I am quite happy for Jared Fogle (aka Jared from Subway) regarding his weight loss and subsequent success as a pitchman for Subway. With that said, unbeknownst to him, he has become somewhat of a rival in my running career. I'm not a Jared hater, but I think it started with seeing a display / poster of Jared inside a Subway restaurant.
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| It was this photo or something very close to it. |
This was right around the time of my return to running. I thought glasses, dark hair... why that vaguely resembles me. Oh no! I look like Jared from Subway. I shouldn't have said anything but I mentioned something to my wife. She reassured me I was better looking than he was, but then said "yea, but I do see the resemblance". From there, the rivalry was on.
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| Near the end of the Crim |
Let's have look at the Tale of the Tape (TM):
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Birthplace
Age (*)
Height
Weight
(*)
Max
Weight
Race
History (*)
Training
Corporate
Sponsorship
Marathon
Finish
Time
|
Josh
NW Indiana
38
5’10”
152
185
High School Track (JV) & Cross Country (JV, Varsity), Over 40 races since 2011 including 5 half
marathons
Self-directed. Recent training based upon Hal Higdon
Novice 2 Marathon Training
None (willing to entertain offers)
Detroit Free Press International Marathon (Detroit, MI,
US & Windsor, ON, CA)
???
|
Jared
Fogle|
Indianapolis,
Indiana
33
6’2”
180 -
190
425
One of each of the following: 5k, 10k, Half Marathon (per
Jared in Subway promotional video)
Professionally trained.Trained with athletes such as Ryan
Howard, Michael Phelps, Blake Griffin and Meb Keflezighi
Doctor’s Associates (Subway)
ING NYC Marathon (New York, NY, US)
5:13:28
|
(*) at time of marathon
That table ended up a bit wonky, but I think you get the point. Jared has the advantage at time of marathon as far as age, corporate support (I mean, his job was to eat subs and train) and training support. I have a bit of a BMI advantage and have more of a running history.
When I decided I was going to run a marathon, I considered what my finishing time would or could be. Boston qualification? No way, not anytime soon, if ever. Four hours? Ummm, maybe. I know, I will beat Jared! I found his time - 5:13:28. Ok, I need to finish before I get cocky, but unless something goes really wrong, I should beat that by a good margin. Therefore, I set my unofficial goal as beating Subway Jared by one hour.
I have since dropped any notion of setting a time goal for my first marathon, but that "unofficial" time is still out there and I mentioned it to several people as a bit of a joke - everyone needs a story. That being said, I think that is realistic. I think I can hold a 9:40 min/mile pace, but we shall see...
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This weekend I ran at Kensington Metro Park and completed 18 miles. My legs didn't feel great, even to start, but it was a decent run. I should have at least one run which will be longer before the marathon, but this one gave me some confidence. If I had to, I could have dragged myself around the lake one more time to finish 26.2 miles.
I'm learning from these longer runs. One thing I've developed is a Gu strategy. After a few miles, usually 4 or 6, I take a half of a Gu packet every 2-3 miles. This seems to provide an adequate energy supply while minimizing gastric distress. I've also figured out that it is OK to walk for a short period of time, if necessary, to take a Gu, to get some water or to just gather myself. I used to view any sort of walking during a run as a failure, but the failure is not continuing on after a walk.
Overall, I'm feeling good about my training. I hope to do well at the Brooksie Way Half Marathon in 3 weeks (not sure yet if I will "race" it or use it more as a training run) and will then begin the dreaded taper.
Are you training for anything in particular?
Is it a good idea to set a time goal for the first time running a particular distance?
Do you have any rivals where the rival doesn't know or doesn't care about it?
