Post Run Reflections

Welcome to my seventh post in the Advent of Writing series.

Today I ran the Paris Saucony 10km race. Since I spent the week preparing for it and it took up most of today’s headspace, I don’t really have the capacity to write about much else. So this post is a bit of an experiment. I’m not entirely sure what it will become.

Context

I usually run 5-6 times a week, with a few gym sessions in between. I’m not training with any competitive goal in mind; it’s mostly about staying healthy. The last time I ran a race was a marathon before Covid, so it’s been a while. But a few colleagues signed up for the Saucony 10km, and it seemed like a fun challenge, so I joined them.

Outcome

I ran a personal best on the 10km: 46 minutes and 21 seconds. I’m pretty happy with that.

Reflections

The first few kilometers went by quickly, and around the third kilometer I settled into a solid pace. I could feel that I was pushing myself, but I was confident I could hold it until the end. Kilometers five to seven were the mentally toughest. I noticed I was slowly dropping speed, so I had to remind myself not to slack. My pace fluctuated more than I would have liked.

From the eighth kilometer to the finish line, it was simultaneously euphoric and agonizing. It was only a ten-minute window, but it somehow felt like an eternity. The music got louder and the cheering crowd gave me energy, but I was tired and my legs felt heavy. I knew this was the moment to push. I’d made it this far at this pace, and now it was just a mental game to bring it home. Yet it’s so easy to drop the pace without noticing and lose valuable seconds.

One epiphany I had is that this kind of mental battle is very different from what I’m used to in startups and building software. A race like this is a short burst where you really have to drive yourself to the end. Needless to say, I have nothing else planned for today, and I’m wiped out. Building companies looks more like how I trained for the race: go out for a run almost every day, focus on foundational zone-2 cardio with a few interval sessions, emphasize recovery, and don’t push too hard. Otherwise you can’t sustain it for years.

Startups aren’t won in a ten-minute sprint. They’re won in the quiet, unglamorous miles no one sees.

Summary

A friend just reminded me of a quote we used to say in the military:

The only easy day was yesterday

I love it. The easiest race is the one that’s already over. It definitely feels like that now. I can already feel my brain rewriting the pain, convincing me it wasn’t that bad, even though I know I’m fooling myself. But that self-deception is what makes us do it again. And I will.