Not all the time, but often after running low 13s, low 3:30s, etc. you see guys just pull up smiling and hugging like 2 seconds after they finish. They don't even look tired. Yet you'll almost never see that kind of smiling and relaxed look immediately at the finish of an HS race for example, even among talented guys. At that level, do they just recover more quickly from an all-out effort? Or am I just crazy that I think I see this at a higher rate among pros?
Because dope.
I think one big missed point in assessing elites, is that they run harder than we mere mortals. they don't. their intensity level is the same as mine (well, slightly higher because their race takes half the time). I look at the faces and body language of pro marathoners... and frankly, they are not working any harder, relative to their capabilities, than I am. And given most of the elites' performance in Boston this year- I am less impressed with them than I used to be. They ain't so tough. They're just physiologically better. Plenty of us train and race our hearts out.
But yeah, relative to the amount of training stress that they put in each week- their races are a smaller percentage. So, yeah, you're right. Their races tend not to take as much out of them (based on what they've got) as compared to what we mortals do. As an example- Kipchoge runs 20mi runs at MP, multiple times/wk, so race day isn't really that much more.
GivingItMyAll wrote:
I think one big missed point in assessing elites, is that they run harder than we mere mortals. they don't. their intensity level is the same as mine (well, slightly higher because their race takes half the time). I look at the faces and body language of pro marathoners... and frankly, they are not working any harder, relative to their capabilities, than I am. And given most of the elites' performance in Boston this year- I am less impressed with them than I used to be. They ain't so tough. They're just physiologically better. Plenty of us train and race our hearts out.
But yeah, relative to the amount of training stress that they put in each week- their races are a smaller percentage. So, yeah, you're right. Their races tend not to take as much out of them (based on what they've got) as compared to what we mortals do. As an example- Kipchoge runs 20mi runs at MP, multiple times/wk, so race day isn't really that much more.
this is truth. the media has blinded us with the idea that "hard work trumps all"
This guy started it (go to 4:50):