Thanks au contraire great post.
I like the craftsman description very much.
It is true that its a combination of the things you mention; preparedness savvy and heart that will make you the victor on any given day. Maybe monday will be the day that Alan puts it all together
The Final Word wrote:
A lot of what I'm seeing here marks what is wrong with American distance running...
Get out there and go for it, and don't be so vain as to worry about your marks are going to end up. Run the damn race because you love to run, and because it's fun... and fun is winning.
Run the race to win. If you don't have an innate desire to win every time you step to the line, then join everybody else in the jogging lane.
That's my two-cents...
Two very naive cents. That's fine if you aren't relying on your running to support your family, but the pro level is a very different game than what weekend warriors are used to.