I had a friend post this on facebook, having read it I can only think one thing:

BUSTED!!!

http://www.trailrunningclub.com/?p=1176#.T8UufRo-KSl.facebook

I had a friend post this on facebook, having read it I can only think one thing:

 

BUSTED!!!

 

http://www.trailrunningclub.com/?p=1176#.T8UufRo-KSl.facebook

You know, this made me really, really sad.  I was just talking to a couple of my old buddies, runners who ran through 70s and 80s...and 90s and now.  We were just talking about how great those good old days were; there's no money involved, no one expected much from running but just from ourselves.  We didn't have all these scientific researchers telling us that we were running too much so we just ran...  We were actually pretty care-free bunch; we were happy if someone ran well, we helped out each other... (yeah, actually an article about Frank Shorter triggered our talk).  Yet, this article started out with a sentence; "Come on, admit it; runners cheat..."  Well, we didn't use to.  Sure, we had some odd guy(s) who jumped in a car and came by the stadium and hopped out of the car and ran into the stadium as if he were a winner...  Or jumped in the course a half a mile from the finish of the most prestigious marathon, pretending that you ran the whole way...and won.  When did we go wrong...?  I'd say when people started to want something--like running sub-4 marathon--without "paying the price"--like just running 3 days a week or something.  You want it; yet you don't want to work hard at it.  So it's hard to get it.  So what do you do?  Is that the mentality?  And, unfortunately, the same thing can be said about the elite field as well.  Sure, there's always "some" people who cheated.  But once tons of money got involved, man, it's almost sad to face reality...

Meh.

Most of the implied assertions in the original article are false and not supported by science. They sound more like mumbo jumbo from some motivational speaker. For example...

We shorten, eliminate or simply do not do thorough warm-ups and think that it won’t matter. - It does not matter

Running a 10-20 minutes is a waste of time… let’s just get to the workout! That’s all that counts. Right? - actually, yeah, right.

We cut short or do not do range-of-motion drills. I mean come on, those drills are silly and they aren’t running so they can’t really make a difference. Right? - Actually, right. They don't make much difference for most runners.

We think that the exercises that our physical therapist assigned to us are meant only for the PT days. - Who has a PT?

We know that once or twice a week is MORE than enough to make us healthy even though it was 6-7 days a week of pounding our bodies to get us injured. Right? - Actually, right.

We think we can get faster by just going for our daily run.  - Actually, for most of us, we can. Run more!

We think that we can just become mentally tough on race day. I mean come on, why waste time on those everyday runs to bog the mind down with focusing on things that might help us on race day… just enjoy the run. Right?  - Actually, right.

... and so on

You are not most runners.

I've seen runners cheat -- cutting corners in a race being the most prominent example. It is sad to see.

But that article seemed stupid, or at least stupidly titled -- I gave up before finishing it, because he didn't seem to be talking about actual cheating at all -- it seemed like a deceptive & sensationalistic article title -- it reminded me of advertisers using bait & switch tactics.

Well the conflict between the cheating implied in the title and the cheating described in the content was supposed to be rather obvious, I think. A simple, inoffensive kind of joke. And I'm guilty on a lot of counts.

 

We think that we can just become mentally tough on race day. I mean come on, why waste time on those everyday runs to bog the mind down with focusing on things that might help us on race day… just enjoy the run. Right?  - Actually, right.

 

... and so on

There is a lot in that article that I can understand, a lot I can disagree with, and there is this.  Is anyone actually totally focusing on things that help your race on those "everyday" runs?  There is a point where you become too serious by half (Yes, I'm making that up.), but honestly, if you can't enjoy your run sometimes, then you have a problem.  Save the mental focus for your workouts, and don't pretend that your cheating yourself by enjoying your easy runs.

Is anyone actually totally focusing on things that help your race on those "everyday" runs? 

If you're not sadistic enough to find fun and enjoyment in the types of difficult, challenging workouts that stretch yourself into becoming a better and faster runner, you will be leaving something on the table come race day.  That building discomfort inside you needs to be an old friend, not a stranger.

While easy runs in new and interesting places -- a rare occurence for me -- are quite enjoyable, I can't say I really look forward to yet another hour run on the treadmill or around a loop I've run hundreds of times.  Turn that same run into a challenging workout which helps me learn more about myself and what I need to work on....THAT is enjoyable.

IMHO it is true that this article was written more for the competitive runner than the "recreational" runner (quotations because I'm not sure that is the right term, I am both competitive and recreational).  However, funny things can happen when a simple recreational runners starts thinking --and acting -- like a competitive runner.