Run it away, run it away, run it away now! Apparently, eating nothing but Big Mac’s and playing bass in a popular 90’s band is a gateway to running a marathon.
Remember The Red Hot Chili Peppers? Remember when they hit the music scene? I may have just dated myself but when I saw what went down at the LA marathon last weekend, my jaw hit the floor.
While Markos Geneti was busy breaking the course record (http://www.everymantri.com/everyman_triathlon/2011/03/markos-geneti-breaks-course-record-at-la-marathon.html) at the 2011 LA Marathon in 2:06:35, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary decided to run the LA Marathon to help raise money for his Silverlake Music Conservatory. He started running about 6 months ago (http://runitfast.com/2011/03/20/red-hot-chili-peppers-flea-runs-l-a-marathon-in-35300/). For a guy known to “give it away”, he gave it all and ran a respectable 3:53:00.
(http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-243-544--13896-0,00.html?cm_mmc=training-_-3222011-_-training-_-VIDEO%3a%20Flea%20Rocks%20L.A.%20Marathon ) I’m no elite runner, but he matched my best marathon time out of two marathons and I have competed in endurance events since 2004! Props to Flea!
And then there’s Joe D’Amico who lived on McDonald’s for 30 days before the LA Marathon (http://rwdaily.runnersworld.com/2011/03/the-mcrunner-sets-a-mcpr-at-the-l-a-marathon.html?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-Blog-_-RWDailyMcRunnerPostraceQA). Now, he didn’t live in Big Mac’s like I alluded (had to keep you guessing), but he ordered for the most part nutritious meals from only McDonald’s aside from minor exceptions, such as multivitamins and the odd energy gel. What did that get him? He ran the race in 2:36:14 (besting his previous PR of 2:36:54). Joe was acclimated to running sub-3 hour marathons before this race, but he felt comfortable enough with his ability to monkey around with his diet pre-race to see what would happen.
Both of those stories feed into the fact that marathons are becoming more main stream than ever. Similar to ‘Dancing With The Stars’ recycling past sports and cinema icons, marathons are the new proving grounds for bassists and golden arch addicts.
If Flea can get out there and post a sub-4 hour marathon after only running for 6 months, just think what you could do if you hit a proper race plan and training schedule!
Get inspired! Grab your guitar, Big Mac, and your doctor’s OK and sign up for a marathon!
Ryan Falkenrath writes the blog falkeetriathlon.blogspot.com, and is a married father of two, owner of three dogs and trying to balance life, work and multisport. Ryan has participated in multisport events since 2001. Ryan is also the Kansas Endurance Sports Examiner and you can read more of his triathlon thoughs HERE. Contact Ryan at: falkeetriathlon@hotmail.com or follow him on @TriJayhawkRyan
*Expressed opinions are not necessarily that of EverymanTri.com
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