How To Measure Suckcess
Yes. I spelled it right. Did you read it right?
I had just finished my run in Central Park, NYC. I love Central Park. It’s one of the greatest places to run in the world. I love New York City. It’s one of the greatest cities in the world. And this run I just finished… sucked. I started it two hours too late. So it was hot and it was humid. And I was unprepared. Coming from Oregon (where humidity is just a nasty rumor that east coasters like to spread to keep people from visiting) I went into this run cocky. I knew Central Park was going to be packed. I knew that the roads were going to be filled with runners and walkers and hikers and cyclists and tourists. And I wanted to be in the middle of it all. You’d think that I’d know better. I’m from NJ. NY is like JV New Jersey after all. So you may be wondering why I started a run on a sunny, hot and humid day. Makes sense. I get it. I’ll have you know that I am a far better coach and advisor for other people than I am for me. And I slept late. I was sharing a room with my son. You think I’m going to wake a 21 year old up before 9 AM on a Saturday when they don’t need to go into work? No way!
Anyway, the run ending up sucking. Don’t get me wrong. It had its moments. Central Park will always have it’s moments. I ran up and down Harlem Hill. I saw a little raccoon in a tree. I stopped and paid my respects to the great Ted Corbitt. But I was tired from traveling. I didn’t eat before the run. And I normally do. Especially if the run is a late morning and not early morning run. I didn’t drink enough water before I left the hotel either. It wasn’t a comedy of errors because it wasn’t funny. It just sucked.
That picture above… well, that’s me after the run and after i had walked around a little bit. And after I found some shade and after I found a little wall to lie down on. It’s after I had some water from a water fountain. It’s after I had some time to just recover from the crappy run and people watch. It’s also after I decided that the run sucked but was also an unmitigated suckcess.
Suckcess? What’s that you say? Well, I did write an entire audio guided run on the subject. I guess you never ran that one. Hmm. Don’t worry. It’s not a problem. I’m not upset. Really. Fine. I’m a little upset. It’s a great run! Why haven’t you tried it? Okay. I’m fine. Really really. Let’s just answer your question. What do I mean by suckcess?
Well, let’s define it. It’s a noun. And according to the barely reputable Coach Bennett’s Dictionary of Running Terms… suckcess is a favorable outcome that comes out of an experience that sucked. By the way, Coach Bennett’s Dictionary of Running Terms is looking for a publisher… and an editor… and a financial backer. And not in that order.
Now that we know what a suckcess is let’s talk about how my run in Central Park was a suckcess. We have the right situation… in fact some would say the situation was ripe for a suckcess. Because we know the run sucked. It was hot. It was humid. I was thirsty. Blah. Blah. Blah. But what you don’t know is that I backed off the pace dramatically once I realized that it was hot and humid and I was thirsty and that I wanted to keep running in Central Park. You see? I made a good decision! I backed off the pace! Sure, I needed to back off the pace because if I didn’t I would have run half the distance or duration I eventually did. But I did what I needed to do! There was a time in my life that I would have been arrogant enough (and ignorant enough) to believe I could disrespect the weather and the run I was doing. Instead, on this run I was humble and intelligent! That’s a great combo!
I also stopped on the run. Not because I had to. At least not because I had to in the moment. I stopped because I wanted to take a picture of the sign above. Ted Corbitt was an absolute pioneer in our sport. Not only was he the founding president of the NYRR he was also a complete and total badass runner. He was the first African-American to run the Marathon at the Olympics for the United States (1952). He ran under 3 hours in the marathon every year for like 20 years in a row. He taught at Columbia University for close to 30 years! So, I was 100% going to stop and take this picture. And those precious few seconds it took to stop and take the picture also gave me the opportunity to think about Ted Corbitt and how I was running on the same road that he once did. Gave me pause. I looked around and suddenly noticed just how many people were out here running like I was. I wondered whether some of them were struggling like I was. I wondered whether some were having one of their best runs ever. This simple little stop on my run made my run seem bigger and smaller at the same time. And it made me grateful to be where I was doing what I was.
And you know what happened after I stopped and paid my respects? I felt better for a couple of minutes on my run. Just stopping for 30-45 seconds refreshed me. Then the run started to suck again. But that stop? That picture? Those moments I had soaking up what was going on around me? Suckcess.
Eventually I ran my way back down south through the park. I was going to run all the way to where I started at Columbus Circle but I decided to cut over a little earlier so I could walk through the Mall. This is a stunning stretch that includes statues of literary figures and the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument. I finished my run. I got some water on me and in me. I was happy to be done. The run sucked after all. And I was just about to beat myself up for not finishing at Columbus Circle. I was just about to ask myself why I bailed on the last 800 meters of the run. Keep in mind that the run had no set distance to begin with. But a little fact like that doesn’t stop us from being jerks to ourselves does it? No way.
But before I could trash myself I saw a mother and her little daughter just standing there in the middle of the mall. Just staring up. And smiling. Tourists I thought to myself. Then I remembered that tourists get to see the things I’ve already seen hundreds of times for the first time. And the first time you visit NYC you see so many magical things. So, I decided to look at what they were looking at. And it was a little raccoon sticking its little raccoon face out from a little hole in a tree. And I stopped dead in my tracks. And I just stared up. And I smiled. And I took a picture. And I told a family that was walking by and not looking up and staring at the hole in the tree that they should stop and look up and stare at that hole in the tree. And they did. And they smiled. And I walked back to Columbus Circle to find a shady place to lie down. Run done. It sucked. But it was a suckcessful run.
The next day I was able to sneak in another run in Central Park. I got there earlier. I had enough water before the run. I ran a little longer and little faster than I did the day before. I felt better and stronger on the run than I did on the run the day before too. It was a successful run for sure. But it wasn’t a suckcessful one.
That’s okay. It would suck if every run sucked.
But it would also suck if every run didn’t suck too.
THERE MAY NOT BE A FINISH LINE.
BUT THERE ARE BLACKBERRIES AT THE END OF THE RUN.
Hollister Trail is located across the street from Nike’s WHQ campus. It’s a 1.5 mile/2.4K gravel loop with great tree cover. It’s been awhile since I did some loops on Hollister. Why has it been awhile? No idea. I love Hollister. And a run on Hollister in late August not only means I get to run in the shade. It also means I get to scarf down blackberries at the end of the run! Portland and Beaverton have wild blackberry bushes all over the place. And Nike’s campus has it’s fair share. So, one of the perks of a run on Hollister and one of my motivations on those runs is to end in front of a blackberry bush. Yes, wanting to get stronger or faster are both are great motivations to run. But you don’t need to (nor should you) limit your motivations and inspirations to run to strictly running things. I ran to eat some blackberries. And as good as the run was… those blackberries were better.
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Loved reading this (typos and all)!
AND loved running your Suckcessful run!
I really enjoyed this. Need to get back and run CP again. Maybe also another go at the marathon. Coming off the Bronx Bridge and looking down 5th is probably the greatest stretch of marathon in the world.