Comments on: hmmm…

By: Reba

Reba — Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:12:00 +0000

Mark, you remind me so much of myself. Well not the fast running thing tho! LOL Just that I’m very bright but I need some time to get there. ~sneaky giggles~ Well, this may sound over-simplified but why not train for for the 30 and know that whatever the number is on race day: YOU OWN IT from blood, sweat, tears and ‘passion for running.’?

Good luck with the choice…I drink kiwi-pear green tea to help me figure out the tough answers so I’ll drink one in your honour tonight.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 02:45:01 +0000

Holy CRAP! Is that you or Aaron typing these things? Are you sure your last name isn’t Irish and starts with T? You and he sound like twins – it’s uncanny!!!

Just so we are all on the same page, this is the part where I would continue trying to ignore Aaron and he would continue needling me until I finally gave him the “right” answer.

I am seriously considering the 3:30 Richard. As Aaron would know and you are learning – I am a slow study and often need time to digest things before I can make like everything was my idea in the first place and you just happened to be around! Yeah, that’s about right.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 02:20:26 +0000

Well, if you don’t want to have any balls (your phrase, not mine), that’s entirely your decision.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 00:21:05 +0000

Oh I know…I know. I’m thinking.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 00:09:13 +0000

But of course!

Except that I was serious about that 3:30.

Well, kinda serious anyway.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 21:32:00 +0000

Now you guys are just makin’ fun of me!

By: april anne

april anne — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 20:51:19 +0000

How about 3:34.5?

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 20:19:41 +0000

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 20:09:30 +0000

Let me through some more wood on the fire, while I’m here.

What makes you think that you won’t get any faster between now and then? Is a 3:30 completely out of the question?

[grins and ducks]

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 20:08:20 +0000

Yeah – what they said. For me, I don’t think that my pacing is good enough to nail a 5 second / km difference (although that’s something that I’m working on). You said it yourself though, that once you have the confidence and experience to get beyond finishing, the marathon is a balancing act.

And a great one at that.

But that’s the true challenge. Most any runner can do a 5K, and come close to their potential even with poor management (note: for elites, close but not on can still feel terrible). The marathon is a thoughtful race though, needing both long-term planning and on-the-spot tactics to do correctly. If you’re going to race it, rather than run it, I say that you have to go for your peak performance on that day. Only you will know how close you came to hitting that magical 100% target (without, as Bob Barker would say, going over).

Best of luck with whatever you choose!