"Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

My Sport is your Sports Punishment

i love that phrase and it really rings true when other people say things to me like... i can't run, wow...a whole marathon, you ran how far on saturday?

....the list goes on forever, and even Fun Guv starts to eye-roll a little when somebody ask her how long the next marathon will be.

i've noticed that having just one marathon under my belt, gives me a bit of expert opinion (among the non-running masses), when talking with runners nervous about making the jump. For example:

i met a woman who was in Troy for training Saturday. She was staying at the little hotel i bartend at. and as she started talking with another couple, i noticed they were talking about how she runs to stay in shape. She was comfy with a 3-4 mile run, but TNT friends had talked her into training for the Freep/Detroit Marathon. She was real nervous, but hey, the marathon is a couple weeks after Chicago, she's got some time.

So, of course, i offer encouragement. She can do it. She'll have fun. Make this the first marathon, not the last. How to select a training plan, and then trust the plan. We all know the lingo, but....

Not only was she thankful, but having someone with a positive marathon experience really helped her mindset. She had heard about "the wall", the pain, suffering through endless miles of training, but not the joy during the race, running with a cell phone to call loved ones, taking pictures while running, the oneness of a group running together.

The concept of walking through a water break, or even walking while training, was foreign.

In my effort to live a humble, read....christian, life, i have always placed myself at the end of a table and allowed others to place me higher, if merited. As i read other running blogs and occasionally comment, i notice that as community, we all do that to one extent or another.

i've never read a blog entitled; I'm #1, or Eat my Dust.

i have read blogs sincerely asking for encouragement and advise. Sure, there's a little bragging about a PR once in a while, but really it's more of a "thanks for the help" variety. Something "we" all did together.

So where is this little thought headed. Well, like most maybe nowhere.-but i wanted to help friends who read my little corner of blogshere understand why i seem to under-value my abilities as an emerging runner. i can be a very vain person, if unchecked.

Sorry, no funny stuff, no political rants, and no 6 weird things about me (not yet at least), but some stats:

Ran 7 miles yesterday, through some slushy, icy areas, but finished in 1:00:10. i was a little tighter than expected after the long 14 miler on Saturday.

Thanks for reading

6 comments:

Triseverance said...

Well said Mike, but you can be humble and still be fast. ;-)

Nitmos said...

I know that I don't like to put into words what I really think I'm capable of...some goofy notion that, by saying it out loud, it won't happen. Best to set lower expectations publicly while privately knowing you'll be able to exceed them? That's what I do anyhow.

Gknee said...

Do people still say "Eat my Dust"?

Mike said...

i guess not

guess i ain't hip anymore... assuming i ever was...

i still use groovy!!!

Anonymous said...

I love that saying, too. First time I ever saw it was on the back of someone's shirt in a race. Made me smile with pride and pick up the pace just a little bit.

Russ said...

"slushy, icy, areas"...yeah that's pretty much all of Metro Detroit right now...felt like I was running a steeplechase today. Though weather was nice, was able to delayer. Loving the Garmin BTW!!!

Also

In response to your question:

1st pic = Anthony Bourdain, bad boy of cooking
2nd pic = Steve Prefontaine, bad boy of running

I like to think that I have attitudes like both of them in their respective arenas...right now I'm closer to Bourdain than Pre.