What a douche-bag.
Sorry - I'm a little agitated. I'm going to do my best to not divulge the identities of some individuals key to the story today.
I received an email from a friend last week, forwarding a thread of emails between himself and another individual that I know, that contained race results and training maps, elevation gains on training rides - you know, the usual stuff that you forward along after a good week of training. Anyway....
....as I read down the email thread I stumbled onto a section that I think my friend forgot to delete. And I quote: "....I wouldn't worry too much about what Dave is doing. He doesn't have kids and he's, in my opinion, about to begin the downward slide in his performance...."
Um, WTF?
I know this individual, but haven't seen or spoken to him in years. And this is his opinion of my performance gains and AG finishes over this same period of time? It's all due to the fact that I don't have kids? And on top of that I've peaked and I'm about to start getting slower?
Well, allow me to retort.
First: Having kids or not having kids, I think, has nothing to do with things. When I'm doing heavy brick workouts (for some reason they usually happen on Thursday morning) I'm up at 3:15-3:30a. I'm home by 6:30a. We all make sacrifices and do what we have to do to get the job done. I have a friend who gets up at 2:30a on Monday morning so he can do his long runs in preparation for his upcoming marathon. I run multiple times a week with Mark M, Matt P, and Tom O. All are fathers of beautiful kids. And they all run like deer. They're fast and are getting faster. I also know a number of people that have qualified for Kona and the Ironman World Championships who have kids. It can be done.
Second: I'm about to decline in my performance? Based on what empirical evidence? Because I'm now in my 40's? BAH! I have a good friend, Joe G who (no offense, Joe) is about 10 years older than I and is a much faster runner. He's been continually impressive in his running over the years and never fails to amaze. Age has had nothing to do with his performances over the past years. He's a gifted athlete who works hard and shows no signs of slowing down.
The point being, kids or no kids - it doesn't matter. You make the sacrifices necessary to train and compete as you'd like to. Age? Immaterial, everyone is different.
Will we all slow down over time? Yes. Is there a specific age at which this happens? No - it's an individual thing.
I haven't seen, or spoken to, the individual who made these comments in years. I'm not sure what spurned him to make them. We all work hard, train hard, and race hard. We do the best we can. We all make sacrifices - or not. The decision is ours and ours alone. We all have to live with those decisions, like them or not.
This rant is over. Thank you for listening.
Sorry - I'm a little agitated. I'm going to do my best to not divulge the identities of some individuals key to the story today.
I received an email from a friend last week, forwarding a thread of emails between himself and another individual that I know, that contained race results and training maps, elevation gains on training rides - you know, the usual stuff that you forward along after a good week of training. Anyway....
....as I read down the email thread I stumbled onto a section that I think my friend forgot to delete. And I quote: "....I wouldn't worry too much about what Dave is doing. He doesn't have kids and he's, in my opinion, about to begin the downward slide in his performance...."
Um, WTF?
I know this individual, but haven't seen or spoken to him in years. And this is his opinion of my performance gains and AG finishes over this same period of time? It's all due to the fact that I don't have kids? And on top of that I've peaked and I'm about to start getting slower?
Well, allow me to retort.
First: Having kids or not having kids, I think, has nothing to do with things. When I'm doing heavy brick workouts (for some reason they usually happen on Thursday morning) I'm up at 3:15-3:30a. I'm home by 6:30a. We all make sacrifices and do what we have to do to get the job done. I have a friend who gets up at 2:30a on Monday morning so he can do his long runs in preparation for his upcoming marathon. I run multiple times a week with Mark M, Matt P, and Tom O. All are fathers of beautiful kids. And they all run like deer. They're fast and are getting faster. I also know a number of people that have qualified for Kona and the Ironman World Championships who have kids. It can be done.
Second: I'm about to decline in my performance? Based on what empirical evidence? Because I'm now in my 40's? BAH! I have a good friend, Joe G who (no offense, Joe) is about 10 years older than I and is a much faster runner. He's been continually impressive in his running over the years and never fails to amaze. Age has had nothing to do with his performances over the past years. He's a gifted athlete who works hard and shows no signs of slowing down.
The point being, kids or no kids - it doesn't matter. You make the sacrifices necessary to train and compete as you'd like to. Age? Immaterial, everyone is different.
Will we all slow down over time? Yes. Is there a specific age at which this happens? No - it's an individual thing.
I haven't seen, or spoken to, the individual who made these comments in years. I'm not sure what spurned him to make them. We all work hard, train hard, and race hard. We do the best we can. We all make sacrifices - or not. The decision is ours and ours alone. We all have to live with those decisions, like them or not.
This rant is over. Thank you for listening.