Pheidippides’ message ….



This past week has included step-down training for me. I’ve run fewer miles and it’s given me some much needed recovery time from higher mileage running during the previous weeks.

Step-down weeks allow your body to rebuild so ideally you can avoid injury and come back stronger.

We marathon runners are either a driven or cursed lot, depending on your perspective and penchant for your endorphin highs, so step-down work is challenging for us.  

Coaches or trainers, however, will tell you recovery or step-down work is as important as base-building in a training program.

The following humorous essay titled “Marathon” shows what happens when you ignore your body and step-down training. It came to me via my friend Cindy, who gave me this during the height of my quest to achieve a Boston qualifier last year.

The author is Simon Rich and it was originally published in Free-Range Chickens (Random House, Copyright 2008).

“Marathon” is told from the point of view of the legendary originator of the modern marathon, Pheidippides.

I think I channeled Pheidippides when I ran the Colorado Marathon in 2009 and ended up in the medical tent. Thankfully I faired better than he did, but his story exemplifies why step-down weeks are important. 

Enjoy!

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Marathon

In 490 B.C., a Greek messenger named Pheidippides ran 26 miles, from Marathon to Athens, to bring the senate news of a battle. He died from exhaustion, but his memory lives on thanks to the “marathon,” a 26-mile foot race named in his honor. I thought it would be neat to bring Pheidippides to a modern-day marathon and talk to him about his awesome legacy.

Me: So, Pheidippides: What was it like to run the “first” marathon”?

Pheidippides: It was the worst experience of my life.

Me: How did that come about?

Pheidippides: My general gave the order. I begged him, “Please, don’t make me do this.” But he hardened his heart and told me, “You must.” And so I ran the distance, and it caused my death.

Me: How did you feel when you finally reached your destination?

Pheidippides: I was already on the brink of death when I entered the senate hall. I could actually feel my life slipping away. So I recited my simple message, and then, with my final breath, I prayed to the gods that no human being, be he Greek or Persian, would ever again have to experience so horrible an ordeal.

Me: Hey, here come the runners! Woooooh!

Pheidippides: Who are these people? Where are they going?

Me: From one end of New York to the other. It’s a 26-mile distance. Sound familiar?

Pheidippides: What message do they carry … and to whom?

Me: Oh, they’re not messengers.

Pheidippides: But then … who has forced them to do this?

Me:
No one. It’s like, you know, a way of testing yourself.

Pheidippides:
But surely, a general or a king has said to them, “You must do this. Do this or you will be killed.”

Me: No, they just signed up. Hey, look at that old guy with the beard! Pretty inspiring, huh? Still shuffling around after all these years.

Pheidippides:
We must rescue that man. We must save his life.

Me:
Oh, he knows what he’s doing. He probably runs this thing every year.

Pheidippides:
Is he … under a curse?

Me:
No.

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Aging is inevitable, but growing old is a choice. Lace up your shoes, and let’s go!

Mileage today: 9; Denver to Boston miles cursed  logged: 1118; Miles left to go: 652.

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