Socially Distant Running - the What and the How to My Why

In my first article – My Name is David…and I am a Runner – I outlined my journey from being a reasonably fit non-runner, starting on March 18th at 5 a.m., to meeting my 4 #northamcomingout goals by June 10th and considering myself a humble addition to the world of the runner. I managed 10 miles in one hour 34 minutes, 7 miles in under one hour, a mile at below 7-minute pace, and 5 miles in under 40 minutes before the deadline date came along. This sequel covers the next chapter, reinforcing my “why”, maintaining the motivation and effort, and embarking on the next leg, the #runthesocialdistance goals.

In case we didn’t meet last time, my name is David. I am a proud husband and father first and foremost. I am lucky to have a supportive village of friends and colleagues. I have four loving parents 3,500 miles away, a distance made all the greater by COVID-19. I love my job, and I love the company I work for, #atpco, for which I look after airline industry pricing and retailing #standards. I have a positive outlook. I run to improve myself. I know my why.

Getting past June 10th, it was surprisingly easy to fall into the “done it” mindset – four fairly challenging running goals achieved, blog post written, check check. In addition, for those who have said or have thought “you’re so lucky to want to get up early and enjoy running”; it never, ever gets easier and I never really "want" to do it. 4:20 a.m. is 4:20 a.m. however you pitch it, and the first mile or two is nearly always spent doubting my ability to complete the task at hand. It’s a mental and physical battle that never ends - head, heart, stomach, lungs, legs, repeat, repeat, repeat. It takes effort, and that alone makes it worth the effort. And so I set out on June 15th to begin the long road toward #runthesocialdistance. It looks a bit like this:

1.     Run an under 6-minute mile

2.     Over 1,000 feet of elevation in any single run

3.     Run a half marathon (13.1 miles) in under 2 hours

4.     Run 8 miles in under an hour

Here’s how I did it.

Running a 6-minute mile means getting very strong and belting it out, or getting somewhat strong and a tad creative. I always figured that the 7-minute mile could be improved upon in the hills around Leesburg. There’s a lovely mile stretch on Thomas Mill Road that drops a steep 288 feet. That was my setting, at 5:15 a.m. on July 17th, for banking a 5:58, then on August 12th, a 5:51.

It was around this time that my colleague Patrick and I started socially distant running together, meeting weekly at about 4:50 a.m. in some spot around Leesburg and becoming firm running buddies and firmer friends over the months. Patrick is a 5 or 6 day-a-week runner, and can endure long distances at pace – and happened to be looking for something outside his regular W&OD trail running. I, on the other hand, am getting pretty strong and can go up hills quite fast, but my pace setting is rubbish and I’m inclined to burn out. A perfect gentleman, he agreed to attempt the remaining goals together, so we held each other accountable, and we held each other up.

Over 1,000 feet of elevation is daunting, but by late summer, after all of the 99% humidity and mornings running at 80 degrees Fahrenheit, we were more hill-savvy. Hill running has the lovely attribute that you pretty much always “die” on the hill - reach the walking point - but a little bit further up it, or a bit faster to the same spot each successive time. We committed to my first ever 13.1 miler, a double loop of a big hill route that we had run half of a couple of times, in the hope that we could snag 1,000 feet of elevation and an under-2 hour half marathon for a two-goals-in-one. On September 11th, we missed it by 5 minutes and 25 seconds, although we bagged 1,190 feet of uphill in a single run - goal 2 in the bag. Almost falling over in the humidity at the finish, my closing words to Patrick were “well Patrick, I guess we’ve got to try the half again in the next 2 weeks”. A Pyrrhic victory if ever I saw one.

On September 25th, with many less hills, we set out again at 4:50 a.m. to double loop Morven Park and the town of Leesburg, and with much better temperatures, managed a speedy 1 hour 51 minutes 51 seconds to close down goal 3, surely a result of all of enduring all those gradients for the summer months. 5 days to deadline, and one goal remaining, always the hardest by my reckoning.

Running 8 miles in under an hour was frankly a goal I pulled out of thin air, it’s one better than 7 miles in under an hour, right? The reality of running 8 miles consistently at 7:30 minute miles or less is very daunting, no less because the last run had put 13 miles on my legs. Getting creative again, on September 29th with one day to go to the deadline, my wife Pranam Bai set up the logistics, me leaving my car at the bottom of the Blue Ridge mountains, and her driving me 8 miles up to Mount Weather, and nervously dropping me to set off down the 1,500 feet of downhill. What I didn’t realize was that there were nearly 300 feet of uphill in there as well, an oversight that took a heavy toll.

I can honestly say that it was the hardest physical activity I have ever done. I had given up by mile 6, with a very fast start - I inadvertently put in my fastest ever 5K at 20:51 and 10K at 43:57 - but exhausted, and with 2 miles still to run. Doesn’t sound like much unless you’ve just covered 6 miles in about 41 minutes and every tenth of a mile becomes a millstone. That was when I drew hard on my why, thought deeply about Pranam Bai and Ellis, and found a few fumes in the tank to bring it in at 59 minutes 10 seconds. That was it. #runthesocialdistance goals met, every single one.

I’ve learned a lot in this go around, in 3 months, 145 miles, 21 hours on the road, a little over 17,000 calories burned, and around 9,300 feet of hills climbed ; a little bit more established than in June, I now know that I don’t like running to music, because it takes away from the hardship. I know getting out of bed at 4:20 a.m. and running twice a week is literally never easy or positive to start with, but nearly always positive to end with, and has the benefit of not eating up any of my time with Pranam Bai and Ellis. Despite many people asking when I’m running my first marathon, there’s no joy in it for me, or any gain towards my why, so 13.1 is my limit. 8 miles in under an hour is something I will never attempt again, although I wouldn’t mind if I achieved it again. The next set of goals, #findyourwhy2020, will focus instead on speed over short distance, hills and elevation, and consolidating on the half marathon distance.

Through it all, I have such strong emotional support from my wife, Pranam Bai; I have a running partner who always shows up when he says he will; I have family in England and colleagues at work cheering on this effort and calling it “inspiring”, and never asking “why on earth?”. I have a 22-month old toddler who loves to dance to Blink 182 who I can pogo with as much as he likes, and not be tired out at the end of the day. I am a very lucky individual. Last but not least, I know my why; these goals, and running in general, are the glue that give me my what and my how.

#togetherisbetter #teamsmith #findyourwhy #weareatpco #onrunning #runonclouds #runthesocialdistance