wowboyz wrote:
The worrying thing is the seeming belief that things are "easy" for fast runners.
The prevailing view seems to be "I am fat and out of shape, I can barely run but I am still out there 3 days a week killing myself for 30 minutes at a time. You are a skinny, naturally fit runner, it must be so easy for you".
The view just infuriates me but shows just how little knowledge the general populace has about running at a high level.
These people never stop to think of the training that goes into these times. The getting out of bed at 6 am to run doubles, or facing into a 5xmile workout when you legs are completely jacked from running 90 miles a week.
People just don't get it!
Well if you think about it is easy for a serious runner to run a 5k, I mean it's three miles. If you run 90 mile weeks, every run you do might be more than 3 miles. If a serious runner ran a 5k just to finish, it would be stupidly easy. Also many slow people think anything under 6:30 pace is the same, simply because they can't move themselves very fast, and cannot appreciate a person running a long distance at that pace. I can run a 400 in 60 seconds and really appreciate a sub 4 miler, because they run 4 of those at a slightly faster pace without stopping, and I am pretty gassed after just one. The kinds of hobby joggers we are talking about can barely run 6:00 pace for 100m. So when they can't tell the difference, they see running a longer distance as more impressive over a faster, shorter race. I would be willing to bet that most hobby joggers would think a 2:50 marathon was much better than a 15:00 5k.
Some other reasons why hobby joggers can't distinguish speed of a distance runner:
1. Running 5:00 pace (especially when the hobby jogger is running the opposite direction of you) doesn't look very fast
2. Most fast runners look relaxed, have good form, don't have a pain face (for a long portion of the race) and in general don't look like they are straining too hard, making them think you aren't trying very hard.
3. Even if hobby joggers did think you were moving fast it is hard for people that don't see a lot of fast running to tell the difference between 6:00 and 5:00 pace (e.g. could you tell the difference between a 90 mph fastball and a 95 mph fastball? I bet an MLB player could)