Henry Rono training for masters mile record. PART II

Henry,

I am another who does not understand why so many are so hung up about your wheight. In fact, I can not see how any of these guys could have the nerve to advise you in any way. You know yourself and you know what you are doing. You have been there. The rest of us have not.

In addition, your posts and progress continue to inspire this 70 year old to do more than he has done in the last couple of years. Thank you!

Orville

'Patroninzing' will not 'get it done'. As a former national class runner, who are you kidding to say; "why would someone be hung up on your weight"....you know as well as I do, what an extras 10 lbs, let alone 20 means in your running performance, not to mention the stress on your joints and ability to train the way you should.

Henry has been told over and over on this thread that he must lose weight. It has all been said many times before. I feel that it is time to leave him alone to continue to make his own decissions. He will do so anyhow. I encourage him to continue on his road to achieve the goals that he has set for himself. Henry, thank you for giving my running a new life during your own quest.

As simple as this:

The proper way to eat an elephant is to eat one small pice at the time,not the whole elephant in one pice...

I do not eat meat. I only eat chicken, turkey and fish.

You might be right in saying that 'Henry has been told over and over in many ways and with many tips, how to lose weight' (paraphrasing).....at this point it is really up to him to 'get serious and get it done'.....I agree with you. I guess we should just sit back and see if it happens or not. We've encouraged, badgered, consoled, etc. all we can. Whether he does it or not is "in his hands now". I just don't want him to think he is fooling us or worse, himself...but, I will backoff.

To mr. reality..

I just remembered an incident from long long ago. I had been training under Coach Mihaly Igloi for about 8 months. I was my usual 5'11" and 133 pounds. Coach came up to me one day and said that I was fat. When I asked him what I should do about it, he said "nothing, I will take care of it". I did nothing but, six weeks later I was 125.

Since then, I have shot up to 136 pounds and lost at least a half an inch in height.

This thread has been a real joy and inspiration for me during the last several months. I've asked Henry to keep us updated on his weight, because I think that it's likely to be the biggest hurdle for him in achieving his racing goals. But I am thrilled with Henry's progress, and so thankful that he has continued to report to us in his own delightful way.

To answer your question, Henry: It means that you were running REALLY slowly on February 14. But I assume that it also indicates that you're moving to a new level in your training.

Orville,

Now that you're up to 136 pounds, are you getting any more interest from women who thought that you were too skinny forty years ago? : )

They are dead or in nursing homes.

O.A.

were you training with Igloi, during those 'famous years' of 1960-68 or so? With all of the 'big guns', esp. in the early 60s. I ran under Joe Douglas and Merle McGee for 5 years in the late 70s-early 80s, at the SMTC. It was hard, intense work. Running 100 miles a week or more, mostly on the track. (they told us that they let us run alot more on the roads for our distance work, then Igloi ever allowed, and that we shouldn't complain)....lol....Merle said he would have to run a 12 mile run around the inside lane of the track, as Igloi wanted to monitor, everything. How were Merle and Joe as 'runners' under Igloi? They never talked about their own careers. (other than Joe telling us he ran a mile pr of around 4:13, if I recall, at an all commers meet at Venice High, one summer, that Schul used as a time trial and ran under 4:10).

I was there! I ran for Coach Igloi in 1965-6. Joe Douglas was my roommate for a year. Merle and Ron Larrieu were in the second room. Merle trained harder than any runner I know. Also, Joe coached me in 1975 for about a year.

I think that you would like the Mihaly Igloi thread started by dc449 on 6-5-04. It tells a lot about Igloi, his training and the great results he got. Bob Schul has posted on it too. Look it up.

one year was all you could take? lol....was it too restrictive for you? It is not for everybody; esp. in those days.

It was too hard for me! I ran better marathons before and after Igloi. I was there about 20 months. The Los Angeles Athletic Club stopped sponsoring Igloi, we got a new sponsor which was The City of Santa Monica, and Igloi moved to Santa Monica City College. After we won the US team Championshiip in the marathon in 1966, I began to coach myself (with help from John Bork for a while) since I worked in downtown LA at the time. Read the Igloi thread. It has some great posts from all over the world.

I agree with your earlier post that bascially said "Henry knows what to do if he really wants to get to his racing weight and seriously compete at top level Masters competiton"....I think that posters who ask ?'s and criticize are really just frustrated fans who want to see him succeed, but are worried that he's more talk than action. Let's hope not.

Mr. Rono, I will be 53 years old this year and have lost about 30 pounds in the last year thru slow hard work. Do not listen to negative talk. People that talk negative are only wishing they could catch the gazelle.It is very hard to lose weight after the first 25 pounds. You are doing great and I know you have the spirit of the tiger to set a new mile masters mile record. It is in your heart.

This thread is getting full,how about starting part III to go with phase III.

Orville Atkins wrote:

They are dead or in nursing homes.

That's the best line of the thread.

Rich

Well, it's a really long thread, with some really good stuff, but I agree that it's an excellent response to my question.