cutting corners

I’ve always been sort of a rule follower.  You know the type: Never crossing the road at the middle, putting my seatbelt on before turning the key, and absolutely NEVER drinking out of the carton.  So, it’s probably no surprise that I am one who runs primary on the right side of the path, sometimes in the middle, and almost never cuts corners.  I have no idea why.  I guess I’ve always thought of it as cheating.

During my last marathon, I was reminded over and over and OVER to cut the corner rather than following the curve of the road around at the widest point.  I guess it’s obvious that this would be the shortest and therefore fastest route but it’s not intuitive for me.  I don’t normally train that way so why would I race that way?

Then I got to thinking… why don’t I train that way?  When you think about it, in these days of GPS devices, if I were to cut my run short by even a tenth of a mile, Ms. Garminia would surely tattle on me.  And so I have been making a concerted effort to train my brain to allow me to cut the corners — when it’s safe of course.  Hopefully, it will help me to race smarter.