 6.389km. Admittedly, this is a distance that is only rarely raced nowadays. (It just happens to be the distance down to the local shopping centre, plus three laps of the footy oval.)
Of course, this type of self-deluding creativity can only last for so long. Clearly a more constructive target was called for. And, after fiddling 'round with some figures, here's what I eventually came up with. I resolved that my lifelong goal would be to run 10km in less minutes than my age in years. So, for example, at age 39, I should aspire to run 10km in less than 39 minutes. At age 57, I should aim to do it in less than 57 minutes. And so on.
This, it seems to me, is a respectable but encouraging target for maturing runners. And the thing I really like about it is that the older you get, the easier it becomes. What's more, you only need to hit the target once a year. And even if you can't reach the target this year, you're likely to get closer and closer if you keep running long enough. So you get a continuing reward for a lifetime on running.
Of course, in a perfect world, I'd like to be able to report that this new resolve has made me a superbly confident, serene and fulfilled runner. Unfortunately, that's not entirely so. I still think my damn watch must be wrong.