Me Vs. Subway Jared

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.

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.

Near the end of the Crim

Let's have look at the Tale of the Tape (TM):

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?