I was talking to the anesthesiologist during my last hospital visit and somehow the conversation turned to running, and he told me he was stuck at about 5:10 and would really like to break 5 minutes.
I told him that I had not been very good and my best times were 4:33 for the mile and 2:50:20 marathon. He was greatly impressed by this, but I told him truthfully, that I had been in a club with several sub-4 milers and a number of world class people (LATC), and I was about the slowest guy in the group.
A while later, my nurse came in and said he had told her that I had been an "elite" runner. I did my best to disabuse her of the notion.
I guess it's all in perception.
I never saw that doc again, unfortunately, as I wanted to ask him about his training, and perhaps provide some thoughts to help him reach his goal.
I was talking to the anesthesiologist during my last hospital visit and somehow the conversation turned to running, and he told me he was stuck at about 5:10 and would really like to break 5 minutes.
I told him that I had not been very good and my best times were 4:33 for the mile and 2:50:20 marathon. He was greatly impressed by this, but I told him truthfully, that I had been in a club with several sub-4 milers and a number of world class people (LATC), and I was about the slowest guy in the group.
A while later, my nurse came in and said he had told her that I had been an "elite" runner. I did my best to disabuse her of the notion.
I guess it's all in perception.
I never saw that doc again, unfortunately, as I wanted to ask him about his training, and perhaps provide some thoughts to help him reach his goal.
Sir, If you really ran 4:33/mile, then your 2:50 is very slow, in comparison. A 4:33 miler should achieve at least 2:30:00.
I get the opposite comments. I run a lot of my mileage right here in my small town and everyone who knows me says, "I saw you running, are you okay? Have you been injured a lot recently?"
Once my running form was described as looking like "a one-man-band playing about seven different invisible instruments at once."
People think I am geriatric or handicapped. I have been asked if I "need a ride home" because of how ugly my form is. One person asked me if was a relative of Quasimodo?
The weird thing is that I am not really that slow. Yes, I am slow by runner standards, but I am still faster than joggers and normal people. I am certainly faster than the people who are making these comments, so my pace and mileage don't align with my town's perception of me as a hideous, hunched-over, skinny-fat slob who runs like Elaine Benes dances:
Any recommendations on getting them to stop approaching me? I don’t run for attention, so it’s bothersome.
I saw you running around town. My observation your knee lift is lacking, your arm swing is too low, and your stride is too short. My thoughts I would let these people know your mile PR is slower than an elite runners long run pace.
When I blend my top shelf running talents with my dazzling charisma, riveting intellect, inspirational humility, and extraordinary handsomeness it becomes a cross that's almost to great to bear. As I effortlessly take to my heels and fly through the streets, with my tanned, striated, glistening and taut muscles rippling in the sun, I loom over my paltry townsfolk like some sort of God. I stand out like a majestic golden eagle next to an annoying flock of pigeons. I recognize that they cannot help but genuflect whenever I go out in public, and I have to allow them their patronage.
But still, the unrelenting expectations are so extreme. I have to wear the shortest shorts, lace up my shoes just so, wear the tightest mesh tank tops, low socks, and rock those Vibram Five Finger shoes, it's all part of the game.
As a result, I have created an organization for exceptional individuals like us. It is called the Beautiful and Talented Persons Support Group. We meet Tuesday evenings at 8 at the barn outside of town, in order to avoid those pesky paparazzi. Please join us and share your tale of angst and woe.
This is common in small towns where there aren't very many runners. And you also hear, "I saw you jogging..." a lot.
Yes, this is a small town thing. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew me as the runner. I now live in a large suburb and runners/joggers are so ubiquitous that no one even noticed them. I am anonymous here.
I was talking to the anesthesiologist during my last hospital visit and somehow the conversation turned to running, and he told me he was stuck at about 5:10 and would really like to break 5 minutes.
I told him that I had not been very good and my best times were 4:33 for the mile and 2:50:20 marathon. He was greatly impressed by this, but I told him truthfully, that I had been in a club with several sub-4 milers and a number of world class people (LATC), and I was about the slowest guy in the group.
A while later, my nurse came in and said he had told her that I had been an "elite" runner. I did my best to disabuse her of the notion.
I guess it's all in perception.
I never saw that doc again, unfortunately, as I wanted to ask him about his training, and perhaps provide some thoughts to help him reach his goal.
Sir, If you really ran 4:33/mile, then your 2:50 is very slow, in comparison. A 4:33 miler should achieve at least 2:30:00.
I agree and disagree.
4:33 is a nice high school time, and not even horrendous for someone running college outside of D1. As JohnMD1022 clearly knows, it's not spectacular.
Obviously a2:50 marathon is a lower raw standard performance than a 4:33 mile, but since many runners race their fastest miles in their early 20s and only take up the marathon in a different stage of life, 2:50 is also quite solid.
I'm at least as impressed by a 35 year-old 2:50 marathoner as I am by a 25 year-old 4:33 miler.
I agree with that. I ran 4:31 and 2:49 (so about the same as the other guy) and I feel like they are pretty equal in value. The 4:31 was when I was young and cared a lot (running D3). The marathon time came a decade later, a few months after the birth of our first kid.
The fact is, I'd rather be able to run a bunch of 2:49s than 4:31s. Maybe that's just me...
I was talking to the anesthesiologist during my last hospital visit and somehow the conversation turned to running, and he told me he was stuck at about 5:10 and would really like to break 5 minutes.
I told him that I had not been very good and my best times were 4:33 for the mile and 2:50:20 marathon. He was greatly impressed by this, but I told him truthfully, that I had been in a club with several sub-4 milers and a number of world class people (LATC), and I was about the slowest guy in the group.
A while later, my nurse came in and said he had told her that I had been an "elite" runner. I did my best to disabuse her of the notion.
I guess it's all in perception.
I never saw that doc again, unfortunately, as I wanted to ask him about his training, and perhaps provide some thoughts to help him reach his goal.
Sir, If you really ran 4:33/mile, then your 2:50 is very slow, in comparison. A 4:33 miler should achieve at least 2:30:00.
So Seb Coe shoulda been able to run at least 2.05?
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