Why we're all not running 2:22?

regardless of what advisors told me about how to pay off my loans, my #1 goal after graduating was to get out of debt ASAP. with car and student loans i owed about $32,000. i paid it off in 27 months. so i guess that's almost $1,200/month. over the last two years investment returns have been so lousy that i'm glad i chose to pay off my debt than let the money dwindle away like my paltry 401k.

NO reason to feel sorry for me. i willingly gave these years away to get out of debt. i've got the best friends in the world, had the best 4 year's of college anyone could've had ($23,000 of loans is a bargain for the experience i had) and it's not like i stopped running either. but if i'm gonna decide to pursue the 2:22, which i've already claimed that i can "crap" if given the time to train, i want to decide soon, so as not to waste anymore time.

Average_Joe wrote:

And why is that a problem, exactly? He didn't say what his job was, but whatever it is, why is this all being discussed as some problem that needs to be solved?

I never said it was a problem! It's just not a lifestyle conducive to running your best times. Did I miss something...this board is dedicated to being your best at running, no?

Perhaps we should move my comments to "letswork100hoursaweek.com".

I wish I could crap a 2:22, man my body wouldn't hurt so much today if I could, just maybe my ass, ha.

Sehon40,

Looks like you have the one thing besides some talent to do it, and that is desire.

You also have some other things going for you like your finances. Make no mistake about it, those student loans can be a big drag, and you were smart to get them out of the way. Ross Perot says the key to becoming rich is to always pay cash for everything. Never take out a loan.

It does appear though that you will have to find another line of work to pursue your running as you wish. 50-60 hours a week is unacceptable to me, even though I am not running as much as you would like to. I work 40 and a couple times a year more than that for a few weeks when there is more work, but that is it. I turned down a job not that long ago which would have given me a 25% salary increase, but they told me upfront to be ready to work 55-60 hours per week. I told them no. They seemed surprised, and one guy said "that's what you have to do to become successful." I told him that I measured success in different ways, and thanks but no thanks. Personally I am of the opinion that for the most part people can get done in 40 hours per week what they need to if they really want to. If you actually WORK for 8 hours, or even 7 hours per day, you can accomplish a lot. Some people like lawyers who have to bill 40 hours per week need to put in more than 40 hours, but other than that, I think most people who put in more than 40 either are inefficient or like to work that much.

I suggest moving to a part of the country that has a low cost of living and finding work there. Do some sort of work that you can leave and not take home with you. Work your 8 hours a day, and then just run run run. You could rent an apartment and work at KMart for two years if you really wanted to. Give it a shot and see what happens. Might not be a bad time to do it anyway. If the economy is now just starting to turn around, in two years from now when you are done with your experiment and are looking for a more career-oriented job, there might be more available.

Anyway, good luck.

No, I have chosen my CAREER as being far more important than running. If I were working 15 hours a day for the Peace Corps would I have chosen the "almighty $dollar$" as being more important than running? Just because you work a lot does not mean you get paid a lot, and if you do, then good for you! You guys are so single minded its not even funny. I love how my friend works 40 hours a week at a shoe store so he can be a "Professional Runner." Well Jesus man, if you're gonna work 40 hours a week, might as well get a better job than working at a shoe store (he has an engineering degree from Columbia and could easily get an engineering job working 35-45 a week and paying twice as much as his current one while being less physically demanding.) Also, just because one works a lot and is making a lot of money does not mean he is doing it for the money. Believe it or not, there are jobs out there that pay quite a bit of money that people also love.

M

Good points there Conto.

"No one who works a forty hour week will ever beat me." - Bill Rodgers

Gotcha - I thought I was amongst others who were serious runners. I'll move on to another board where running is either (a) the career of choice or (b) more important than the career. I tend to think of my "single minded determination" as the key to my success. Oh well!

Nice job on the 2:22 at CIM.

How do you train that much when you're getting less than 7 hours of sleep some nights?

I'm sure that was true. Gotta put the time in.

Good luck to you. I hear they take running VERY SERIOUSLY over at RWOL and Cool Running. (Those Penguins can be a pretty passionate group)

ha, ha, ha, ha :)

SEHON you speak the truth brother. There has to be a way to get it all done by not working that much-the body needs rest and recovery time to handle the big mileage weeks and the intense work needed to realize potential. It is a paradigm really. You can either a) bust your ass as much as possible for 5-6 years and pay as much debt down as possible so you can attempt to be productive in your 30's running or b) sit around with debt up to your eyeballs and try to forgoe having everything to try to achieve and reach your maximum potential as a runner. Finding a way to be self employed or have your work be as flexible as possible is the only way-but I am aware corporate America for the most part is inflexible. Marry a woman that is a)Rich and b)Willing to support you until you are sayyyy 40 or so.

I like Sehon's post and I understand his frustration. At the same time, there's another angle here that may or may not be relevant. For guys like Sehon who have had, I assume, success on the collegiate level, isn't it difficult to re-create that workout intensity and that atmosphere where you were able to run so fast, complete insane workouts, etc. ,etc? I have no expertise here and I'm sure 20 people are going to get on here and say they run 140 miles a week by theirselves. But I think it's worth discussing how difficult it is for a succesful collegitate runner to maintain the glory day work ethic and performances post collegiately. I'm not referring to guys who have joined running groups. It just amazes me that there are 100 guys running sub-31s at D-1 nationals and 90% of them hang it up after school. I don't think it is as much financial and job-related as it is the fact that they are no longer part of a well-oiled collegiate machine. Sehon has the desire to put the work in, as does miles and miles, but the majority will say f@#$ it and put the shoes away.

buzzard....i agree. recreating a competitive team-like training environment can be key. i think the only way that right now i could handle getting up to the 120mpw range with this job is if i had a few of my closest friends training with me. my motivation and drive only takes me so far (i'm about at the limit), but having others going through what you're going through on a daily basis can be an invaluable additive. i wouldn't have survived half of the college workouts that i did if it weren't for 30 other guys going through the same hell with me. that group synergy can make the individual accomplish so much more. just about every weekend i run with 2 of my college teammates, both of whom still run competitively....but all 3 of us live no closer than 2 hours of one another.....and our discussion always comes back to one truth - if we lived and trained together we could handle so much more. but it's all just fantasy until we do something about it. one of the guys and i have a bit of a plan in the works for the near future, but we'll see what happens.

Guest,

There are many ways one can particpate in this sport... and they don't all include running 100 miles a week. I am more pationate about this sport than I have ever been... passion and desire to accomplish things with track and feild are not related to your mileage. I work with several friends who are training for the trials, some with more a shot than others to make it, one who has a shot at the games. Again, its funny how single minded some people on this board can be... a competitive runner I may not be (can still whip out a 4:30 mile probably if someone were to hold a gun to my head... so I'm certainly not fat either), but that does not make my role in US mid and distance running any less than yours.

M

NOLIMIT wrote:

It is a paradigm really.

I think you meant "paradox."

Anyway, this is probably the best thread I've read on this board. Spirited debate and ideas, but no hating, name-calling, etc.

Yeah, I though a paradigm was 20 cents.

I can go on 7 hours per night, because I am used to it. I have been going on that or less for many many years now. Doesn't bother me.