Pacing yourself in a race

I was never fast enough to compete in track and field, but I married a guy with fast-twitch muscles — so my kids have speed. My husband ran the 400-meter hurdles in college (Occidental College), got second in the NCAA-Division 1, and ran on the USA track team.  He was part of the  4 x 400 relay team that ran 3:02, which he says is “fast.” While we were raising our kids, he gave them some valuable tips about pacing yourself in a race to avoid “the bear.” I’ll pass the baton to my husband for an explanation:

Front-runners in any race have to be careful about ‘the bear.’ Particularly in track and field, anyone who has run the 400 meters competitively knows about the bear — the weight you feel during the last 50 meters. Literally, it feels like you are carrying the weight of a brown bear on your back.

Front-runners look good for the crowd, running in front of the stadium, full of the cheering masses. It feels good to lead the race. With the rush of adrenaline, you feel so smooth, so fast for the first half; even for three quarters — you expect to keep the pace right through to the finish line.

The last fifty meters is the moment of truth. That’s when the bear can jump on your back. I know the bear, and I know the strong finish. The people in the stands never really know; that’s what makes the race so exciting.  Some of the great ones, from Michael Johnson to Secretariat, are so fast and so strong that the bear can never catch them. Some runners deliver a strong kick; the last fifty meters is when they come on strong. But if his feet are heavy; his arms are heavy…. he’s starting to lean back….he may not win.

And how does this apply to other things in life? Well, we always need to pace ourselves and have respect for the process and the journey of life. As Brandon Sanderson writes in his novels — “journey before destination.”

Just some old track photos from the good days: