I did it!!! (With tears in my eyes)
ringrunner
senior (now you have to be 18 to run the race) and collapsed on the
59Th St. Bridge. My entire training philosophy consisted of one simple
statement: If I can walk away from a 13 mile training run, I can run a
marathon and drop dead at the end. I did not know you were supposed to
take liquids or any thing about pacing. I stopped running.
In November of 1991 I was driving to my fiancées apt in Park Slope and
got stuck in a huge traffic jam. I could not cross 4Th Ave. I was
crazed, not because I could not get to where I wanted to go, but
because, suddenly I realized there was something I needed to finish -
The New York City Marathon. I decided that I would get back in shape
and DO IT. After I moved in with my wife, I joined the Prospect Park
Track Club, and started running.
The first race I entered was the Sheraton Bagel 10K, in January of
1993. When I got home, I got a phone call from a person I had not yet
met - The Vice President of The Prospect Park Track Club,(now I am Vice
President). This blew my mind, this guys not even related to me and he
cares HOW I DID?! I knew then that I had found a niche for myself in
the running community of Prospect Park.
In November of 1993, I got on the bus in front of Raintrees and tried
it again. This time I DID IT. I finished the NYC Marathon. Once I
got to Central Park I ran on will power alone. I decided that as long
as I was conscience I would run. I crossed the finish line if front of
Tavern on the Green and collapsed. I was in heaven. My father said
that all possible emotions were visible in my face on the finish line
photo. (He should know; he was the one who picked me up at the medical
station at the foot of the 59Th St. Bridge.)
Then I read something that really pissed me off. It said that 4 hours
divides the marathon runners from the marathon survivors. And here is
me with the greatest athletic accomplishment of my live, a 4:48
Marathon. I was livid. How could any body say that I did not just do
the greatest thing that could be done? I finished a marathon.
Well, I turned that rage into a goal. (A goal so great, that I was once
referred to as Mike “sub 4 or else” Ring) I will break 4. In the
next 7 years I ran 12 marathons, I finished 7 of them, as for the other
5, they landed me in the medical tent or an ambulance. I went to speed
workouts. I ran so many long runs, that it became silly. I read
books. I learned how my body works. That all helped me a little.
So today I reported the following race result to the Prospect Park
Track Club. “On Sunday morning, March 26, 2000, Michael "sub 4 or else”
Ring achieved his goal of 8 years, a personal best, in finishing 4th in
his age group (under 50) and completed the Sri Chinmoy Marathon on
Randals Island in 3:58:04.” It can be noted that I never would have
done this without the support and encouragement of my wife, Stephanie
and the members Prospect Park Track Club.
As I type this The Academy Awards is on TV. I used to look at the
faces of the winners and say “Wow, wouldn’t that be neat”, now I can
say, “I know how they feel”.
Michael Ring
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
indy...@my-deja.com
> Then I read something that really pissed me off. It said that 4 hours
> divides the marathon runners from the marathon survivors. And here is
> me with the greatest athletic accomplishment of my live, a 4:48
> Marathon. I was livid. How could any body say that I did not just do
> the greatest thing that could be done?
Yes, how could anybody say that? :)
Bet you're glad you read that article now.
This is what I hope to see in a runner and a runner hopes to see in
him/herself.. Here's a BIG ADA BOY. Keep up the good work.
P.S.
If you ever see my ex in Prospect Park, tell her hi. :)
--
David
"IndyRunr"
Steve Mills
fellow to spend the next 7 years risking his life to qualify for
Boston?
>> In the next 7 years I ran 12 marathons, I finished 7 of them,
>> as for the other 5, they landed me in the medical tent or an ambulance.
- Steve
Rob Knell
>Then I read something that really pissed me off. It said that 4 hours
>divides the marathon runners from the marathon survivors.
Sorry mate, you read the wrong article. Everyone KNOWS it's 3.30 that
divides the real marathoners from the rest (Grins, ducks and runs)
Well done
Rob K
Steve Moland
You know how you felt during the run and at the finish.
You know how you felt as you wrote this.
The rest of us don't enter into the equation, least of all those that would
attempt to be unkind. You ran the race, so you enjoy it with your friends.
Some of us here will enjoy it with you.
Steve (I understand completely)
Cape Cod 10/98 4:51 by myself
Vancouver 5/99 4:03 with friends
Bay State 10/99 3:51 with even more friends
ringrunner wrote in message <8bnfp3$leb$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
>SNIP .....As I type this The Academy Awards is on TV. I used to look at
ringrunner
Then I read something that really pissed me off. It said that 4 hours
divides the marathon runners from the marathon survivors. And here is
me with the greatest athletic accomplishment of my live, a 4:48
Marathon. I was livid. How could any body say that I did not just do
the greatest thing that could be done? I finished a marathon.
Well, I turned that rage into a goal. (A goal so great, that I was once
referred to as Mike “sub 4 or else” Ring) I will break 4. In the
next 7 years I ran 12 marathons, I finished 7 of them, as for the other
5, they landed me in the medical tent or an ambulance. I went to speed
workouts. I ran so many long runs, that it became silly. I read
books. I learned how my body works. That all helped me a little.
So today I reported the following race result to the Prospect Park
Track Club. “On Sunday morning, March 26, 2000, Michael "sub 4 or else”
Ring achieved his goal of 8 years, a personal best, in finishing 4th in
his age group (under 50) and completed the Sri Chinmoy Marathon on
Randals Island in 3:58:04.” It can be noted that I never would have
done this without the support and encouragement of my wife, Stephanie
and the members Prospect Park Track Club.
As I type this The Academy Awards is on TV. I used to look at the
faces of the winners and say “Wow, wouldn’t that be neat”, now I can
say, “I know how they feel”.
Michael Ring
Greg Davis
Mike Tennent
> “On Sunday morning, March 26, 2000, Michael "sub 4 or else”
>Ring achieved his goal of 8 years, a personal best, in finishing 4th in
>his age group (under 50) and completed the Sri Chinmoy Marathon on
>Randals Island in 3:58:04.” It can be noted that I never would have
>done this without the support and encouragement of my wife, Stephanie
>and the members Prospect Park Track Club.
Way to go, Mike. I'm glad your hard work paid off for you.
Soooooo, 3:45?? <g>
Mike Tennent
"IronPenguin"
Ironman Canada '98 16:17:03
Great Floridian '99, 17:13:38
Steve Mills
winds up in the medical tent or an ambulance. And you want to
encourage him to run harder, faster??? What did I miss?
- Steve
On Tue, 28 Mar 2000 10:40:17 -0500, Mike Tennent <wbru...@gate.net>
wrote:
chest...@my-deja.com
Before you start reading this let me tell you the
nature of my posting this message. I am doing an
extra credit assignment for a database class at
USU. I was asked to express my feelings about
running a 10K race sometime during this upcoming
summer. If I were to attempt a 10K race this
summer I would do it only for one reason...to
prove to myself that I could finish. I would
probably vomit once or twice before passing out a
couple hundred yards from the finish line, but
when I recover from my sleep I would be
determined to finish. I know that running a 10K
race would take a lot of time to prepare myself
physically and mentally, yet after the fact I
would have something to brag about. Now being
determined to win, that would be a fairytale.
Christian Herboth
[...]
> books. I learned how my body works. That all helped me a little.
> So today I reported the following race result to the Prospect Park
> Track Club. ôOn Sunday morning, March 26, 2000, Michael "sub 4 or elseö
> Ring achieved his goal of 8 years, a personal best, in finishing 4th in
> his age group (under 50) and completed the Sri Chinmoy Marathon on
> Randals Island in 3:58:04.ö It can be noted that I never would have
> done this without the support and encouragement of my wife, Stephanie
> and the members Prospect Park Track Club.
Congratulations Mike !! What an experience that must have been after all the
hard work, all the attempts to FINALLY achieve your goal !
Thanks for posting, good luck and keep on running !
--
Christian Herboth
chri...@avalon.franken.de
ICQ # 52515902
Mike Tennent
>Did I miss something? Half the time this fellow runs a marathon he
>winds up in the medical tent or an ambulance. And you want to
>encourage him to run harder, faster??? What did I miss?
>
>- Steve
>
>
... that he finally figured out how to do it without ending up in the
med tent?
... that he achieved a significant (to him) goal despite limited
physical ability?
... that I was kidding?
Steve Mills
1) Michael had a goal: complete the NYC marathon. He achieved this and
was very proud. So far, great. No one was cheering him louder than I
would have had I known. Then he let some jerk tell him he wasn't a
real runner, that his goal was trash. *And he bought it.* He let
someone else define who he was and what his goals should be. And he
spent 8 years of his life and some risk to his health chasing someone
else's goal. This is a fool's game that you can never win. There is
always some else to say, Oh no, your not a *real* man unless you
...., or your not a *real* runner unless you ...., etc, etc, etc.....
As Opus (of Bloom County) would say: PHFFFFTTT!!
2) [and this is MY situtation and does NOT necessarily apply to anyone
else) My wife has been very supportive of my marathon training. But
she has already once had an invalid husband and been a widow. I think
about the third time I wound up in the medical tent she would have
divorced me for being a selfish, inconsiderate jerk. And rightly so.
Again, this is MY case and does not define anyone else's.
Additional comments:
A] I didn't see any indication that "he finally figured out ...". If
so, great. But no pattern was mentioned.
B] [see 1) above]
C] I like to think that I have an above average sense of humor [insert
grin here], but I would not joke with an achoholic about taking
another drink......
- Steve
On Wed, 29 Mar 2000 08:24:55 -0500, Mike Tennent <wbru...@gate.net>
wrote:
>snm...@NOSPAMmindspring.com (Steve Mills) wrote:
EBarreira
Mike Tennent
>There are two things that bother me about this:
>
>1) Michael had a goal: complete the NYC marathon. He achieved this and
>was very proud. So far, great. No one was cheering him louder than I
>would have had I known. Then he let some jerk tell him he wasn't a
>real runner, that his goal was trash. *And he bought it.* He let
>someone else define who he was and what his goals should be. And he
>spent 8 years of his life and some risk to his health chasing someone
>else's goal.
Steve,
I guess we just interpreted the post differently.
I fully understand your point, and if it was the case that he "bought"
someone else's goal and did it for that reason, your argument is
valid. However, I'm not sure that was the case.
A 4 hour goal sounds very personal - it's not an exceptional time by
any stretch. If it was 3:30, I'd be more apt to buy into your
argument.
<snip>
>C] I like to think that I have an above average sense of humor [insert
>grin here], but I would not joke with an achoholic about taking
>another drink...
I'm very reluctant to call another person's enthusiasm an addiction.
Neither you or I know enough about the situation to say. He
considered it a goal worthy of sacrifice, so I'll just have to go with
that.
Goals you don't have to sacrifice for are rather easy to attain and
insignificant, like giving up liver for Lent. Goals that require
significant effort are far sweeter when attained. He sounded pretty
satisfied.
Laurie
>He considered it a goal worthy of sacrifice, so
> I'll just have to go with that.
because of the sacrifices that are required, as in this case.
I also think Michael knew that day stuck in traffic it was at that
moment the right time to finish what he has tried at age 17.
I agree with another poster, Michael's story should be published. Such
perseverence and determination. Wonder which parent he got that gene
from.<smile>
Laurie" now 30 years later I just got struck to finish that knitting
project from HS"
:)
ringrunner
know how it feels to win. In High School they often forget I was stukk
on the track. Now I am 36 years old, stronger, faster and smarter than
I every was in High School AND PEOPLE CHEER FOR ME. I think it was a
great ride
In article <14208-38...@storefull-611.iap.bryant.webtv.net>,
ringrunner
know how it feels to win. In High School they often forget I was stukk
on the track. Now I am 36 years old, stronger, faster and smarter than
I every was in High School AND PEOPLE CHEER FOR ME.
I think it was a great ride
No regrets
Michael "Boston-in-this-lifetime" Ring
chickenu...@gmail.com
> So today I reported the following race result to the Prospect Park
> his age group (under 50) and completed the Sri Chinmoy Marathon on
> and the members Prospect Park Track Club.
> faces of the winners and say "Wow, wouldn't that be neat", now I can
> say, "I know how they feel".
> Michael Ring
>
>