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How pace can fool us

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I love it when the first day of the month falls on a Saturday because I typically do a longer run on Saturdays.

Well, that’s not the reason I love the first day being on a Saturday. The real reason is that when I upload my run, my profile will tell me that I’m on pace to run a lot of miles that month. If it’s a month with 30 days and I ran 7 miles on the first day, it’ll tell me that I’m on pace to run 210 miles that month.

Sometimes I want to believe that and tell people, “I’m on pace to run around 200 miles this month.” Telling them wouldn’t be a lie, but it also isn’t really accurate. Pace can fool us because production is measured by more than just pace. It’s measured by a pace plus perseverance.

I can run at a 5:00/mile pace, but I can’t run at that pace very long or very far. So, how fast we can do something isn’t always an accurate measure of how well we can do something. We tend to highlight the stats that make us feel the best about ourselves, and yet maturity takes in the whole picture.

Don’t be fooled by pace only. Measure your production by more than pace alone, and you’ll have a much more realistic picture of what you’re capable of doing over the long run.

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July 24, 2021by Paul Jenkins
Written by Paul Jenkins
Paul Jenkins is lead pastor of The Gathering, a community church located in beautiful downtown Albemarle, North Carolina. He's the author of God is My Air Traffic Controller and My Name's Not Lou. Paul is passionate about his wife, his 3 children, running, reading, coaching, leading people who are following Jesus, Swedish Fish and the Carolina Panthers.