You’ve all heard the tale of the hare and the tortoise. I was reminded of it the last time I raced in Central Park, a 10K at the beginning of December. During the last couple of miles, I noticed a woman who would run very quickly for a while (a minute or two?) and then walk for a while. She was keeping pace with me almost perfectly. I tend to run a steady slow pace in both races and regular runs. I was curious about her method, but we were never next to each other long enough for me to ask.
I’ve recently noticed several articles about the walking/running method, or alternating fast and slow running. I’ve read that it’s good for increasing speed. I tried it this morning with 3-minute intervals, and eventually a fast (for me) mile. Although it felt weird to turn a run into an exercise, and actually think about what I was doing, I could imagine trying that sort of run again, maybe in a week or two.
It’s my impression that people are rabbits and turtles in their lives as well. Running is the only place where I’ve noticed I’m a turtle. In the rest of my life, I will run as fast as I can for a while, juggling multiple projects and working quickly to meet deadlines, and then I will collapse for days or weeks, doing as little as possible.
Are you a rabbit or a turtle?
As for the results of the 10K in Central Park – the tortoise lost track of the hare. I’ll never know which one of us crossed the finish line first.
