Prior to my second Marathon (Grandmas 2013) on the bus ride from Duluth to the start, I sat next to an experienced marathoner named Paul. He told me to get my gels down as soon as I saw the mile marker/aid station flag and then chase it down with water (too many beginners wait until they are at the aid station to ingest the gel and then struggle with a cup of water.)
Paul also suggested that I look into Hokas when I got home. Best advice ever.
Just before the 3 mile mark of a road 5k, "This is for $200!" I didn't realize there was money on the line and wanted it bad so I started my kick and put 5 seconds in the guy who was just ahead of me at the time. Helped me beat the guy, win the money and run a then road pr of 14:55. May not have broken 15 without the extra motivation.
HS Coach Dave Ross "Lets run blogging legend" saying at lap 1 of 3200 meters in 60-seconds, "Ouch, that has got to hurt", I heard that as plain as day. Inspired by "another team coach" who told me, as a 10:33 personal best, I did not have the genetics, natural talent to be a good runner. Ross, statement reminded me, to compete you have to be willing to hurt, that day, 10:00 personal best blacking out with 10-meters to go, hitting the tape and knowing what it felt like to be a "runner". Thank you, Dave Ross.
At a marathon abroad I found myself struggling with the combination of heat and too optimistic pacing. Around 22 miles in I was for the first time considering a DNF. I didn't know what the hell I was doing, Mentally I was all over the place. After an aid station I walked for a few meters, drinking. By the side of the road was this old lady with a walking frame. She just nodded to me and said something I couldn't understand. Still somehow it gave me enough strength to get myself together. She came out to stand there and support the runners, who was I to take the easy way out of this?
When I see a runner in a race and no one around him, I say "you're on the wrong street"
When runners are looking indecisive the last lap of a 1500/mile, I yell: "Save it for Zurich!". Or if they look competitive: "Win this one and you can be a call girl!" They have no idea what I'm talking about, but it's fun to say.
When pacing ladies in races where they have club mates running with about 400-500m to go I turn around and yell "Come on [whoever their most hated rival is in the race]".
Despite me cajoling / encouraging them all the way through and them insisting they're shattered - they're all of a sudden able to kick hard...
Not a running race, but a swim race: I was in an 8 mile swim race in the ocean and after 30 minutes, I stopped for a drink and my wife (in my escort boat) told me I was in second place. I didn't believe her since it was a very strong field. Again, at 1 hour and 1.5 hours, she told me the same thing and I said "BS" to her. At 2 hours she said "OK, I lied to you - you're not second. See that guy behind you?" (He was 75 yards behind me) "He's really dead last." She knew I would kill myself trying to prevent a last place finish. In the remainder of the race, I put 4 minutes on the guy. It turned out that I WAS second, and she only told me he was last so I wouldn't let him by me.
Egli? wrote:
French Dawg wrote:My friend is an 800 runner and he just kind of does cross country. The end of their league championships finished on a track this year and my mom yelled at him to "show us the 800" and he sped up immediately and caught 2 or 3 people in the last 200 meters. His kick normally isn't that good.
Egli?
No. Sorry.
A. Hipster wrote:
So "he's coming" is definitely on my list of helpful things to yell.
And here I thought this was a family website.
This was over a decade ago, but I was the defending conference champion in cross country, and about two miles into the race I was out front with my main rival from another school. Anyway, some scrub who evidently couldn't even make the top 7 on their team had the audacity to yell as we go by, "He sucks, [rival's name], he ain't got nothing on you, he's gonna die." That's the only time I've actually been pissed off in a race, and I just ramped up the pace and finally dropped him with about a mile to go.