Having already accomplished my goal of working hard on the ascent, I found myself relaxing a bit on the enjoyable, undulating descent on the Big Bluestem Trail. Glancing down at my watch, I noticed that not only could I PR on this loop, but I might also break a coveted 10-minute barrier. It was just the motivation I needed and pushed the pace down the hill.
PRs or Personal Records are coveted goals for any athlete, but especially for runners, who meticulously measure distance, speed, and time. PRs are what most runners use in place of WRs (world records) or Ars (American records) or CRs (course records). A PR is the fastest you personally have ever run over a certain distance. For most competitive runners, these are few and far between and, if they are middle-aged or greatly, likely far in their past.
Coming late to running, I still have PRs in my future (I hope), or at least not so far into my past. Just this past Thanksgiving, running in my first low altitude race in nearly a decade, I broke my 10+ year PR in the 5K. My goal this Memorial Day is to break 40 minutes in the 10K for the first time. This latter PR is even more special because breaking through any 10-minute barrier is always quite a thrill. I hope to run 39:50 or so, but I could jokingly answer someone who inquired about my time with, “Oh, thirty some minutes. I can’t remember exactly.” It will also be cool because, if successful, it will be the first time I run faster than my age (I turn 40 a month before).
But as I was saying, PR’s are rare. This is unfortunate as PRs are so motivating and something needs to be done about this. Runners have devised many ways to generate new PRs. The most obvious way is with new distances. While a PR in the 5.3K is a bit ridiculous, a PR a legitimate distance that you haven’t run before or rarely run is quite reasonable. There are races from 100 meters to 10,000 meters on the track and don’t forget to include the mile, two miles, etc.
Another good ploy is to use the high altitude excuse. While sprints tend to be faster at high altitude, all the distance events are slower. The fastest 10K run above 5,000 feet is well over a minute slower than the world record. Here in Boulder, Colorado, ever race is an altitude race. My wife Sheri runs nearly a minute faster in a 5K at low altitude and annually travels to California to race.
As you age, add in PRs for “over 40.” Heck, many races have separate Masters divisions for racers over 40, why not have a PR for over 40. World records are even tracked for most age divisions, but as with most world records, these are out of reach for 99.9999999% of the population.
These PRs will also be quickly exhausted, but the motivation need not stop there. In the track community, officials track the “best in the world this year.” These titles are fairly easy to pluck early in the year when the best racers are just easing into the season. I’ve started to track my “best time so far this year” as well.
Many race course, though fun, great events, are rather slow courses – either because of hills, conditions, crowds, etc. This shouldn’t stop you from going for a PR. Just modify the goal to a course PR. In fact, this is exactly what I was doing on the Big Bluestem trail. This was just my personal course, something I’ve labeled the Modified Brook Loop, after my sister.
Trail runners have a tremendous opportunity for PRs. There are nearly infinite variations to the courses. If it’s a loop or a lollipop course like the Marshall-Mesa Lollipop, I have PRs for each direction. On the Mesa Trail, a hilly 7-mile trail along the foothills from Boulder to Eldorado Springs, I have PRs for the north-to-south direction, south-to-north direction, and for the Double Mesa.
For some all this emphasis on PRs and record keeping is ridiculous and they probably haven’t read this far, but for some of us PRs are very motivational. When I want a hard workout, I’ll frequently pick a course that is the desired length and that might have a “soft” PR. A “soft” PR might be that I’ve never really run the course hard – only as a casual run. This makes getting a PR relatively easy, but it’s still fun.
I ended up finishing the Modified Brook Loop (run in the clockwise direction) in 39:46. This was a huge PR as my previous best was 42 minutes or so, but I also broke the 40-minute barrier – my goal in the Bolder Boulder 10K this year. Prophetic? I hope so…
- posted by Bill Wright @ Wednesday, April 17, 2002