I had this long blog post written up, but still had more to write, and then after sleeping on it, I have decided to just let a picture say it for me.
If you are going to sign up for a marathon or a half marthon or whatever 'contest', then please, don't just talk the talk, walk the walk.
Those people that don't respect the distance and trash talk the training really get under my skin.
We'll see who comes out ahead of who on race day.
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Also, I am so behind on reading blogs, commenting, answering emails etc., and I apologize!
This move along with training, working etc., has just really screwed up my 'life' schedule. Hoping to be back on track at the very latest by Thursday!
17 comments:
What bothers me more is the people who are walking along, laughing, and having a good old time during a half marathon.
I have not seen one half marathon, much less marathon, with the words "fun run" in them.
Of course, much of this can be attributed to races that try to draw as many runners as possible with very liberal max completion times.
I've completed one marathon - in 6hours 26minutes. And you know what? I busted my ass for the whole 6:26. Am I slow? Yes. But that doesn't mean I didn't work hard for that finish or that I didn't "respect" the marathon.
I "honored the spirit of the marathon" by training for 20+ weeks, logging the miles and crossing the finish line.
I've never liked this Pearl Izumi campaign - just because some of us are slow doesn't mean we're "unworthy" of participating in events and racing. It's not necessarily about racing to WIN or place in our age group. For many - myself included - it's about pushing myself further, harder and faster....further, harder and faster than I'VE done before, or what I thought I was capable of. My goal is NOT to go further, harder and faster than everyone else - it's to better MYSELF.
Theresa, the pretense is that you DO your best which you indicated you did so I commend you!!!!! We are only racing ourselves.
You did the time on the training. My problem is with those individuals that either look at it as they dont have to train, or that they know everything there is to know and then dont understand why they struggle.
Way to go!!!!
And by the way, I am certainly not fast. I am faster than some but slower than others. But I freaking train and I put my heart and soul into it. Those that dont train because they dont want to get up or its too hot, or its too cold, or i'm hungover...THOSE are the folks I am referring to.
Thanks for the response! I agree with you on the point about complaining about race performance after wussing out on training, or just not taking the whole process seriously. It's one thing to give it your all during training and have a bad race. But it's a whole different ball of wax to skip out on training and then wonder why you didn't perform the way you wanted to.
I still don't like the Pearl Izumi adds though :) They just seem to come from another angle.
I know. :O) A LOT of people dont like those ads. I look at them differently though I guess. They motivate me oddly enough. Even though I never fit into that mold of elite or even remotely close to it, I honestly feel that I train like I am a badass and could do this for a living :O)
But anytime I ever post one here or on Facebook I get a lot of negative backlash so thats how I kno they are unpopular.
Keep on truckin sista!!!
I'm honestly torn on whether I like this campaign or not. At first I hated it and boycotted anything with an "iQ" on it because I thought they were trying to say that only the professionals should be tackling the distance. But maybe I should commend them instead for saying that training is hard and that it does take dedication.
Thats my take on it Kellie. If I dont do the work, then I have no one to blame myself.
Obviously I have had a couple of situations this past week with people that really got me worked up because they poo-poo the process/approach of TRAINING.
I knew this might be controversial but I just want readers to know that this post came from a personal experience/confrontation (and this isnt the first time either and probably wont be the last).
All I know is that I hope I beat this person/these people in December and in January. :O)
I have never liked this campaign. I think my issue is that they attach a "time" to it.
Just as every runner is an experiment of one, so is every race to every runner.
I think there is a more effective way to motivate people to buy your products than for this company to give themselves the feeling that they are somehow more elite just because they say they are.
Perhaps they can so some performance that can be judged by other shoe companies who will determine if in fact they are truly "shoe" enough.
Junie, I can see how someone can turn this into a motivational moment for themselves, but that person is probably not a first time marathoner nor very confident in their ability.
In my world, if we aren't encouraging other runners in a positive way, we are not encouraging runners which also happen to be consumers of shoes. So much negative in this life, I like to keep my focus on the positive.
Wow... my grammar and spelling are horrible today... forgive that please! LOL
I HATE such campaigns. Thou shall not judge. In running community I am so tired of this faster/slower debate anyways. So, someone taking seven hours or more can be made fun of? Then someone taking 5 hours can also be scoffed at by another group. Where does it end? It's just another trick to make middle/back of the packers to have elite attitude they often complain about. I guess that's how popular media campaigns work.
My philosophy is simple. If they entered the race legally, they are free to train anyway they wish. Who are I and you to judge them on such issue? Respect the marathon? I don't even know what that means. I have been hearing it a lot lately and to me it sounds too judgmental and preachy.
Not many people have liberty in life to devote so much time or have a desire for training like OCD. If they want to run a marathon then go give it a try. If they learn from experience, fine if they don't I don't care. But, it is their prerogative to make decisions and I am nobody to criticize them for it.
I think these ads are completely ridiculous. I appreciate that they're getting people to talk about marathons but I think it is for all of the wrong reasons.
Like Theresa, I'm a slower runner. But you know what, I freaking love it. I always joke with people that I get more bang for my buck during races because I spend so much time on the course. But I train my butt off. For those of us who run recreationally, we're racing against ourselves not Pheidippides and not current record holders. Just because the first person who ran a marathon ran so hard he died at the end doesn't mean that it always has to be like that. I mean if that was the standard who the heck would sign up for a marathon? What's the standard of running "hard enough" to be "respecting the marathon" but not dropping dead but coming close? BQing? Personally, I think that argument is laughable. Things change and we can't always use the whole original intent argument. Maybe instead of telling people that walking a marathon is disrespecting the distance maybe we should think about other instances where we changed our original intent - like how the constitution used to say that slaves were a-ok. And only men could vote. How TV used to be 5 channels, how cell phones used to only be for making calls. The beauty of the world that we live in is that things evolve and anyone who wants to run a marathon can. Where would we be if we just stuck to how it always was? It's kind of a sad way to think about things.
I'm loving the different views of the PI campaign here & on twitter.
It's really interesting to see how an ad that is so offensive to some (me included) can be motivational to others. I honestly never thought about that side of it - that the ad could be motivating people to push themselves harder in their training and racing. As soon as I saw it I felt like PI was attacking "back of the packers" like me.
Maybe I'm too sensitive & come at this campaign from the defensive side because I've seen so much negativity related with "slow" paces?
Compare this ad with the Nike ad you had up last Friday. A much more positive statement. It shows empathy with regards to the tribulations and triumphs of every runner, regardless of pace.
Then again, this whole discussion only gives more focus to the Pearl Izumi campaign.
I'm on the fence on this one. My philosphy on the marathon is that if you're gonna do one, train hard and do your frickin best on race day. I usually have a time goal, and while I want to enjoy the scenery, I want to meet that goal. Yes, I do find it annoying to see people making an all day party of completing a marathon...but hey, they're out there, they've had to do some training, at least they're not sitting their arses on the couch. It's been awhile since I've run a marathon and my outlook has changed a lot...I'll give you my .02 again when I come home from NYC!
I think their ads are awesome. The thing I love about running and the marathon is the challenge to excel. There's nothing like the marathon. Too many people focus on the idea that this ad, or any of their ads, are about fast versus slow. To me, it's about those willing to do their best versus those who do the bare minimum, or slightly less. I tend to be a front-of-the-pack runner, but I can relate to a mid or back of the pack runner if they are truly going out there and giving their best effort. I don't care about pace, and no respectable person does. What's important is whether you are giving all you can when the race comes. It doesn't matter if you're a front, mid or back of the pack runner. If you don't respect the fact that running a race was originally created as a form of competition, to push yourself and improve yourself in the spirit of competition, and worse, you look down on people who place an importance on their performance, their preparedness and are a little obsessed with self-improvement in running, then I will never be able to relate to you, and this ad campaign won't either. I love to see people struggle across the finish line, 3, 4 and 5 hours after it starts. If they are struggling because they worked their tail off and gave their all, I love them all the more. But if someone (who thinks they are busier than, or somehow their time is more important than, the other 20,000 runners in the race) tries to say what they do and don't have time for, make excuse after excuse about why they cannot run often, then they show up for the race, walk 3/4 of it, may or may not finish in the allotted time, and expect the rest of us to put them on the same "level" as someone who maybe ran an equivalent time but DID put IN THE WORK, they are barking up the wrong tree...AND they will be offended by an ad campaign like this.
I love this ad. It says "Here's what I like to do, and yeah, it's hard, but you know what? I'm going to go out and do the best I can each time and RACE each time I'm out there. And by the way, you should too."
Well said Sam. Especially this part: If you don't respect the fact that running a race was originally created as a form of competition, to push yourself and improve yourself in the spirit of competition, and worse, you look down on people who place an importance on their performance, their preparedness and are a little obsessed with self-improvement in running, then I will never be able to relate to you, and this ad campaign won't either.
And if anyone is still reading these comments, then head over to Jamoosh's blog to read what he had to say. Good stuff! http://www.lastmilelounge.com/2011/09/wocka-wocka.html
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