The Subtle Art of Passing

Back before I was a fat guy, I used to be a pretty good cross country runner. I wasn't naturally the fastest, so I had to work a lot more to achieve the same results as other runners. One thing I had going in my favor, however, was the ability to hold a pace precisely. I'd often lead quarters (400 meters) without a watch and be able to tell how fast I'd ran within a second. On race day, when everyone else would let adrenaline take over at the starting line, I'd let the lead pack take off while I kept my goal-pace, knowing I'd be able to catch back up to them as the race went on. Because of this, I spent most of my races passing other runners as they faded.

There's a lot that goes into passing another runner; perhaps not as much as Zeno suggested, but there is a good amount of psychology at play. When you can see the runner ahead of you, you can establish a sort of "string" between you and him*. While catching up to a runner, I would imagine that I was reeling him in, steadily closing the gap between us. The idea of the "string" was a pretty powerful psychological tool for me and many other runners I'd talk to. It could help push you through a lot of pain to reach a goal. A lot of people's fastest races are spurred on by trying to "reel in" a faster opponent.

*- I'm using male pronouns for simplicity. I have been beaten by many women in mixed-sex races even when I used to run competitively; and if I took to the trail tomorrow, I'm sure that most grandmothers pushing baby-joggers would bury me.

Once I'd caught up to the runner I was chasing, I'd often "rest" just over their shoulder. This accomplishes two things: one, you get to run at a slower pace for a little while, allowing you to catch your breath and two, you get into the other runner's head. It's no fun having someone draft off of you- you can hear their breathing and footsteps as you are probably fading off your pace. You realize the person catching up to you probably has more in the tank than you do. It can throw you off your concentration and it just generally makes the race miserable. If I was feeling like being a real jerk, sometimes I'd even try to make small talk with the other runner to make it seem like I wasn't even starting to get tired.

Since no one can win a race being behind someone, and most of the time there'd be more than one person ahead of me, eventually I'd need to make my move to pass the runner I'd caught up to. This is the reason I'm writing this long, boring entry about my running strategies in a Mets-related blog. The key to passing someone in a race is to blow past them with an extended burst of speed. The idea is to get so far ahead of them so quickly that you snap the string between you and the person you're passing. If you can bury the other runner psychologically, you won't see them later in the race. If you pass someone at a slightly faster pace then they're keeping, it's a lot easier for them to keep up with you (which is why I'd pass teammates differently than opponents).

The Mets have caught up to the Phillies after reeling them in for a month. They've been sitting off their shoulder for about a week. Now the two teams are playing three games head to head, and each has a chance to strike a big psychological blow against the other. Of course, the impact of blowing past someone in a pennant race and in a cross country race is very different. A pennant race is spread over months rather than minutes and it involves dozens of psyches rather than the solo effort of running, but a sweep by either team would have a huge impact on the rest of the season.

Obviously, a three game lead in July is anything but insurmountable, and I have no clue how it would actually impact a clubhouse's attitude, but there's a big-time difference between being a game up on a team and three up on them. If the team in the lead plays .500 ball, a one game lead can disappear in a day, but a three game lead will last at least a week. If the Mets take two of the three, I'd be happy enough to have sole possession of first place; but if they can sweep Philly, a team that is 14-20 since June 9th, they could go a long way towards breaking the string.

Now if only that damn fish would stop making small talk.