In similar fashion, like the phrase “No Coasting!” - Now that’s one I’ve been hearing quite often lately, from a Welshman on a mountain bike. He follows me while I run, quietly analyzing my mannerisms, reading me like a book, and just as I think he’s disappeared off to encourage the other group, just when I feel alone on the path in the shadows where no one can see me let down my guard and coast for just a few minutes, I hear it: “Bobby, no coasting!” He says in a quiet, conversational tone, his accent creating a challenge to decipher what exactly he’s saying. I know what he’s saying. He knows that I know what he’s saying. So he says it. Thus waking me up from my moment of self-pity and urges me on forward to run every step until the workout is complete. Steve Jones will not let me coast.
Maybe I should back up a bit, and explain how I got to the point where Steve Jones (“Jonesy”) is tailing me on his bike down the Creek Path. Well, March found me jumping into a few uninspired races and running mediocre at best. I’ll say I was pleased with the efforts of each race, though we all know that’s code for “Screw that, I ran like crap”. The strength gained from the 120 mile-weeks over the winter remained dormant in me, nothing in particular destroyed me (I recovered extremely quick from race to race), though the mid-race Grind-It-Out attitude was missing.
Running is an objective sport. You’re either running good, or your not. There’s no talking your way to a PR or Win, you actually have to Do It. My results were telling me what I had been ignoring for a while: Maybe you should take a recovery week? Or a few? Rationally speaking, I couldn’t expect to continue hammering away and actually race well. I needed to allow my body to absorb all the mileage like a sponge so I could eventually squeeze out all the water when the time was right. Alright, lowering the mileage it is. This was Step One.
Step Two required Guidance. I’ve been running for nearly 20 years, and have accumulated a lot of information from many people. I’ve learned what works for me, and what doesn’t (and I’ll leave room when saying this to the unknown - there’s always more to learn). Being objective - as running is - I returned (here we go back to my first post on Meno’s Paradox) to what has worked well for me in the past: Jonesy.
There are no special workouts, and no glittery workout names. It’s Simple. You show up, work hard, and go home. His program (Fartleck, Tempo, Hills, Long Run, Repeat; variations of this) - and approach to training in general, allows you to simplify, and essentially to Focus: the few things I have made a staple in my own training this year. As an athlete, it’s difficult not to follow his examples (“Attitude Reflects Leadership”), in his Hard, Grind-It-Out racing style. Sure, I could continue to train on my own. But when the question came “Do I Want More”, the answer was the obvious “Yes”. By returning to the environment that produced many of my Personal Records, it was a no-brainer. He’s a man of a few words, but those words carry weight, and when former World-Record holder Steve Jones tells you not to coast, you do not coast, such is the Legend of Jonesy.
So here are, back on the Creek Path, grinding it out while passing sleepy coeds who are heading to class. I’ve got a Welshman on my tail who won’t let me coast. I’m pumping hard, leaning forward and hoping to flow down the path like the mountain water that is doing so effortlessly next me. Somewhere in the haze of pain and oxygen debt, somewhere between Jonesy’s words, I connect the dots and think back to a you-tube video of the man following me on his bike, an epic 10,000 meter battle that still gives me chills watching it. Just when he’s being caught in his final strides, just when it appears he may be falling asleep, he wakes UP as the music crescendos, and fights back for the win.
“Jonesy, No Coasting!”, yeah, I don’t think anyone really had to ever tell him that…
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