I've been reading through some of my old private messages from Hadd and found a few classics:
"I will do all I can. If I ask for 100% during training and the race, I believe the athlete has every right to expect the same from me in setting their training. Although this is all online and we've never met and all that jazz, I never take any runner's hopes and dreams lightly."
"Hardest thing I find to do: see someone doing something badly (with their whole heart) and not do something to help. I'm a sucker for a trier and ignore primadonnas."
"I know I'm one of those guys who detests "encouragement" and would shoot anyone in the head who offered me a "pep talk". If I need to get my ass down to doing something I totally dislike, I'm well aware that at the end of the day I alone am gonna hafta to find whatever mojo is required inside of me to get it done. Ra-ra cheerleaders don't do it for me"
"I am perfectly capable of giving whoever needs it a right earful... but it's always from the heart. It's only ever done to break thru the runner's (wrong) mentality and smack some sense into them FOR THEIR GOOD.
I hate doing such things. I always try the quiet, common sense way first... but if it gets ignored repeatedly, well, I've got a good pair of lungs and can cuss and blind in 5 languages :)"
"In your last 5m and 10k races your lactate was probably 5-6mM. Yet you were passing others who could have had up to 10mM or higher. Which was better?
Lactate gives you NO advantage in a marathon (or a 10k or a HM). It is using up your precious glycogen at a phenomenal rate (you get 2 units of energy when used anaerobically, compared to 36 units when burned aerobically) and contributing zero to your pace.
It sounds paradoxical, but it isn't. But elites have got their aerobic ability so high that they are aerobic for almost all of a race at 10k pace. Which explains why they can kick in the final lap like they do, because their lactate until that point has been low. (I'm talking african elite here, european runners have much to improve)."
[Note: this was 2004]
"Just think of anaerobic ability as being able to borrow to buy something... everybody knows it is loaded with danger if you do it too much. You HAVE to live within your regular income. If you CAN'T, then see how you can increase your regular income (aerobic ability), but NEVER borrow."
Lots of other less quotable, more personal stuff, but it made me smile a LOT going through those old messages. He was truly a great man.