Friends and an unknown ability

Date	Place of exercise	Classic sprint	Dam Sprint	Pullups	Start time
15 Oct	Park	47.76	1:28.75	5,11, 9,7,5	06:45

The mind is powerful. It can slow us down; it can put barriers in our way. If we think we can’t do something, you can bet that we can’t. Today, I saw the mind work in the opposite direction—those barriers were lifted. Competition is the thing. Oh, yes, we all can SAY we don’t care about winning. We can maintain that we don’t have a competitive bone in our body. But it’s there.

There are heaps of people running in the park in the mornings. I’ve asked two individuals and a group if they run often, hoping I might be able to run with them. I even set up a meeting with one Albanian dude. We got together and he kicked my ass. Running, I stayed with him for 25 minutes or so, but he was far from done, and I had to slow down. I certainly didn’t need to run so fast, I was looking for companionship. I didn’t want him to slow down for me, so I said, “bye-bye.”

            Last week, I came across three young people, doing exercises on a pole that has a round shelf at the bottom. They were extending one foot as they stood up, working their calves. Without knowing who they were or where they were from (but thinking that Albanians don’t usually do such things), I said, “You guys look like you are doing some kind of performance art.”

            Bart laughed and said, “Ha, ha. Yeah…” with an American accent. I saw them several times over the next few days—they are a family, Bart is 20, and two sisters, 17 and 15.  On Friday, Bart said the three of them would probably be ready for a run the next day in the morning (in addition to their exercises that look like dancing), and asked if I wanted to join. Exactly what I had been hoping for—someone to run with. I don’t stress myself when I run, and I love to talk.

            As we ran along the dam, I explained that I try to run quickly, but I normally cannot run faster than anyone. I tell the old story about how I time myself with my watch and keep track of my times because I am the only one slow enough for me to beat.  

            We got down to the other end of the dam. This is the spot where every day I stop, do a bit of stretching, and resting, and then sprint down to the other end. I told Bart that he should run as fast as he wants to and not to worry about me. When we began, I felt like a little yipping puppy dog running alongside a Great Dane. Bart was taking very long strides, moving along quickly. I, on the other hand, was taking short strides that matched my shorter legs—Bart is 6 feet 4 inches tall. For half the sprint, Bart was nearby; I could hear his steps, “Boom, boom, boom…” Then he fell back.

“Fine, I’ll try to keep sprinting.” I wanted to test the theory that you always run faster when you are not alone. When I looked up to the light poles at the other end of the dam, it seemed like they just as well be on the other side of the Atlantic. How was I ever going to run all the way there? …much less sprint there? I continued to push myself. With about 30 meters left, I was hoisting my legs up like I was pulling each one out of a bucket of wet concrete. If someone was watching me, I’m sure they would’ve wanted to come to my rescue. I didn’t lose all hope though; in the past when I have I’ve finished with concrete shoes, I don’t do poorly.

            When I first ran the dam sprint, last spring, I did it in 1:57.10, a leisurely pace. Whenever I try a new distance, I ‘sandbag’ it so I can have a benchmark that is not difficult to beat. During the month of May, I ran the dam sprint several times, achieving the best result on my final day in Tirana, May 25, with a time of 1:38.56. This fall, I’ve been running it again. You can see below that the fastest time was 1:32.14. I was wondering if I might be able to make it in 1:30, but I didn’t seriously think it was possible, because whenever I finished within 3 seconds of that mark, I was so exhausted that my lungs were screaming for oxygen like an astronaut left outside the space shuttle.

            The theory is true. Even though I didn’t really care if I was running faster than my three friends, just the fact that they were in the area boosted my speed, pepped my spirit, pushed the envelope. I finished in 1:28.75. Certainly a fantastic way to begin the day.