The Philadelphia Story recently popped into my head. The film begins rather notoriously, as Tracy Lord Haven (Katherine Hepburn), having just broken one of her then-husband C.K. Dexter Haven’s (Cary Grant) golf clubs in half, is shoved to the ground by said C.K. Dexter Haven, which he accomplishes by putting his palm to her face and pushing. They were divorced soon afterward.
This being Philadelphia’s Main Line, Lord and Haven were among the rather well-off. The plot centers around Lord’s plan to marry George Kittredge, a self-described man-of-the-people. A plot-twist here and a plot-twist there and the wedding’s off. Or at least that one.
One of those plot-twists involves Macaulay Connor, played by Jimmy Stewart as a writer earning his keep by working for the National Enquirerish “Spy” magazine. Conner comes in with a bit of a chip on his shoulder about the upper classes, of which Lord and Haven are decidedly a part. His thinking evolves, though, and in the end he realizes snob is as snob does. The rich guy? He isn’t necessarily an elitist snob. The poor guy? He might not be what the stereotypes would have you think he is.
It’s hardly original but it did come to mind with a recent comment that included “i think you just have no clue when it comes to the struggles of slower runners. you think it is all relative to effort. if one can even manage a specific effort”.
Am I the guy on the left? Or the guy on the right?
Ironically, one of my objectives here is to say that a relatively quick runner struggles. And can struggle mightily. Take today. I went out with a couple of guys, but they were going longer than me so I turned around at about 28, knowing an hour would be trouble yet doable. And it was. Those last three miles, though, were painful. Stride and form were fine. No energy and I willed myself through it. Not a “fast” (using the term in its relative sense) run but an eminently satisfying one in that it might not have been a twenty-pounds-overweight struggle but it was my own personal one. That’s what I’m talking about. So I have unbridled admiration for the many who may not post fast times but who, really, work harder at it than I do, which pretty much includes everyone on my “Must Read” list to the left.
“you think it is all relative to effort.” It seems that the only two tests are how fast one is and how hard one works. I don’t think the former is that relevant, and I fell comradeship with someone who is only capable, for whatever reason, of an 8-minute mile pace and works hard to maintain that but no so much with someone capable of a 5:30 and content to hit 6:15s. The commentor’s sentiment being all the stranger for the thought, “i can’t judge other runners for their speed under those circumstances, nor will i.” since that’s what I’ve tried to say.
Then,
but most of the posts on your site that i read in the past two years do either insult [or] patronize — and i include your ‘niece’s marathon post’; and ‘if you’re not running 2:10′ posts in this, or the “why we run/why i run” [edited: I'm told these final references should be to two posts entitled "What Kind Of Runner Would I Be", part I and part II] posts that outright repudiate the slower among us….you’re in tight w/the ‘plodders have their place-but-it’s-not-with-me crowd’ of (excuse me), but arrogant jerks that i always tried to stay away from in prospective clubs throughout my running life. i clearly had a very flawed impression of you in the past.
It’s like creationism. No matter what the evidence shows, there’s a fixed view of the universe and nothing will change that.
Substantively, her rejection of my view of cross-training is actually a rejection of a view that I don’t have. I don’t think cross-training makes sense as an alternative to running. (I know a good runner, though, who swears that by doing cycling instead of running on certain days his running has never been better.) I think it makes sense as a way to keep some level of conditioning while prevented from running.
As an aside, I had an unusual running experience on Friday. Doing my many laps of the Bronxville track, I was hit in the left calf by a football. Someone was kicking field goals from about the 20 yard line and there were footballs appearing periodically on the track. Then on one lap, boom!, I was hit. He apologized, I suggested he pay more attention (there were only a few people on the track at the time) and then that it was OK. That’s a first.
As a further aside, a friend touchingly wrote recently about how she learned the lyrics of “I Get A Kick Out Of You”. I learned them in a more typical high-school boy’s fashion:
The thought of paging Cary Grant brings to mind the fateful paging of “George Kaplan” in the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel that led to Cary Grant’s running across Mount Rushmore in a movie named for a line from “Hamlet”. The back-story of “The Philadelphia Story” is itself interesting in showing how a smart woman, that would be Hepburn, controlling her fate by controlling a hot property.
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March 4, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Dave B
Joe, my experience with you at the track (and you were the one who introduced me to speedwork) was that you did not differentiate, or treat people differently, based on pace. If you were working hard and giving your all, then all was good and you were proud of everyone for getting through the workout.
I agree with your comment: If you’re an 8:00min/mile runner and you bust your a** to do that, then that’s fantastic. If you have the potential to go faster, but you choose not to, then…well….that’s disappointing.
I recall some email and FB threads about runners of different paces and abilities. I recall Mark Thompson saying something very enlightened (and I’m paraphrasing): If you’re out there, moving, and giving your all….that’s better than sitting around doing nothing.
March 5, 2012 at 11:06 am
NY Wolve
I look at blogs across the spectrum, both fast and slow. I tend to move in both camps depending on the season, year, etc. To generalize, there are a couple of camps: the moving is better than sitting camp (true), and the “I want to be faster” camp. Both are true and neither is better or worse. For me, I tend to take what I want from each camp, and if a particular blog, coach, etc, is too far one way or the other, I move on. The marketplace of ideas at work. I don’t get a lot out of blogs that focus on how to go from 3:00 marathon to 2:50, although the effort can be Herculean. Similarly, blogs that are just about the glory of rising from inactivity, I don’t get much from that either.
I don’t run to win; in fact I have never won a race in my life. I think the best I ever did in an NYRR race was 273. I was thrilled, but really, so what? I mean is 273 any better or worse than 173? 373? 2,773? Running is personal and the joys and struggles are personal. My wife could not give two hoots about training struggles, times, miles, routes, anything. I think that is one reason we write (at least it is for me): to speak to the community who does sympathize, understand and offer constructive advice.
I think all follow others’ struggles and blogs to learn, become motivated and better our lives, running and otherwise. And I read blogs across the spectrum, mainly those that strike something in me and that I then borrow and learn from. And I enjoy your blog, your thoughts and your insight, for any number of reasons. So thanks for that, and thanks for sharing.
March 7, 2012 at 3:06 am
cg9m
i will amend one of my statements: i referred to your ‘why i run/why we run’ posts when i meant the ‘what sort of runner would i be’ posts (that may also be a misquote, and if so, i apologize)- in any case, the ones referring to your ‘runner vs racer’ designations.
it’s kind of funny- i’ve been following the recent rush limbaugh controversy…i’d liken a lot of our discussions to it. you make extreme statements, people get mad, then you make some sort of insincere, half-hearted apology for them. as rush scrambles to placate his advertisers, you’re only apologetic if you offend your ‘upper class’ (ie, ‘racers’).
i say hogwash with your comment that you “feel comradeship with someone who is only capable, for whatever reason, of an 8-minute mile pace and works hard to maintain that but no so much with someone capable of a 5:30 and content to hit 6:15s”…have you ever run a relay w/someone who runs 9mm’s or more? from my recollection (granted it is now clouded by your posts), w/ssrmc you only socialized with the faster folk when you were on the track or at gatherings, and eschewed the company of the rest of us. at the time, i didn’t judge, b/c i had found that behavior typical among faster people in general in my running experience. but i know i wasn’t the only one to observe that (interestingly, most of those who had issues w/you in that respect were female). it may be of note that, at that time, unlike the other women, i didn’t condemn you harshly for it- perhaps that was b/c i’m used to all-male environments, professionally, and perhaps i’m too accepting or tolerant of patronizing behavior. (haha- but i’ll never forget one quote of yours, after finishing the larchmont 5k, “i thought i was gonna get girled!”…maybe it was just the way you said it (the height of contemptuous), but you have no idea, apparently, how disgusted the rest of us women were with that statement (and too bad you weren’t “girled”!))
in the past, i was told to read your blog (mostly for the posts and comments related to triathlon), and i did not. i erred, there, for sure. but where i may have had personality clashes with other women in the club, it was not on your account. if anything, the fact that i didn’t share the same opinion of you was held against me. but i consider that a minor issue in those conflicts. for sure, i am not a “type a” or “alpha” personality, and i have a hard time with those who are. i fully admit that. i have a tough time w/uber-competitive, narcissistic personalities- in my defense, i did not expect that in a club billed as ‘recreational’. in any case, ultimately, i found myself between a rock and a hard place, at least where you were concerned. but, even if i’ve been the only one to comment publicly over the past few years, i have come to realize the perspective of other female club members. it’s not just me- altho i must seem like “that whiny/crazy b—h” to most of your sympathetic readership- but i don’t think my, and your other (silent-to-date) critics’ interpretation of your comments, is unfounded.
a short note on my prior perspective may be in order, tho: i had occasionally read your ‘westchester trails’ posts, and naively thought of you as part of the ‘walden’-crowd of trail runners and those who love nature & are environmentally conscious. i knew you were also a competitive road runner, but i had met a few of your ilk through hashing, and, while they gave it their all in a road race, they were both easygoing and intellectually interesting otherwise- one guy about your age, who roughly ran your pace (5:55 for 5K) used to cart around a load of books in his trunk- i owe my copy of ‘annapurna: a woman’s place’ to him .
re my inferred “creationist” interpretation of your blog, i’m actually surprised that you are surprised. going back to the rush limbaugh controversy, one can easily note the insincerity of his belated ‘apology’. that’s what i’ve found so reprehensible and borderline dishonest about the posts you’ve tried to write regarding slower or challenged runners on this blog. about the crowning moment for me was your inability to see, in your diatribe about ostensibly “rude runners” in cp, b/c they were “in your way”, that they wouldn’t have been in your way had they been faster than you! (and then you went off on baby joggers, etc…) actually, i also did think of you w/the rush business in that you chose to attack paula and kara (two strong women) for running while pregnant in central park in the mini (though you chose the typical pc-chauvinist approach of attacking them on grounds of ‘safety’.) guys like you get off on belittling women who threaten them.
and, finally (phew, right?): this just comes across as yet another contradiction: “I don’t think cross-training makes sense as an alternative to running. (I know a good runner, though, who swears that by doing cycling instead of running on certain days his running has never been better.) I think it makes sense as a way to keep some level of conditioning while prevented from running.” i’m reasonably intelligent, if a bit dotty, but how can cross-training be beneficial while someone’s prevented from running, if it doesn’t make sense as an alternative? huh??? i had coaches in hs/college who enthusiastically encouraged us to do hard-core (ie, timed) hikes up the steepest local trails in the area. the toughest workout i’ve ever done (several times, actually) was a day hike up san gorgonio near los angeles (it’s worth it- there’s a cool lake under snow-capped peaks at about 10K feet). i got laughed at by my fellow (experienced) trekkers the first time b/c i was gasping at 8k, tho i was in peak condition. i’ve never felt that drained.
…and well, yeah…as far as (relatively) old movies are concerned, i’m more of a ‘citizen kane’ kinda gal.
March 10, 2012 at 6:06 am
Ewen
I echo the second paragraph of Dave B’s comment. For competitive runners I’m more impressed by a less talented runner who trains the house down to achieve a 65% a/g result than the talented lady who runs twice a week and scores 85%.
Slower runners do it tougher than their faster sisters in a couple of ways: If they’re training for a long race (half or marathon) they need to spend more time training (a 20 mile run is going to take longer) — and because of this extra time spent running, recovery from such efforts won’t be as quick.
December 13, 2012 at 12:03 am
cg9m
“ck dexter” here, and “ernie banks” from your ekiden post elsewhere…gosh, how coincidentally those seem like they might be similar to the names of someone’s…pets?! a revered someone, i’m sure. i imagine they do *all* their runs 6-7 days/week, at 5 am.
in any case…for those of us with no pets (imagine the extra trouble- pet ownership!), and who run regularly, (but not at 5 am every day, by golly)…i have yet another “difficult-problem-child” running scenario for you…
i didn’t run for *two* whole weeks recently. nada. i did one “in-a-vacuum” workout on the tm at a pace i hoped to sustain for 5k. i then ran a terrible turkey trot 5k, that by daniels would have suggested i run paces at 8:30 for workouts. i then ran another tm workout at the same faster pace, but for longer repeats. a week later, i ran a 5 mile pr for my 40s by a significant margin- 20s/mile.
what makes me more than angry is the conclusion that i must not be ready to race. i will concede that even i didn’t know that- my performance pretty much evolved during the event. but if i’d showed up with joe’s mindset, that i was undertrained b/c i’d been ill, and that i hadn’t run “x” before, so i shouldn’t attempt “y”, i’d never have run the time i did. ergo, my issue with daniels. i’ve complained before, and i complain here again.
for sure i’m holding back on some other info- like the fact that i had surgery this past march for which i had never received approval previously. but that makes all of this so much more ‘human’ for me: ie, what does it take to achieve a pr?
and as much as joe (and others here) may condemn me for whatever i was able to achieve preparing for my marathon a few years ago now (i’m not a marathoner)- i look back on it as one of the best experiences of my life, and am so grateful that my body held me through it! i come back to it often when workouts get challenging. i may never be able to do another one, but it was an experience.