The Power of Negative Thinking

Racing has always been a bit of a hit or miss proposition for me. Even though, going into a race, I’m confident that I’ve adequately prepared myself to run well, some results tend to be better than others. While it may be impossible to pinpoint the exact reasons for failure, when I take a look back at my best racing performances, there seems to be one consistent reason for success: “negative splits”.

For those who don’t know, running negative splits means running slower early miles and faster later miles. As a result, your split times descend, or move in a “negative” direction, as the run progresses. The theory is that starting slow allows your muscle cells to warm up and take on huge volumes of oxygen before the really hard work begins, attenuating anaerobic metabolism and spiking fatigue-resisting aerobic energy production. Simply put, running negative splits allows your engine to warm sufficiently before shifting into overdrive! 

True Confessions of a Bone-Headed Runner

Ambition can be a marvelous tool to achieve success, but sometimes it can become the monkey wrench that gets chucked into even the most well conceived plans. These are the kinds of thoughts that run through my head as I sit here with an ice pack on my foot and a chip on my shoulder, after another failed attempt to conquer Boston.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a sophomore strider, having just joined the Gate City team last year. I’ve participated in few of the club races, and more than a few track workouts, but the main focus of my running has been marathoning. More specifically, Boston Marathoning. Like many other runners who grew up in the New England area, Boston has always represented the Holy Grail of running goals for me. Not just an average everyday goal, but an all out, full-blown obsession.