Is it worth it to put in the time?
Is it worth it to put in the time?
wedfgn wrote:
Is it worth it to put in the time?
You know, once you run those times it is not a big deal to you. I think you should say sub 2:20 to be more in line with the other times, but it is worth it if you enjoy getting better.
The 15:30 guys all hope to someday run sub-15.
The 15 flat guys all wish they could run 14:30.
The 14:30 guys dream of running 14 flat.
The 14 flat guys ... they all wanna run 13:45.
OK?
Let's be real, very few people in your life would really know and appreciate the differences between 18 flat, 16 flat, and 14 flat. (Or say Boston qualifier, 2:35, and 2:20.)
Pretty much the only ones who care are your running peers and you. And you'll always judge yourself against those just a little bit faster. So there's no magical times you can run and suddenly be happy with yourself. Everyone sets their own goals somewhere but in the end it's pretty arbitrary.
If you're talking about professionals it's a different story. But mainly the answer to "what's it like?" is "you sacrifice a lot of other aspects of your life to be committed to running training". Which is something anyone at any speed could do.
I'm also curious about the answer. I personally know what it feels like to train as a 20min 5k guy: breathing is ragged at all paces, lactate builds quickly. As an 18min guy, I felt coordinated with a feeling of steady state effort at reasonable paces. As a 16min guy, running felt powerful, I felt like I could hammer forever and still sprint up a hill whenever I felt like. What's it like being in 14min shape? I never got there.
I wasn't quite at that level, but I always loved being fast and training hard.
If you're asking if it's worth it, then you have the wrong attitude. You should be thinking "I can't wait to get another 10 seconds off my 5k pr", and "I can't wait to build a solid base that will allow me to do intervals to train to take 10 seconds off my 5kpr."
fifteen minutes wrote:
I wasn't quite at that level, but I always loved being fast and training hard.
If you're asking if it's worth it, then you have the wrong attitude. You should be thinking "I can't wait to get another 10 seconds off my 5k pr", and "I can't wait to build a solid base that will allow me to do intervals to train to take 10 seconds off my 5kpr."
Take it from this guy, a guy who never got there. He has the answers. You def have the wrong attitude.
I'll tell you what it's like, weird.
24 - I'm just a new runner.
22 - I'm getting faster, still hardly running.
20 - Almost broke 20 minutes, not bad for my little training.
18 - Starting to feel like a runner, I know I've got loads more to give.
16 - Training is going well, been at it a while now. This is the point where you can class yourself as a good club runner, you're pretty good. If you trained like a pro you might be legit.
14 - This is the point where even though you are faster you're not good anymore. You're running 100mpw, doing the workouts consistently. You spend a lot of time running, it's all you do. You quit your job and are training and living like a pro runner but you're just not good enough so you suck at running and quit.
14:05 wrote:
You're running 100mpw, doing the workouts consistently. You spend a lot of time running, it's all you do.
How is that all that you do? 100 mpw at 6:30 pace is 1 hr, 32 min per day. If we throw in extra time for ancillary work, etc. maybe we get up to 2 hrs, 15 min per day?
So you get off work at 5:30 pm and you're done by 7:45 pm. Or you do a short run in the morning so you get off work by 5:30 pm and are done by 7:00 pm.
Am I missing something?
It's not the running that takes up the time, it's the recovering. Lots of sleeping.
It's not all I did but it felt like I sucked compared to the training I put in. It's like being too fast for a casual runner and too slow a pro runner. A fast hobby jogger vs a really slow pro runner.
well those times aren't even close to being equivalent. So that alone makes it hard to compare. (for me at least).
A 2:25 is "soft" compared to a sub 14-min 5km (and a 29:30 is in-between in terms of effort as most sub 14-min guys could go closer to 29:00 at least).
Even an ol' ultra runner like me can pull off a sub 2:25 easy....but sub 14-min 5km is something I'll never do. Got kinda close in college with a 29:47 10km, but when you run NCAA DI you know exactly where you stand with that (not even close to going to Nationals and getting your butt kicked).
I think a better comparison would be a sub 2:20 marathon or an OTQ marathon. Guys who ran over 30-min for 10km in college have even pulled that off.
I can only speak from marathon experience, but the best feeling is being able to toe the front of the starting line at a race like Boston...that's pretty cool. You get "elite status" and don't have to worry about waiting out in the cold or huge lines for the port-a-pots. And you get to line up right behind the real contenders...guys popping sub 2:10s.
Other than that it can be really frustrating as PRs become marginal and there are diminishing returns. I guess it depends if you are on the road scene or the track scene and what age you are. Also, if you are running DI or DIII it might shape your outlook on things.
wedfgn wrote:
Is it worth it to put in the time?
If you are asking this question then 'probably not' is your answer.
You have to put in the work for yourself. Recognize that while some people will support you and care very much about how fast you are, most will not and can't tell the difference between 16 and 14. But if you really love running, and are as addicted to the feeling of getting faster as I suspect that most of us are, then of course it's worth it. When you're old, you will be able to say to yourself, yeah I cracked 14. I was within a minute of being an Olympian. A chasm, to be sure, but do you really want to quit without finding out just how good you could have been? You have to train hard to find out. Your only chance is before you're 30, 35 if you're lucky. Then you have 30-60 years after to relax and do the other things in life. Take these ten years to be as good as you can be.
Also. Forget the marathon. It's a dumb event. 5ks are so much more fun, and you can run 10-15 per year in peak form. You can only do two marys.
With a dream wrote:
You have to put in the work for yourself. Recognize that while some people will support you and care very much about how fast you are, most will not and can't tell the difference between 16 and 14. But if you really love running, and are as addicted to the feeling of getting faster as I suspect that most of us are, then of course it's worth it. When you're old, you will be able to say to yourself, yeah I cracked 14. I was within a minute of being an Olympian. A chasm, to be sure, but do you really want to quit without finding out just how good you could have been? You have to train hard to find out. Your only chance is before you're 30, 35 if you're lucky. Then you have 30-60 years after to relax and do the other things in life. Take these ten years to be as good as you can be.
Also. Forget the marathon. It's a dumb event. 5ks are so much more fun, and you can run 10-15 per year in peak form. You can only do two marys.
Agree with most of this... ultimately, it is your (you, as an individual) dream. what is important to you? If it's important to you it's worth it. And, yes, when you are old you will look back and say it was worth it.
Where we disagree is on two points... 1) if you are close it is not a chasm... it's not luck that makes one an Olympian but it takes talent, hard work, and some breaks as well. 2) the marathon is hardly a 'dumb event'... it is not for everyone but it is an event that evens things out for some.
With a dream wrote:
You have to put in the work for yourself. Recognize that while some people will support you and care very much about how fast you are, most will not and can't tell the difference between 16 and 14. But if you really love running, and are as addicted to the feeling of getting faster as I suspect that most of us are, then of course it's worth it. When you're old, you will be able to say to yourself, yeah I cracked 14. I was within a minute of being an Olympian. A chasm, to be sure, but do you really want to quit without finding out just how good you could have been? You have to train hard to find out. Your only chance is before you're 30, 35 if you're lucky. Then you have 30-60 years after to relax and do the other things in life. Take these ten years to be as good as you can be.
Also. Forget the marathon. It's a dumb event. 5ks are so much more fun, and you can run 10-15 per year in peak form. You can only do two marys.
Damn, I started age 33 and I train hard.
guy with time constraints wrote:
14:05 wrote:You're running 100mpw, doing the workouts consistently. You spend a lot of time running, it's all you do.
How is that all that you do? 100 mpw at 6:30 pace is 1 hr, 32 min per day. If we throw in extra time for ancillary work, etc. maybe we get up to 2 hrs, 15 min per day?
So you get off work at 5:30 pm and you're done by 7:45 pm. Or you do a short run in the morning so you get off work by 5:30 pm and are done by 7:00 pm.
Am I missing something?
you clearly have never done 100 mpw if you think it only takes 100*6.5=650 minutes per week. 92 minutes a day of running...sure, but there's clearly more to it than that if you're a 14 minute guy
14 to 13 is absolutely a chasm.
With a dream wrote:
14 to 13 is absolutely a chasm.
if you think it is, it shall be.
wedfgn wrote:
Is it worth it to put in the time?
Ok, let's put it this way: was there an inflection point, speed wise, at which the mechanical act of running became significantly more joyous?
reed wrote:
you clearly have never done 100 mpw if you think it only takes 100*6.5=650 minutes per week. 92 minutes a day of running...sure, but there's clearly more to it than that if you're a 14 minute guy
Well that's why I added another 50% for ancillary work and called it 2 hr, 15 min. Does that work or no?
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