Lesson 4: The Energy

Every runner knows the Work. The Pain. The Laziness. But every runner also knows the Energy.

Long, warm summers are the antithesis of the Energy. Dark, cold winters of painfully cold mileage are the antithesis of the Energy. I would tell you what the Energy is, yet at the same time, one cannot understand what the Energy is without understanding what it is NOT. The Energy, by nature, is defined more by what it is NOT than what it is.

It is the runner's contradiction.

The deep, debilitating tired state of the runner is at its peak during base season. You have to be very tired, all the time. If you're not, you're not doing enough work. You break down, and oddly enough it is expected. You become slugging, irritable, and sleepy. Above all else, sleepy. All your body wants to do is rest and stop this madness.

Once summer is over, you get into workouts. Fartleks, tempos, intervals, hard 10mile runs, etc. The tiredness is not as deep, but it hurts more on the surface than summer did.

Once fall and workouts are over, you get into winter base for track. You go back to the debilitating, break-you-down status. Except this time - there is no solitude of sunlight. The dismal darkness is your only friend. I hope you like skiing.

Then Track and spring comes. The tired pain is gone, and replaced with the fresh pain of speed. Speed kills, and lord knows that metaphor works both ways. The track is hot, and your legs churn well over 15mph.

And FINALLY we come to it....the Energy.

You see, all of the work you've put in over the previous year, all the hard miles the deep grind, the sharpening, all this leads to a machine. Your body is a machine. It can change gears faster than the worlds best Indy racer, it can put in a surge that would leave any other mortal vomiting and clutching their sides - before you actually make it.

YOU. are ready.

The finally touch, the Coup de Grâce so to speak, is the tapering phase. You are 1-3 weeks away from conference, nationals, worlds, the Games or whatever meet you choose.

The work.....starts....decreasing? The intervals, though fast, are so easy....What...what is this feeling....

A couple reps here, a recovery run there.

I am awake at night, unable to sleep. It's 3 AM, and my energy levels are off the fucking roof. The normal debilitating work that throws me into a deep, dreamless sleep has been cast off like an unwanted blanket. My heart jumps, what is going on?

All you want to do is get out there and go. Just destroy everything that comes between you and the finish line.

THIS is a new you. The normal leg bounce you have in class is getting out of god damn control. It's like you're trying to fuck your desk your legs are bouncing and twitching so much. They talk to you. They want you to set them free.

You want to kill the workouts to get back to that feeling, but wise coaches demand you hang back, not let loose. Your legs are most important when the time comes. This dinky interval - this means nothing.

The RACE matters.

You will harness all of that Energy, all of those extra cells not used, every breath not breathed, every heartbeat not taken.

And NOTHING will get in your way.

But.

Nothing.