I'm real old school. 67, ran back in the 60s. Big change now, everything is for show... You tube, twitter, Instagram, tik tok. Back then you ran because you didn't care what people thought. Now your objective is to get the most likes. You ran hard for the sake of running hard. Running officially died the day that "couch to Marathon" became a thing. You want to be old school, do ultra marathons or keep run the mile even though you are sub elite. Don't follow the crowd.
walkerkt wrote:
You should follow race walkers. At least in the US there is almost zero chance of sponsorship and yet we still train for 20km and 50km distances, most of us having to work jobs.
I like this.
I don't get how this is a question. It take so much more effort to make running videos or post workouts to social media. So the answer is just don't do that stuff.
Beyond that - be tough. Not tough as in run through injuries like an idiot. But tough as in run in any kind of weather, even if you have no company, even if no one will read your workout log and marvel at it. Tough as in do what you need to do day after day. Run those doubles. Go to sleep early so you get enough recovery.
Going to sleep early was always the hardest for me. I can hammer workouts and miles because it's fun. But going to sleep at 9 pm - cutting into your precious free time - so that you can do run a 5:30 am in the cold and dark by yourself, that takes willpower.
anon12345 wrote:
Except that racewalking is literally the least cool sport I can think of
And that is a major reason racewalkers remind me of distance runners from my younger years. They're just going to do it because they want to and who cares what anyone else thinks.
Sprinting in place on a mini trampoline in the upstairs of the local high school gymnasium.
Runner10287 wrote:
What back breaking blue collor job did Bill Rodgers work while running 120 mile weeks?
Didn't Rodgers one say, "I should not be losing to people who have full time jobs"?
Focus on yourself and making yourself run faster. Believe in yourself. Limit the static and distractions.
Without the internet, genetic theory, super shoes, compression socks, Kenyans and Ethiopians, tailored training programs, marketing hype by businesses trying to profit off runners, yoga, etc. the old school tough runners just ran, ran hard, and then ran some more.
They had no reason to believe they were not good enough, did not have the right genetics or equipment or training program. When any of that came along they were skeptical and decided that more effort and hard work was the basis of success.
The only times or results they could read were from big races/international competitions. There were no little community Wackbanger 5ks where the winning time was in the 19s. Everyone showed up for the few road races that existed so the level of competition was high. There were few hobby joggers and the only runners to follow and emulate were fast old school tough runners. The old school tough runners had to set their goals high to live up to the standards of fast regional, national , international competition.
There were no training secrets. Instead of 'train smart' the path to success was 'train more and train harder.'
The really old school runners did not have chronograph wrist watches. So unless they had a coach holding a stopwatch to time them, most of their runs were by effort and feel. The effort level was normally kept high to feel the pain.
Sham 69 wrote:
If you have to ask how to be tough, then you don t fit the bill.
Here;s a suggestion:
Be yourself.
I'm tough, but I was born tough.
I am a pure guts runner.
I used to shake my head at joggers on the road... Promised myself to never waste time going one mile per hour. 80% of my runs are 7:00 pace or faster. No mucking about.
Finishing a hard run: I exert as much energy as possible. No money left in the bank. Throw form in the shredder cus thatprevents you from reaching your full potential.
BLEED in your workouts and DONT let noob teammates EVER beat you. Even in warm-ups. You need to put them in their place.
Also be alpha.
I am a low mileage no-nonsense guy who gets swole during downtime, but you may be a high mileage type. Nothing wrong with that but you better be hittin' some serious hills. Do a Gerry Lindgren and sprint the first mile of your workout ALL OUT and then cruise the next 10 miles. Kick it in with .5 miles left to go.
Prefontaine never ran any slow miles. Never slower than 6:30. Total alpha. He was ripped because unlike Gerry, he did normal miles. But he had the muscles to compensate. The alpha lean physique.
Do out of the box workouts like 3x a day or timed intervals ON THE ROAD. Big alpha. Always do repeats after a hard continuous run. Take your shirt off for the ladies at the track. Also wear short shorts and never shave. Alpha (just make sure you're ripped like Pre).
Take the lead in races. Show that you aren't afraid of a dare. You go so much faster when you're hanging onto dear life in the front of a pack. You gain alpha confidence just by being there and make your opponents race much faster.
Also... Don't wear BOA shorts with flamingos or kisses. Those make you look like a simp.
"Pre" routinely lost to runners like Lasse Viren and Harald Norpoth who ran a lot of really slow miles.
I ran with Bill Rogers by accident this fall out here in Mass. We were on trails in Central/north Mass. He was running with two buddies. I think he's 72 now. He was jumping over creeks and having fun. He was extremely generous afterward at the trailhead. I only ran 9:24 in high school, that was really my high water mark, but he went out of my way to make me feel special. One of the nicest people in the running world, and he's still banging it out. I love him!
Sorry, out of his way!
"The really old school runners did not have chronograph wrist watches."
Amen and Awomen!
I still have my mechanical stopwatch that I held in one hand while running intervals on my own.
In HS, our easy day was 9 miles in 1 hour.
In college, our easy day was 10 miles in 58-60 minutes.
I've been training on a local hill that reminds me of "A" mountain.
I ran 2:04 several days ago, and yesterday I ran 1:54.
I have no meets, and it is a difficult hill if run with pace and bounding in the stride, in that I am struggling and short of breath when I finish.
I purchased a Garmin vivoactive 4 only so that I can measure a trail that I run, and on which I have dropped my time in 3 weeks from mid-20s to just under 20 a few days ago. I would never listen to music or any of the other features, and I already have a watch for timing.
On the trail, I have a creek that I must stop and step on stones to get across, then accelerate again. A tree fell on the narrow path, and for a few days I had to stop climb over it, but that was cleared away a couple of days ago.
This is what its like.
the kids aren't alright wrote:
Bullet_Proof wrote:
*outdated cliches*
okay boomer
Would you like to contribute something positive to this conversation that would enrich the OPs perspective and maybe provide some insights into how to be a tough runner or just be a negative nancy?
That70sRunner wrote:
-cotton tshirt
-shorty shorts
-cotton sweats
-ringer gym socks
-nike waffle racers
-Casio chronograph
-no garmin
-no Strava
-NO HRM
run A LOT of miles
run most of those miles REALLY HARD
Race more weekends than you don't
never refer to vo2mx, threshold, tempos, and any of that science jargon.. just talk in terms of pace- mile pace, 5k pace, 10k pace, marathon pace
Never use metric, that's for the Canadians.
Bullet_Proof wrote:
the kids aren't alright wrote:
okay boomer
Would you like to contribute something positive to this conversation that would enrich the OPs perspective and maybe provide some insights into how to be a tough runner or just be a negative nancy?
I would think someone with that kind of request would have contributed something positive themselves instead of some masturbatorial rant about running uphill both ways in the snow in secrecy. There’s nothing noble about training in anonymity.
Oh Canada wrote:
That70sRunner wrote:
-cotton tshirt
-shorty shorts
-cotton sweats
-ringer gym socks
-nike waffle racers
-Casio chronograph
-no garmin
-no Strava
-NO HRM
run A LOT of miles
run most of those miles REALLY HARD
Race more weekends than you don't
never refer to vo2mx, threshold, tempos, and any of that science jargon.. just talk in terms of pace- mile pace, 5k pace, 10k pace, marathon pace
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This just took me back 40+ years! Hahaha!
I DO wish I had a Garmin when I was fast. I'm 62 and I miss the 70's running scene.
the kids arent alright wrote:
Bullet_Proof wrote:
Would you like to contribute something positive to this conversation that would enrich the OPs perspective and maybe provide some insights into how to be a tough runner or just be a negative nancy?
I would think someone with that kind of request would have contributed something positive themselves instead of some masturbatorial rant about running uphill both ways in the snow in secrecy. There’s nothing noble about training in anonymity.
The OP is the ultimate judge of which comments have contributed positively, not you.
There's nothing heroic about training on strava either.
PS the masturbation diss, I already used that in the strava thread. Since I used it first, (correctly I might add), you are not allowed to use it, as it shows intellectual laziness on your part
Runner10287 wrote:
What back breaking blue collor job did Bill Rodgers work while running 120 mile weeks?
I bet Zatopek thought Shorter, Pre, and Rodgers were soft for running in Nike flats instead of combat boots. Cheater shoes anyone?
Rodgers was a hospital orderly and then a special ed teacher originally. Zatopek seemed very unlikely to think nasty things about people given what I've heard of him from people who knew him. But as an Eastern Bloc athlete who was in his country's military his life was set up to be much more conducive to his running, i.e., softer, than was Rodgers's early in his career or Prefontaine's after graduation.
Bullet_Proof wrote:
the kids arent alright wrote:
I would think someone with that kind of request would have contributed something positive themselves instead of some masturbatorial rant about running uphill both ways in the snow in secrecy. There’s nothing noble about training in anonymity.
The OP is the ultimate judge of which comments have contributed positively, not you.
There's nothing heroic about training on strava either.
PS the masturbation diss, I already used that in the strava thread. Since I used it first, (correctly I might add), you are not allowed to use it, as it shows intellectual laziness on your part
I didn't read the Strava thread and you didn't coin the phrase, nor do you have exclusive rights to it.
Tell us more about how tough old guys are and how dumb it is for runners to market their brand - it's captivating.
It's simple. Work as hard as necessary to maximize your ability without fear of the consequences or letting excuses get in the way. Injuries are the wildcard because you can't tough your way through to pr's with many types of injuries.