Fighting mediocrity

I just read an interesting article mentioned in RW Daily (Runner's World's daily blog) about mediocrity in running. The premise is that today, any ambulatory person can run; to be celebrated, one must only complete a short race. Real accomplishments, such as fast times, are sought by few. The article, Nice Guys (and Girls) Finish Last, can be read here.

I have often noticed this trend in my short time running. Everyone does 5ks and 10ks, and touts themselves as a Runner. Many seem to not care about time, running etiquette, or improvement. Sometimes, I feel that my (small) accomplishments mean nothing when mixed in with this milieu.

This is not to say that I am a fantastic and accomplished runner. I am not. However, I am far from the recreational 5k-er that might walk half the race. I average close to a race per month, and train at least at a moderate level. I've worked to improve my times a lot in the past year, and constantly work to get better.

A few things resonated with me about this article, and made me think of my pet peeves with recreational runners:

1. When I start a race, I expect people to line up at the correct pace markers so that everyone can efficiently (and safely) start the race and get to goal pace. This means that if you plan on walking, DON'T LINE UP AT THE  6 MINUTE PER MILE MARK.

2. During a race, don't make it impossible for faster runners to pass you. (This happened to me a few weeks ago, when a group of about 6 people held hands across a road about 1/4 mile from the finish).

3. If I am talking to someone about doing a marathon, I really don't appreciate my effort being compared to a walk-a-thon fundraiser for cancer. It is not the same thing.

Project Fit

When I was at packet pickup, I saw a flyer for a fundraiser at Chipotle for Project Fit. Project Fit is an afterschool running platform started by Fleet Feet Sacramento to help kids become more active (and prevent childhood obesity). They are working especially to help low-income schools. What a great program!

They are having a fundraiser tomorrow (Thursday, August 5) from 6 to 9PM at Chipotle in Land Park at Freeport and Sutterville. Sounds yummy!

Packet Pickup!

I just picked my packet up! So excited! According to my training schedule, I was supposed to run yesterday. Oops! I'm excited to start this Sunday.

Here is the hat that came with the training:


And here are my new shoes:

They are the same as my current pair, but now purple and pink instead of blue!

The Count Down

I'm starting to get excited! My training officially begins this Sunday, but today I will be picking up my training packet and doing an orientation.

I joined a training group run by Fleet Feet to train for the CIM, and I do have mixed feelings about it. I'm excited to be training for a marathon, but do have the feeling that I should be able to train by myself. I feel like it is a bit of a cop out to join a group, but also feel that this way I might be able to get help not injuring myself, stretching properly, fueling properly, and maybe have more fun being with a group. Plus, I will be motivated not to skip a run since I paid for the program.

Now that I've signed up for the program and the race, and training is about to start, I'm getting excited and anxious. I want to be close to the race soon, but it isn't until December. I'm sure it doesn't help that the San Francisco Marathon was two weeks ago, so I keep seeing posts about it. It makes me a bit impatient for my marathon.

In preparation for training, I'm buying new shoes today. I'm likely going to get Mizunos again, since my last two pairs have been great. I've run about 300 miles on my current pair, so it is definitely time to trade them in.

So, shoes and orientation today, then training starts in five days!