Superman and mere mortals …

A few days I slogged through a tempo run feeling as rundown as a house decaying in east Detroit. If it were not for a friend of mine who helped me, I don’t know how I would have finished.

It’s amazing how some times I can still move as fast as in my 20s, and how at other times I can barely crawl.

On the latter days the demolition crew of my forty-something ego wants to pull out the wrecking ball and I compare myself to the elite marathoners.

They make training and racing look so much easier than the rest of us.

But is it really?

That’s a question I’ve pondered since I read  the December 2010 Runner’s World story on Eddy Hellebuyck where he talked about doping — using performance enhancement substances banned from competition — to win prize money and races as a master’s runner.

The article is an interesting departure from RW’s regurgitated fare of “How to Run Your Fastest 5K yet.”

Sure, the elites come to the table with a lot more ability than us mere mortals.

It’s sort of like racing greyhounds versus wiener dogs. You can tell who’s going to excel right off the bat.

OK — I qualified for Boston. I may not be a wiener dog, but I’m no greyhound either.

I’m something in between — perhaps more like the old Dalmatians who used to run with fire engines? I’m not pure speedy but I race with heart.

You get the picture.

But beyond genetics, just how much of what the elites do is God-given and what part could be enhanced?

For me the article raised even more questions than that:

How many other elite marathoners have done it?

How about the female racers?

And how about the women elite racers who come back so fast and strong after pregnancy? Are they simply more Superman than the rest of us? Or are they aided, too?  Are their performances a combination of both — genetics plus enhancements?

What supplements might those athletes be taking that go under the radar? Could they be taking something that is technically legal for competition but doesn’t show up on a drug test but definitely produces an advantage?

Could they be taking something that’s not tested for yet?

I could on  …

The pressure to perform for them must be off the charts, and so must the temptations. It’s the top racers who get the endorsements and cash prizes.

Sure, for the average Joe being 10th overall in the world in the marathon would be the experience of a lifetime.

For competitors at that elite level, however, it’s probably not enough to keep Nike and others on board forever.

At what point could an athlete be bought out, even if it went against one’s ethics? It’s a good question, not limited to athletics.

In my original essay I joked about Botox. I’ve never had a Botox injection and I don’t believe I ever will. For me the idea of “tox” as in “toxin” in my system is a deterrent. However, I understand why others would do it and the social pressure to look younger. I know friends who have.

If I were Nicole Kidman or Julia Roberts and earned millions of dollars per movie, and my vanity and vocation depended upon Botox and such, and I, too, might be assuaged.

So much of what we read about celebrities is a glimpse of the whole picture in a world that thrives on illusions. When I want to compare myself to them I remind myself of that.

I’m not a greyhound. This isn’t my full-time gig like it is for the elites. I don’t work with a legion of coaches, trainers and therapists, and with state-of-the-art equipment  and who knows what else.

And there’s the X factor that goes into making them what they are that you and I may not know about, and might be kosher or not. Who can tell?

As a mere mortal I can listen to my body and do my best.

And I can send the wrecking ball of comparisons away to another neighborhood.

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Aging is inevitable, but growing old is a choice. Lace up your shoes, and let’s go!

Today is a rest day — I’ve got a 20-miler slated for tomorrow; Denver to Boston miles logged: 1139.5; Miles left to go 630.5.

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