Hall To Coach Self

Avocados Number wrote:

As an unrepentant atheist, I'm likewise amused to hear that I "play a major part" in your "belief system."

of all the gifts bestowed on humanity, intelligence is most stellar. Man has reduced the entirety of the universe down to the size of a pin head, yet still failed to call the pin God. this happens to be the entire belief behind Jesus Christ being God and savior--as big as God is, he still became a "pin" in being Jesus Christ. Again, the big bang theory only underpins/substantiates christianity.

Duality permeates every layer of existence. your belief in "the nothing beyond" cannot exist without my belief in something. I'm a logical man, so I'll gamble on "something" over "nothing" anyday.

I find that the 1984 film "The Neverending Story" provides fabulous visual clarification into this concept of something vs. nothing.

Did Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers "really" have coaches?

How about Joan Benoit?

Bill Rodgers was really (no quotes necessary) coached by Bill Squires.

Frank Burley wrote:

bourgeoisie wrote:

So we are evil to use our interest to care for people who have more things than others? Ah, yes, we must damn those who see the world as an inventory for their acquisition, but only to bring the righteous poor to an equal level of objective worth.

Yes that's exactly what I wrote. Suggesting that you use your magical prayer powers to save the lives of people who are dying in anguish this very moment instead of assisting a well off distance runner with his career and pastime is the same as some form of global quest for the the equalization of resources and the elimination of economic classes.

You're criticising people for caring about someone because they could be caring about other people. Does this mean if I care about the people in Taiwan, I cannot care about my family, runner friends, etc. because they're 'better off'?

Agreed. I inferred that the Hall's "vacation" in Central America is a mission trip. Ryan lives to glorify God. Running to glorify God is something that takes up much of his life now. But he wouldn't be human if he wasn't running for himself as well, which is where it gets difficult.

Is Mahon a believer? I always wondered about that because Cox ran for him as well.

Lekuta wrote:

How about Joan Benoit?

Bob Sevene.

The whole jesus/god thing is a bit far-fetched though, admit it.

I wouldn't make too much of him saying he wants to do "his best" now, rather than win, place or show. When he states his goal(s) publicly, it only led to criticism in Boston and it raised even more questions after Philly about his readiness to take on the AR in Chicago. Bottom line: I wouldn't expect him to share his goals anymore. It simply creates too much pressure.

As for self-coaching...it sure worked for Roger Federer in his prime.

As for Sara - no one is forcing her to leave Mammoth. She's old enough and strong enough to make her own decisions. Truth is, she didn't seem to be flourishing at MTC either.

As for Stanford... Hall almost quit running because he was so miserable there. Sara talked him into continuing. Personally, I'm glad to see he's committed to persevering and not quitting out of disappointment.

I'll be eager to see what he can do on his own!

It's a legitimate move.

Ryan and Sara aren't little children anymore. Consultation works well with older athletes. Have someone dictate your days does not work for most older adults.

Reliant Aries wrote:

Bill Rodgers was really (no quotes necessary) coached by Bill Squires.

I think that Rodgers has no problem acknowledging that Squires played an important role in his improvement back around 1974-1975, but I also think that it would be misleading to describe Squires as Rodgers's coach in the years that followed. Like many excellent runners, Rodgers was fortunate to have a knowledgeable coach at a key point in his development. He learned from that coach and moved on (although he continued to listen to and learn from others throughout his career). Shorter likewise was fortunate to have Frank G. and (especially) Jack B. to point him in the right direction. But later, after he had absorbed their lessons, he didn't need them to tell him what to do every day.

Some people thrive when they have a coach telling them what to do every day. Others don't.

My own general sense is that, at the elite level, a coach is often most useful just to prevent an athlete from doing really stupid stuff, especially when it leads to, or exacerbates, long-term injuries and layoffs. Some athletes are such perfectionists that they act in ways that are ultimately self-defeating when things don't go exactly according to plan, and it helps to have a more objective observer to tell them to chill out and back off. Some coaches are good at that. Others aren't. Some athletes may really benefit from that. Others may not.

[quote]Wallet Inspector wrote:

Man has reduced the entirety of the universe down to the size of a pin head, yet still failed to call the pin God. this happens to be the entire belief behind Jesus Christ being God and savior--as big as God is, he still became a "pin" in being Jesus Christ. Again, the big bang theory only underpins/substantiates christianity.

Duality permeates every layer of existence. your belief in "the nothing beyond" cannot exist without my belief in something.[quote]

This is your brain on drugs.

"I'm not unmindful of a man's seeming need for faith; I'm for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers, or a bottle of Jack Daniels."

- Frank Sinatra

How many of you have honestly sat down and talked to any elite marathoners? Most of the worst advice comes from elite runners. Talk to Meb about training philosophy. Talk to Blake Russell or Bill Rodgers. Been there done that does not mean that you understood anything about the process. Ryan Hall is a great runner. His problems thus far is that he does not have a strong willed coach. Someone needs to tell him NO to public appearances, NO to traveling the world. This will not come from his agent who is benefitting by these public appearances. Maybe Mahon did stand up for what is in the best interest of Ryan.

What is "self?"

First, Ryan Hall is not smart enough to coach himself. Maybe, when he becomes a man, he will. After the next 2 years of his journey we will know which path he has taken.

He needs to stop thinking he knows God, or thinking he's God, or most importantly, thinking God cares.

Lose the self, conquer the ego.

If Hall really wants to be the best he needs to drop all of the promotional work he does for Nissan, Competitor and Asics. I am sure this contributed to the excessive fatigue he mentioned. Traveling to all of these major marathons and making appearances are draining and not good for training. In addition, Mammoth is an extremely remote place which makes the travel more difficult and time consuming. The kenyans train and rest, if he wants to beat them he's going to have to be more focused on the task at hand....maybe his new coach will tell him that.

existential realist wrote:

What is "self?"

First, Ryan Hall is not smart enough to coach himself. Maybe, when he becomes a man, he will. After the next 2 years of his journey we will know which path he has taken.

He needs to stop thinking he knows God, or thinking he's God, or most importantly, thinking God cares.

Lose the self, conquer the ego.

WTF?! This has got to be the most arrogant thing writen here. How the hell would you know how smart he is? Also, please tell us your definition of a man?

I don't necessarily agree with the whole "god-praising" stuff, but whatever floats your boat. Maybe people should stop questioning his decisions and let him live his life. Too many people here either want to take possession of him, because he is a top American runner, and therefore they want to live through him - if he were to win an Olympic medal, it is somehow theirs as well - or they jealously want to direct his career somehow. For the life of me I can`t figure out why this is any business of anyone else but him, his wife and Mahon.

rough going wrote:

How many of you have honestly sat down and talked to any elite marathoners? Most of the worst advice comes from elite runners. Talk to Meb about training philosophy. Talk to Blake Russell or Bill Rodgers. Been there done that does not mean that you understood anything about the process.

This is the kind of arrogant talk that makes so many good runners tune out when mid-pack joggers purport to diagnose their problems.

(By the way, aside from sharing the same initials and having both run some marathons, what in the world do Blake Russell and Bill Rodgers have in common? Is it simply that they're both faster than you and have views about training that you disagree with?)

Maybe The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit will be his training partners.

Has anyone asked yet how long Asics is going to put up with this? I'm sure they're all telling him whatever he wants to hear for now...but if he doesn't have a medal or another AR in the next two years...

I am in no way familiar with his contract or relationship with Asics and other sponsors. But business is business...whether you ran fast for an American/white guy a few times and think you have your particular deity on your side or not.

That said, I don't really have a clear opinion on whether this is the right move. Not sure I'm qualified/informed enough to give one. If he succeeds, I will be thrilled for him and continue to support him. If he comes up short of whatever his goals should be (they are up to him), I will take zero satisfaction out of that and hope he can still live without regrets and find meaning in something else...as long as he doesn't become too obnoxious about others needing to find meaning in the highly suspect meaning he identifies with.