Slow Running

A mere three weeks ago, I ran the Manchester Marathon. Thank you to all those that supported me aging the way, but I crossed the line very disappointed. The conditions were torturously hot and humid, meaning I was 30+minutes slower than what I wanted. So here I am training again, this time on a structured plan for a half-marathon in September and then another full one in April 2026, but I’m struggling to slow down.

I don’t run fast anyway. There’s no way that either of the marathons I have run can be considered anywhere near ’racing’ but I know I can do better. To run faster, my new plan contains countless sessions where I run much slower than usual, and I’m struggling with these the most.

I think there are two reasons for this. The first being that I always like to push myself as hard as possible. Being as hard on myself as possible in the process too. Doing hard things is my enjoyment in life, so going out and purposely running slow isn’t in my vocabulary or my mind set.

The second of which is appearances. I might one day train my monkey brain to slow down and plod the streets at the recommended ‘recovery, pace, but I feel like a fool. Even more so packed up with water bottles and energy gels for a long run, I must look to others like a meme of a real runner at essentially brisk walking pace.

I do understand that running slow to run fast will help me in the long run, but it’s a struggle. Forget the progressive overload and the drop sets of pace setting, the slow run is much harder on my mind. I told my wife never again, and she promised to stop me from doing this! Yet here I am trying desperately to slow myself down and it’s torture.