Genetics matter. Training less so. Zero to hero…no. Zero to maybe average…possibly.

Total fitness wrote:

belligerent_runner wrote:

You only make this kind of post if you are a miserable person. Are you just seeking to discourage others from pursuing a meaningful goal? VO2max is trainable, and not even the primary factor for genetic potential in distance running. Anyway, a person shouldn’t worry about their potential. Potential is a thing which can be properly assessed only in hindsight. Which means you have to actually go after it with everything in you in order to know. Even Jakob has not reached his potential, despite his methodical training approach and many years of training. Instead of whining about your terrible genetics, maybe apply yourself and stop thinking you know everything about how to train and recover. It’s likely a mental block which is preventing you from making meaningful progress. Humble yourself and encourage others. There is nothing to be gained from spreading negativity.

Just out of interest…how is your goal meaningful?

Are you getting paid? Will your race exploits be on the national / local news? Have you got a scholarship / endorsement? Outside of these, I can’t see how they would be meaningful to anyone other than yourself or the few “buddies” you have that do the same activity. In my own personal experience, even family members and friends only take a brief “passing” interest, before moving on with their own lives. Sometimes they don’t do that even. Is your experience different? Do you have a festival of a month long celebration, where you tour the neighbourhood, being lauded and appreciated, when you beat a PB in a local race? If so, then carry on my friend, you truly have a blessed life.

I ask, because I can’t see your point. Is there something that I have missed?

Total fitness wrote:

Prior wrote:

Did you set out to define the either-or (false dilemma) fallacy (thread title)?

In asking “why,” did you consider that health and longevity are one part of the equation for many runners but not the sole one? Maybe there is a bit of competitive fire or desire to push oneself that exists outside the parameters you define?

Yeah, we know we’re not elite.

I’m also not going to be a billionaire, a superhero, or a saint. Nevertheless, striving is integral to my understanding of a well-lived life. For you, running may be nothing more than a path to fitness and longevity. Cool. I love living in a world where people can have different yet still reasonable and fulfilling goals for themselves. Best wishes to you.

I actually appreciate this kind of well thought reply, even if I don’t resonate with the sentiment behind it.

I used to have this drive, but as I’ve grown older, with a life full of things to cram into a day, something has had to give. Call it a change in priorities if you will. But as I look back, I wish my priorities would have changed much sooner. Personally, I see a life focused on a singular minded goal, of knocking a few seconds off a race time, or placing in a local race, to win a plastic trophy, as being a bit selfish, when the time spent pursuing such a goal could be better spent elsewhere.

Training for health and longevity can still have the element of strive ( occasionally), progression, and fulfilment, but competing against yourself, instead of others, or some arbitrary time goals, takes a lot less time from your week, and is less stressful.

On another recent thread, someone asked how they could balance training to compete, around a busy 9 to 5 job. There were numerous convoluted solutions offered in the thread where people were balancing training around other daily activities of work and family life. I honestly couldn’t see anyone being able to do that and in a way that all areas were optimally satisfied. I tried that in my youth. Guess what? My career suffered, and I still didn’t get a pay cheque or endorsement from running.
How many on this board can HONESTLY say that in their pursuit of shaving seconds off a PB, their career, family, friends or other area of their life hasn’t suffered as a result? Hey, if racing is your number one priority, then fine, have at it. But don’t be surprised when you are overlooked for promotion again, or family life goes awry.

Still I thank you for your measured answer, and for the fact that unlike others, you weren’t abusive with it, even though we don’t agree.

However from the standpoint of my new perspective, based on personal experience, I still look at those not fortunate enough to be running for financial gain and ask…why? Why so much time spent not only training, to be the best runner in the little cohort of runners around you, all with similar times, that you see again and again in your local races, who you have an unspoken personal rivalry with…but also why so much time spent on places like this, or other sites/ books / magazines, pouring through the words, agonising over the permutations and hoping to find the big breakthrough training method. From experience I know…it’s all just way too stressful.

I’d rather go out and run, regardless of my time, and then get on with the rest of my day.

maybe seek help wrote:

Total fitness wrote:

Just out of interest…how is your goal meaningful?

Are you getting paid? Will your race exploits be on the national / local news? Have you got a scholarship / endorsement? Outside of these, I can’t see how they would be meaningful to anyone other than yourself or the few “buddies” you have that do the same activity. In my own personal experience, even family members and friends only take a brief “passing” interest, before moving on with their own lives. Sometimes they don’t do that even. Is your experience different? Do you have a festival of a month long celebration, where you tour the neighbourhood, being lauded and appreciated, when you beat a PB in a local race? If so, then carry on my friend, you truly have a blessed life.

I ask, because I can’t see your point. Is there something that I have missed?

If you are unable to understand that people are able to achieve inner fulfillment by pursuing personal goals, without obsessing about attention and the other things you've listed above, some deep inner work, possibly with a specialist, could be helpful. Good luck.

Tool gonna tool wrote:

Total fitness wrote:

I actually appreciate this kind of well thought reply, even if I don’t resonate with the sentiment behind it.

I used to have this drive, but as I’ve grown older, with a life full of things to cram into a day, something has had to give. Call it a change in priorities if you will. But as I look back, I wish my priorities would have changed much sooner. Personally, I see a life focused on a singular minded goal, of knocking a few seconds off a race time, or placing in a local race, to win a plastic trophy, as being a bit selfish, when the time spent pursuing such a goal could be better spent elsewhere.

Training for health and longevity can still have the element of strive ( occasionally), progression, and fulfilment, but competing against yourself, instead of others, or some arbitrary time goals, takes a lot less time from your week, and is less stressful.

On another recent thread, someone asked how they could balance training to compete, around a busy 9 to 5 job. There were numerous convoluted solutions offered in the thread where people were balancing training around other daily activities of work and family life. I honestly couldn’t see anyone being able to do that and in a way that all areas were optimally satisfied. I tried that in my youth. Guess what? My career suffered, and I still didn’t get a pay cheque or endorsement from running.
How many on this board can HONESTLY say that in their pursuit of shaving seconds off a PB, their career, family, friends or other area of their life hasn’t suffered as a result? Hey, if racing is your number one priority, then fine, have at it. But don’t be surprised when you are overlooked for promotion again, or family life goes awry.

Still I thank you for your measured answer, and for the fact that unlike others, you weren’t abusive with it, even though we don’t agree.

However from the standpoint of my new perspective, based on personal experience, I still look at those not fortunate enough to be running for financial gain and ask…why? Why so much time spent not only training, to be the best runner in the little cohort of runners around you, all with similar times, that you see again and again in your local races, who you have an unspoken personal rivalry with…but also why so much time spent on places like this, or other sites/ books / magazines, pouring through the words, agonising over the permutations and hoping to find the big breakthrough training method. From experience I know…it’s all just way too stressful.

I’d rather go out and run, regardless of my time, and then get on with the rest of my day.

Maybe you’d have a more fulfilling life if you weren’t writing out PhD dissertation length post on LetsRun?