You know that person that runs off right at the start of the London Marathon, the one that sprints ahead as fast as they can for about 100 metres, they last about 30 seconds, and then they're swallowed up by the pack and spat out the back, but they got a few seconds of fame on the telly.
You can't sprint a marathon; it's not possible, and it's not even the point.
You can sprint finish in a marathon, but that means you'll have had to save yourself for the end, and you might end up with a slower time than that would you have had if you'd paced yourself better and you could have bursts in the middle to pass people or to move along, but there's a price to pay for those two.
It's the same for everything, isn't it?
If you're heading towards the finish line now, whatever your finish line is, then empty your tank because soon you'll be finished. However, if your finish line is far into the distance, then pace yourself.
I learned that endurance sport is about how fast you can go at 70% effort; it's not really a bad adage for a long life and really is not one that many of us can subscribe to.
I reckon at the practice, we want to be set at somewhere between 80 & 85% just pushing along, always making some progress every day, but only a little bit, but not being scared to take the foot off the gas, So we're here for a longer time.
Blog Post Number - 4001
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