123

Do we run for ourselves, or to feed our ego? (Read 312 times)

Runslowalksalot


    I was just reading the Motivation thread by 123 and it got me to thinking about these oddball goals we have.   I'm not talking about a pr, getting in shape or losing weight,  the endorphin high of a long run, or even  (my favorite) just feeling good about oneself, but things like running a marathon in all 50 states or on all 7 continents.     My wife is a triathlete and tried to explain the difference between an Iron distance race and an Ironman branded race.   Other than the latter is a few hundred dollars  more, the only difference is in the name, and IM brand triathletes are snobs about this.  Do we really want to do these things, or just seek the admiration of others for the accomplishment.    In the absence of sheer love of the activity as an end in unto itself, goals are what keep us going.

    I like running, most of the time.   Matter of fact I just did a set of 400 M  repeats faster than ever and it felt great!    However, it doesn't hold a candle to surfing where just last week I was a kid on Christmas with an ear-ear grin and vocally hooting to myself when  there was no one else around to see or hear me, just me and the wave.   I surfed till I could physically no longer stand; it's the only sport that does that for me.      I'm a decent surfer, but I have no egomaniacal goal to surf on every continent or whatever so that I can tell people and they can look at me in awe.   An exotic surf trip would be fun, but that's about it..      It's supposed to be 30 degrees tomorrow morning, but the surf might  be good enough  to write home about (so to speak) and I can't wait to go get it!!!    Do ultra marathoners feel this way about running the Badlands?   How about that guy that ran across the Mojave desert a while back who was crying as he changed into refrigerate shoes?

    I understand that goals keep us going, and that a 50th marathon for one person is the same as another's 1st 5k, but where is the line between running for yourself turn into running for your ego?    A perfect example is that guy in Portugal that just "surfed" a potentially record breaking wave.   Instead of surfing left or right the way one is supposed to, he went straight so that his height could be used to measure the height of a the wave to see if he broke a record.   Then he got swallowed by the foam pile and wiped out.    He didn't do it for the love of surfing, but to feed his ego.

     

    Just wanted to get a few opinions.

      Are you saying that pursuing goals is always egotistical? I'm not so sure Smile I like to have goal races, and here are some reasons I like to run races that have nothing to do with my ego:

       

      - I like reading and learning about running, having a training plan, and to see what kind of results I get with different kinds of training

      - Running faster than usual (on race day) is fun

      - Races are a good excuse to travel to different places you'd otherwise never think of seeing

      - Running with a lot of people is fun

      - Cheesy as hell, but I love that there are all these people of so many different ages and ability levels, and most of them will have worked hard to be able to run this race, whether it's to achieve a certain time or just to finish. All those motivated people, gathered together at some way too early time in an inconvenient location on a Sunday morning...I get a little teary-eyed over this one, honestly.

       

      Of course, there's some ego stuff wrapped up in it too - I really enjoy passing people - but I try not to let that be too big of a factor. That way lies unhappiness, in my experience.

      scappodaqui


      rather be sprinting

        Both.

         

        I think most people do everything they do both to feed their ego and because they enjoy it and for thousands of other reasons.

         

        Do I earn money because it feeds my ego or because I enjoy my job?  Sometimes I'm not sure.

         

        Do I date guys who boost my ego (trophy boyfriends) or guys I genuinely like?  Hm.

         

        Do I run because I like to feel the glee of outkicking someone who, at that moment, is measurably not as good as I am?  Heck yeah.  So what?  Geez, if I had a shot at a world record you bet I'd go for it, but because I'm really not that talented I settle for being a competitive jerk at local races.. and then becoming friendly, chatty, and more selfless at the finish line.

         

        Learning to compartmentalize different aspects of your personality is part of being human.  We all do egocentric things sometimes, but need to balance that out with the rest of our lives as desired.

        PRs: 5k 19:25, mile 5:38, HM 1:30:56

        Lifting PRs: bench press 125lb, back squat 205 lb, deadlift 245lb

        GC100k


          My ego is never lower than when I'm running.  I feel totally ridiculous when I'm running, which may be part of the reason I only like running in the woods.  I run in spite of my ego.

          TripleBock


            Ego can take many roles.

             

            If someone feel worthless or has little self esteme and they were to take up running and feel a sense of accomplishment adding to their confidence, they still may not be egotistical at all ... but it did help their ego or how they feel about themselves.

             

            But they did not run to feed their ego, but because they ran their ego was fed ... cause and effect.

             

            You can run for yourself and it still ends up feeding your ego ... so I am really confused by the question (Seems poorly stated)

            I am fuller bodied than Dopplebock


            ultramarathon/triathlete

              I'm running home now because I ate 2 bite sized snickers at lunch and then thought, well, I'll just run home later so I can 2 reese's pb cups too.

               

              Once upon a time I did like hearing people say "wow, you did x,y,z, race that's crazy."  But it long ago got old. Now I do it cause it's fun and I like to eat pizza and ice cream (and the above mentioned leftover halloween candy) and I want to improve over my last race, despite getting older.

               

              Also, it stopped being fun to get admired when I realized the same people in awe of my marathon or ultra or whatever, were equally in awe of their uncle's neighbor's friend's sister's 5k muddy marathon walk jog that they did to raise money for drippy noses in Cuba.

               

              I do the races or runs in general because I love to, and what would I do otherwise?  Watch tv and get fat I guess.

               

              As for the IM branded thing you wrote... I largely agree, but having raced IM, Rev3 and HITS series (all the same distance) the IM was a much better show and worth the extra money at least the first two times.  Now I'd just rather race HITS for a fraction of the cost and get the same distance.

               

              Nice work on the 400s, by the way!

               Other than the latter is a few hundred dollars  more, the only difference is in the name, and IM brand triathletes are snobs about this. 

              HTFU?  Why not!

              USATF Coach

              Empire Tri Club Coach
              Gatorade Endurance Team


              Why is it sideways?

                Like the other posters, I am not so sure that goal-setting and achieving is necessarily tied up with ego-pumping. I think we all naturally enjoy achievement, and that's a healthy thing. Goal-setting only becomes a problem when it conflicts with other values.

                 

                It confuses the issue to separate out "running for ourselves" and "running for achievement" because a part of running for ourselves means proving to ourselves that we can do something hard and worth doing. We want running to call forth the giant within us, that person we could be. We learn who we are through the things we are able to achieve.

                 

                In fact, it's exactly because this is such an important part of running that it is so easily corrupted in the way that the OP describes. Everyone tries to make a buck off of this drive for achievement because there's a great mass market out there ready for the taking. If you get taken in this way, then maybe you are a sucker, but you're not necessarily egoistic.

                tom1961


                Old , Ugly and slow

                  I do not run because of my ego.

                   

                  I have not run a race since 2007.

                   

                  All my runs are on a trail at 13-15 minute miles.

                   

                  I will never be even average again.

                   

                  I run for health and  because I like. it.

                   

                  I have run more this year than last and plan on running more next year.

                  first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007

                   

                  2019  goals   1000  miles  , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes

                  BeeRunB


                    It's all creativity.

                    Making our lives up as we go.

                     

                    Ego is nothing more than an idea of ourselves, and an act of creativity as well. Like a story of ourselves we made up and maintain. Whether or not the idea of ourselves that we've created matches what other people see is another story---their story—and you know how storytelling goes...it's a story...

                     

                    When it comes to being conscious and creative, why one would make a life of running is not as important as just making the experience of it and living in a world where you have memories of this race and that race and this race and that race....have you ever seen a runner go this way and that?Cool

                     

                    Keep going...don't think too much...thoughts are heavy and add.000239 seconds per mile at a steady state effort.

                    jerseyrunner


                    Half Fanatic 12680

                      It confuses the issue to separate out "running for ourselves" and "running for achievement" because a part of running for ourselves means proving to ourselves that we can do something hard and worth doing. We want running to call forth the giant within us, that person we could be. We learn who we are through the things we are able to achieve.

                       

                      This^!

                       

                      And I agree that it's hard to disentangle personal goals, competition and public achievement. In a recent 5k race I had a personal goal in mind and tried to execute a race plan that would achieve that. I did notice that I was passing some runners in the final half mile and patted myself on the back for having a good pacing plan. I ended up first in my AG and the second place runner shook my hand and made a comment about racing each other at the end -- she finished a few seconds behind me. I had not really been thinking about beating her, but realized that she was trying to catch me after I had passed her. Although it wasn't my plan, it did make me feel good that I had help my place, and I have to admit, I might have even pushed a little more if I had known that she was on my heels.

                       

                       

                      Cyberic


                        In my case I think it's for both reasons. I enjoy running: it makes me feel good, keeps me healthy, etc. But I wouldn't be running intervals, always trying to be faster if there weren't people to beat in races or people to compare my running times with at work. A part of the running I do is for myself and another part is to compete or to show off. For my ego.

                        sport jester


                        Biomimeticist

                          Of course its for most to feed their egos.

                           

                          Otherwise they're simply one more cog in the industrial machine that nobody could care less about.

                           

                          Its out of social desperation to prove themselves superior in a world that knows they're pawns in an economic garbage disposal that does nothing more than grind them up and spit them out undistinguishable from anyone else in the same sink of social uselessness.

                           

                          In the grand scheme of things that they think running will give them any sense of social credibility when its obvious that nobody else gives a rats puke to who they really are.

                          Experts said the world is flat

                          Experts said that man would never fly

                          Experts said we'd never go to the moon

                           

                          Name me one of those "experts"...

                           

                          History never remembers the name of experts; just the innovators who had the guts to challenge and prove the "experts" wrong


                          Mmmmm...beer

                            Both.  My PRs and arbitrary time/distance based goals are ego driven.  But there's also just the pure love of a good run.  Like the amazing trail run I had on Sunday, bouncing through the woods, all by myself, having a blast.

                             

                            Then there are runners like my mother-in-law, who runs probably 40-50 miles a week and has never run a race in her life (I say probably because she doesn't keep track, or wear a watch or do anything of the things that most runners do, she just puts on her shoes and runs, crazy, huh?).  She runs because she enjoys it and to stay fit.

                            -Dave

                            My running blog

                            Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!

                              Of course its for most to feed their egos.

                               

                              Otherwise they're simply one more cog in the industrial machine that nobody could care less about.

                               

                              Its out of social desperation to prove themselves superior in a world that knows they're pawns in an economic garbage disposal that does nothing more than grind them up and spit them out undistinguishable from anyone else in the same sink of social uselessness.

                               

                              In the grand scheme of things that they think running will give them any sense of social credibility when its obvious that nobody else gives a rats puke to who they really are.

                               

                              Dude, you need to lighten up...

                              "Shut up Legs!" Jens Voigt

                              sport jester


                              Biomimeticist

                                 

                                Dude, you need to lighten up...

                                Not at all....

                                 

                                I simply describe the social misery most runners face in trying to make their lives seem relevant.

                                 

                                The number of digits in you bib number at Boston only proves my statement to be true.

                                 

                                Otherwise Honda is selling a 130MPH lawn mowing tractor. Go buy one and be faster than your neighbors if you want a race you can win.

                                Experts said the world is flat

                                Experts said that man would never fly

                                Experts said we'd never go to the moon

                                 

                                Name me one of those "experts"...

                                 

                                History never remembers the name of experts; just the innovators who had the guts to challenge and prove the "experts" wrong

                                123