Monday, June 18, 2018

Chasing Johnny Cake





Last week, I crossed an unexpected goal off my list: Getting the top female spot on the “Johnny Cake segment” in my neighborhood.

Just what is the Johnny Cake segment, and more importantly, why was I chasing it?

At the start of the year, I joined Strava, finally convinced by my cyclist husband to abandon my beloved and long-used RunKeeper. I was skeptical. What would Strava give me that RunKeeper didn’t? He tried to sell me on its tracking features, most of which RunKeeper already gave me. He tried to sell me on the “segments” feature, which ranks you against other Strava users on designated sections of roads.

I wasn’t convinced of the value of segments. “I only compete against myself,” I told him at the time.

But I signed up anyway. And,surprise, surprise, my competitive spirit was awoken soon after I discovered a designated segment – Johnny Cake – on my go-to running loop.

I didn’t set out for the top spot. When I first ran the segment on January 14, I logged a 5:56 for the half-mile section. It landed me firmly in the fifth (of five) spot for women on the segment.  I didn’t think much of the ranking – or even the segment itself – and instead focused on running consistently and just plain making time for it.

The top spot was 3:53. A full two minutes from my current time. Two minutes in a half-mile stretch is an eternity.

But soon, I somehow worked myself up to the third-place spot. I saw steady improvement in my running, and started working Johnny Cake into more runs. I chipped away at my time, even if it didn’t move me up the leaderboard. 

I moved into second.  First place still felt so far, far out of reach. I chipped away –
sometimes a second at a time – to bring me closer to the top spot. It still seemed so far away.

Then I got it. On a day that didn’t feel particularly fast or remarkable, I checked my segment on the Strava app as I cooled down on a cul-de-sac near my house. 3:52. I had gotten it. I had shaved five more seconds off my segment time. I DID IT!

Here are six things I learned while Chasing Johnny Cake:

Persistence pays off. 
Call it persistence or focus or relentlessness, dedication, consistency, or plain ol’ competitive stubbornness. I just kept trying. In fact, it took me 40 times to get the top spot. Yes, I ran that same ridiculous half-mile section of road 40 times since January 14. Quite literally, I had to show up on the segment. Over and over and over.

Use the right tools. 
I don’t actually know how to run “fast.”  I’ve always been told, to run fast, you need to train fast. But other than just move my feet faster, I wasn’t exactly sure how to do that. So  I signed up for a morning track program through a local running club. It’s organized by a certified coach who gives us time targets and makes us work – hard! – at the 5 a.m. track session. Run fast to run fast started to make sense. I found my non-track runs gradually becoming faster. I learned I could sprint Johnny Cake, just like I did when I needed to on 800s in track workouts. (Just imagine what I could do if I pulled other tools out of the toolbox - like nutrition, hydration, etc.!)

Success is not a linear process.  
Some days I could knock 10 or 15 second off my segment time. Other days, I ran slower than the previous run. Sometimes my slower days would last for two or three or four consecutive runs.  It would have been easy to be discouraged, especially for a person like me who likes to see continued improvement each time. I reminded myself of how far I had come since that first January 14 run, and found Strava’s trend line to be particularly motivating on those slower days.

Know the playing field, and take shortcuts when it makes sense. 
Over those 40 runs, and especially as the top spot became within reach, I studied the road. It had two curves and a couple of very small, rolling hills. I discovered, as I closed in on the top spot, that I could cut the corners close. It meant running on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, but if I ran early enough, traffic wasn’t an issue. I decided I’d go ‘all out’ on the downhill sections, and push hard for the final uphill that ended the segment.  Those small adjustments could have meant the seconds I needed to grab the top spot.

Shoot for targets you don’t think you can hit.  
Back in January, I didn’t even consider that the top spot could be within reach. Enough said.

Chasing Johnny Cake was a new kind of running for me, a new kind of goal. My running goals have always been tied to mileage. This one focused on time.

But it wasn’t just about the time. I mean, I’m still not a “fast” runner, and most of my running friends could easily knock me out of the top spot on their first try. (Please don’t try, friends.)

Having a time goal meant that I’d have to do more than just show up, to slog through the miles, to just go through the motions, one foot in front of the other. I’d need a plan. I’d need to run differently. To think differently.

Who knew a half-mile section of road in my neighborhood could teach me so much.

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