“Don’t
bite off more than one can chew” is sound advice pretty universally. Related is
the concept of “chunking.” In cognitive psychology, a chunk is an
organizational unit in memory. Applications include UX content processing and improving memory. In (especially BIG) data management, chunking relates to the reorganizing of large multidimensional data sets for both fast and flexible data access. Data chunking also optimizes parallel processing,
resulting in performance gains.
It’s
the same with running: Don’t bite off more of a run or race than one can
mentally chew. Break it down into chunks. Just as chunking in UX design helps
with content processing, chunking in running helps with “route/course
processing.”
Chunking
came to mind during this morning’s long run (16M, week 7 of 16-week training cycle
for the
Pocono Marathon in May). I ran my usual "intestinal" route for long runs (not those in my immediate neighborhood), which I alternate with various other loop and out-and-back routes. The
following map shows ~Miles 3-10 of the front 11 miles of the run. Back end of
the run ranges from four to ten miles, depending on the week.
Compared
with loop or out-and-back routes, intestinal routes are not necessarily
physically easier or faster. But, they are mentally easier, i.e., time and miles
seem to go by faster. This is, I think, because the chunks in an intestinal
route (i.e., cul-de-sacs) are more naturally visual. Also, intestinal routes have
the advantage of more likely to be closer to home, in case of, e.g., sprained
ankle or water shortage!
Of
course, there are no race courses that are intestinal. So, I’ve to train more to
see the less visual chunks in non-intestinal routes (e.g., from this street
sign to the next light post) and better able to mentally chew them one by one.
The
real breakthrough, though, will be when I figure out how to run those chunks in
parallel …
