| 7th and Pine |
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Editor's Note: The title of this thread was changed from 'Jimmy Grabow - love this guy' to its current title by LetsRun.com out of respect for Jimmy Grabow and to get him more attention along the lines of this: http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=599824 from : http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=25090 RT: You have a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degrees in college counseling and you’re working on another master’s degree in history, plus you work 40 hours a week. How do you fit it all in? JG: I’m an academic advisor at Cal State Long Beach, my alma mater. It’s not a very back-breaking job, and I’m thankful for that. I advise students on classes with questions they might have. It’s full-time, 40 hours a week, but I have a very supportive boss who is one of my biggest fans, and I can get time off for races. I live about a block from work, so I can go home on my lunch break to take my naps. I try to do everything I can to still be in that running lifestyle while I’m working and enough to set money aside for savings. I love to be doing stuff and love to be busy, so it’s all working out very well. Working full-time and still going to school has really kept me on a system where I really have to be very efficient with my time. But I work better like that, under that kind of time commitment, because it helps me focus on what I am doing. Works 40 - Runs 140 - |
| Sagarin |
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Great story. Thanks for posting that. I always wondered what became of this kid. If he can stay healthy, he has a bright future. Awesome that he has other priorities in life too and doesn't put all of his eggs in one basket. |
| not really inspired |
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He got this far, but maybe he'd be an Olympian and 3 minutes faster if he fully committed himself. Unfortunately, most regular people like yourself don't understand this-- that is why you and Jimmy are regular people. To be extra-ordinary comes at a price. |
| lol@tards.. |
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luckily for us, we've got extraordinary people like "not really inspired" to provide us with such pearls of wisdom... |
| GWT |
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It's quotes like yours that piss me off daily. What's wrong with a guy working to make a living AND striving to do the best that he can in the sport of running? You can't deny that a 2:12 debut is Awesome for a guy like Jimmy, and many guys who sell their souls to the sport while not working regular jobs never run this fast. I'm completely impressed and was really happy for him. Hopefully most others feel the same. |
| not really inspired |
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Yes, lucky for you to be provided a pearl of wisdom by an extraordinary person. |
| mr. Toad RIP |
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See other thread (post collegiate training groups) where somebody quotes Joe Vigil on how running itself is a full-time job. Thing is, running talent varies widely and Jimmy might be one of those guys who in the right situation could be a 2:09 guy instead of a 2:12 guy. Granted, some people are willing to compromise for the sake of maintaining a balanced, well-rounded life. Jimmy might also be the type who mentally would wilt or get bored if asked to just run, eat, and sleep...rinse and repeat. |
| bob loblah's law blog |
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oh man, I grew up the same one block from Cal State Long Beach and that is one crappy place to run 140 miles per week. I feel even more respect for the guy. |
| Freelove |
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There's no reason you can't run to your potential while working full time. Yuki Kawauchi works full time and has run a 2:08 without great basic speed. Wesley Korir has run 2:06 and still works as some kind of handyman at Louisville. Frank Shorter ran well while attending Law School. Running takes up at most 2 hours a day. If you insist on doing all the other stuff, you're still at 3 hours. That leaves plenty of time for a standard 8 hour workday. |
| Nothing but the Truth |
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He's only run one marathon-- stop with the "x:xx guy" stuff. |
| tough call |
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Only on this site would a working class runner get railed on for running a 2:12 debut at the Trials. |
| Graeme McDowell |
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Exactly, this is the kind of guy we should be emulating not ripping. |
| not really inspired |
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The irony of Letsrun. On another thread, someone was saying guys need to "step it up" to be competitive with the likes of Abdi and the rest of the world, while on this thread people are applauding Jimmy Grabow for working a full-time job and running 2:12 to come up 3 min. short of being an Olympian. |
| 7th and Pine |
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You can have it both ways, he notes he doesn't have the most stressful job in the world. We saw it the other day with quotes by both Trafeh and Lagat who each train quite differently. If they flipped schedules would Lagat be even better, or would he be overtrained. He may never be a 2:09/2:10 guy...but he also won't be wondering what he's going to do with the rest of his life at the age of 30 after hanging them up. Either way guys like him provide a fun follow over the next 4 years to see what he can accomplish. |
| you have got to be kidding |
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He's only run one marathon-- stop with the "x:xx guy" stuff.[/quote] Dude ran 2:12:29 in a real race on a non-aided course. Doesn't matter if he did it only 1 time or 101 times. Dude IS a 2:12 guy. |
| Concerned Citizen |
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Doesn't Haile Gebrselassie have a job? |
| Nothing but the Truth |
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Dude ran 2:12:29 in a real race on a non-aided course. Doesn't matter if he did it only 1 time or 101 times. Dude IS a 2:12 guy.[/quote] You clearly missed my point. Referring to him a "2:12 guy" when he's only run one marathon is an insult. You know nothing of his potential in the event; but, nonetheless, you're quick to give him a meaningless label. He debuted faster than all three guys who just made the team-- there's no reason to believe he can't run faster in the future. Were people referring to Abdi as a "2:17 guy" after his debut? |
| skepticrunner |
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I can definitely see the arguments pro and con. Ultimately it all comes down to what Jimmy wants. If he wants to be the best distance runner he can possibly be then he should drop everything else and take up running as a full-time job. On the other hand, if Jimmy's goal is to run as fast as he can while also working 40 hours a week and working on getting another Master's degree, then he seems to be doing just fine as is. Either way he's one hell of a runner and he has my respect. |
| elton |
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Not entirely sure Wesley Korir still works as a custodian, or whatever he was doing before. Heard he was training in Iten this week. |
| ROFL |
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Ryan Hall - 2:08:24 |