Getting into shape

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

You're kind of dancing around my point, I think. Sure, there are many a ways to train, and training will make it possible to run longer distances without breaking down, but isn't the biggest problem the body, even if it is not breaking down, can't get rid of all the byproducts created when running forever? I thought you get too many bad chemicals built up and too much blood unfiltered because the body just isn't capable of dealing with it all (the increase of bad chemicals caused by running so far and the lack of an ability to filter it all as the muscles need so much more blood the kidneys can't filter it)?

Obviously people do it, and the people that run marathons all the time have probably conditioned their body to be able to handle the stress. But, an average joe just can't run a marathon without severe risks of damage to his/her body, some of which may be long term, or even death.

Not to say you shouldn't run long distances, obviously you are enjoying it and following what seems to be a responsible program. But, some people seem to do these things on a whim, thinking it'll be a healthy decision, and then are surprised that it's simply not good for them and they'd have been better off running 3 miles instead of 26.

[Freed Roger]

I've heard of bad chemicals associated with overtraining (cortisol?) But I'm not real knowledgeable about the science.

I think a key to any fitness is getting to know yourself - and being able to distinguish between bad pain where you should stop, and good pain, where you can tough it out and reap benefits later from the body rebuild. It's a constant adjustment, and sometimes people need an outside party to tell them when to take a break, or when to suck it up.

Every so often, the worst thing I do to myself is physically bonk -on a hot day. I've been on a long trail run, where I will be jazzed about being out there, and I will race up a steep hill early in the run, and then meltdown later. It happens to me when my mind remembers being able to do something, but the body can't keep up to the mind under the conditions. It's a weird terrible feeling -hardly anything works physically and even mentally. body doesn't seem to have any ability to create energy -like a terrible zombie hangover but more to my body's core than banging in my head. I don't want to bonk very often, but when I have, I learned and adapted from it.

The "knowing yourself" part takes time. Thus, you see some people (granted this is in mostly the hack category, typically not the elites) that actually run their best times in their 40s and 50s - Simply because they finally have figured things out for themselves, and perhaps more importantly, they have the time to figure things out.

Your point about people running too much too soon (the 13.1 mile bumper sticker crowd), I generally agree. Most of them would be much better off trying to get to a comfortable level for a 5K first. I have friends that want do half-marathons, and get shin splints plantars -all the ailments - when they haven't quite figured out a 5K. My friend, who ran Boston Mar with a sub-3hour pace - laughs at how the half-marathon is the new 5K.

As an aside, we were watching the Blues game Saturday at the family gathering. I joked to my brother-in-law, an orthopedic physical therapist - that he probably loves all the business that hockey brings to his field. His reply was that Crossfit is what really is bringing in the business, and just shook his head.

[TimeForGuinness]

I've heard of bad chemicals associated with overtraining (cortisol?) But I'm not real knowledgeable about the science.

I think a key to any fitness is getting to know yourself - and being able to distinguish between bad pain where you should stop, and good pain, where you can tough it out and reap benefits later from the body rebuild. It's a constant adjustment, and sometimes people need an outside party to tell them when to take a break, or when to suck it up.

Every so often, the worst thing I do to myself is physically bonk -on a hot day. I've been on a long trail run, where I will be jazzed about being out there, and I will race up a steep hill early in the run, and then meltdown later. It happens to me when my mind remembers being able to do something, but the body can't keep up to the mind under the conditions. It's a weird terrible feeling -hardly anything works physically and even mentally. body doesn't seem to have any ability to create energy -like a terrible zombie hangover but more to my body's core than banging in my head. I don't want to bonk very often, but when I have, I learned and adapted from it.

The "knowing yourself" part takes time. Thus, you see some people (granted this is in mostly the hack category, typically not the elites) that actually run their best times in their 40s and 50s - Simply because they finally have figured things out for themselves, and perhaps more importantly, they have the time to figure things out.

Your point about people running too much too soon (the 13.1 mile bumper sticker crowd), I generally agree. Most of them would be much better off trying to get to a comfortable level for a 5K first. I have friends that want do half-marathons, and get shin splints plantars -all the ailments - when they haven't quite figured out a 5K. My friend, who ran Boston Mar with a sub-3hour pace - laughs at how the half-marathon is the new 5K.

As an aside, we were watching the Blues game Saturday at the family gathering. I joked to my brother-in-law, an orthopedic physical therapist - that he probably loves all the business that hockey brings to his field. His reply was that Crossfit is what really is bringing in the business, and just shook his head.

This.

Knowing your body and listening to it is very important in long-distance running. I've been slowly ramping up the distance and pace over the last few years...I'm a totally different runner today that I was when I started 6 years ago. Back then I never thought I'd do a half marathon let alone finish 4 marathons. I think the unhealthy aspect of it is when you're running long distances all the time...the people who run 10-20 marathons a year...

Usually I catch about 4-5 miles every morning and then go on a long run on the weekends...the long runs are anywhere from 11 miles to 24 miles...depending on where i'm at in my training. It's never been hard on my body, in fact, I'm in better shape now than I was 20 years ago.

You just have to listen to your body and find a rhythm.

[cardsfansince82]

You guys have heard of cars, right?

[jim]

My youngest son is running x-country and track at a D3 school, all long distance stuff. His Jr. year of HS he had what was diagnosed at a Hip Flexor strain. Long story short, it didn't go away, and finally the culprit was found - a cracked hip. 3 surgeries over 18 months has fixed the hip, but this spring he started getting some knee pain and since this is his first competitive year back from that long layoff, he just decided to stop for the year to make sure something else awful doesn't happen. Kid was on crutches for 10 out of 12 months his senior year. IT was awful.

HIs Sr. year of high school a kid was running and his shinbone basically snapped in 2, due to stress fractures.

It's terrible on your body. People that run marathons are just trashing themselves - and I'm not saying not to do it because I think you live your life how you want and deal with the consequences. But running is really not good on the joints etc.. I run 2x per week for cardio and then do spin and some other stuff to mix it up.

I just hate to run because I"ve always associated with getting in shape to do something, and never ran for the sake of just running which I guess is what some of these weirdos do.

[Arthur Dent]

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[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

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Still funny after a million times.

[Gashouse]

My youngest son is running x-country and track at a D3 school, all long distance stuff. His Jr. year of HS he had what was diagnosed at a Hip Flexor strain. Long story short, it didn't go away, and finally the culprit was found - a cracked hip. 3 surgeries over 18 months has fixed the hip, but this spring he started getting some knee pain and since this is his first competitive year back from that long layoff, he just decided to stop for the year to make sure something else awful doesn't happen. Kid was on crutches for 10 out of 12 months his senior year. IT was awful.

HIs Sr. year of high school a kid was running and his shinbone basically snapped in 2, due to stress fractures.

It's terrible on your body. People that run marathons are just trashing themselves - and I'm not saying not to do it because I think you live your life how you want and deal with the consequences. But running is really not good on the joints etc.. I run 2x per week for cardio and then do spin and some other stuff to mix it up.

I just hate to run because I"ve always associated with getting in shape to do something, and never ran for the sake of just running which I guess is what some of these weirdos do.

I ran track and XC in HS and have run off and on since. About 7 years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to run a marathon. Now if I run regularly at all for a few months, my knees get pretty achy. My knees are [expletive]. I'm only 37 and I can know when we're going to have a big storm from how my knees feel.

[Freed Roger]

My youngest son is running x-country and track at a D3 school, all long distance stuff. His Jr. year of HS he had what was diagnosed at a Hip Flexor strain. Long story short, it didn't go away, and finally the culprit was found - a cracked hip. 3 surgeries over 18 months has fixed the hip, but this spring he started getting some knee pain and since this is his first competitive year back from that long layoff, he just decided to stop for the year to make sure something else awful doesn't happen. Kid was on crutches for 10 out of 12 months his senior year. IT was awful.

HIs Sr. year of high school a kid was running and his shinbone basically snapped in 2, due to stress fractures.

It's terrible on your body. People that run marathons are just trashing themselves - and I'm not saying not to do it because I think you live your life how you want and deal with the consequences. But running is really not good on the joints etc.. I run 2x per week for cardio and then do spin and some other stuff to mix it up.

I just hate to run because I"ve always associated with getting in shape to do something, and never ran for the sake of just running which I guess is what some of these weirdos do.

Your son's situation is unfortunate. My friend who coaches running to kids will not let them log the crazy-ass long miles. Most of them are not ready for it during growing years. And as kids, they don't really know themselves, a coach almost has to be smart enough to rein them in and have some bad teams.

Keep in mind, I'm not like your son - actually doing running as a competitive sport. Apples and oranges. I am competitive, just to trick myself into pushing myself. But my main goal is to not become obese. Any person making sacrifices/taking risk to succeed in almost any competitive sport risks injury (especially kids) - from blown out arms, concussions, knees, etc etc. I wonder how some of the [expletive] I did in my pedestrian HS football years affects my knees, back today.

Overall, I'm way healthier since my exercise ratio has skewed more to running, than when I was constantly hamster-wheeling on a machine or racking my joints with bench press, bicep curls or what not in the putrid air of a gym - surrounded by dudes checking themselves out in the mirror.

Running is no where near the fun I had back when I had a 20-something's metabolism, and could rely on sports for fitness. It's the next best thing to that - gets me outside. When I really have the time, and when kids have gone, I hope to just rely on hiking around, and outdoorsy hobby stuff as main means of fitness.

Ironically I'll be heading to the gym to night for about the 15% of my workout that is more aptly done inside. And looking forward to it, since I don't go there that much.

[Sutter'sBeard]

Softball is pretty laid back, but baseball? No way.

If you want something fun to do, consider those Warrior Dash/Mud Run type races

...or stop being a wuss with this warrior dash/mud run where you have to wait in line to do an obstacle...and start trail running/running long distances.

Anyone that runs more than 3 miles is insane. There is just no sense in that whatsoever.

After 3 miles it gets much easier

If I didn't have to run more than 3 miles to prove you wrong, I would.

Have my first marathon in less than a month - on a trail.
I avoided the longer distances for years - figuring if you are a runner - why not just run a shorter distance faster? I can be plenty gassed running a mile.

But longer distances gives me an excuse to be outside more. I've found that I get in much better shape doing something I enjoy, than thru the old "No pain No Gain" mentality I grew up with in the gym/football. I've come to appreciate the longer distances - am always interested how the mind/body adapts to different challenges. As you know from PIR, they can run a hell of lot more than 3 miles on a given training run, even when the race they are training for is a 1600m or 5K. Different energy systems need developed.

Anyway, it's much better than hanging with the hamster wheel crowd in the gym. But ironically, I do like to get to the gym now more, just to make my infrastructure and ability to run outside better.


Meanwhile, Americans are currently doing well at the Boston Marathon (Shalane Flanagan, Meb etc). Almost too well.

Good luck with the half!

I ran my first competitive 5k this year and plan on running a 10k and a half sometime this year. The thing that scares me a bit is my competitive nature. Not real fond of being passed by other runners. I ran the 5k about a minute and a quarter per mile faster than my planned pace and I know I can't do that in a longer race.