OT - So, any distance runners here?

[stepay]

Just curious if anyone else enjoys my other pastime as well.

[au4onx]

well if by distace you mean a 3km jog almost everyday, then probably. But my buddy has been bailing on me due to exams and stuff. Are you talking REALLY long distances? like road running? coz that's leet.

 

edit: needed to add to above "coz that's leet."

[delirium]

I do, I do run almost everyday day. I started over a year ago and since then I feel 10 years younger, plus all my health problems are gone.

My longest run so far 10 miles in one shot.

 

Running helps also in playing, now I can more confortable sit for longer period of time at the piano. Running is great

[stepay]

Cool. I'm more of a recreational runner these days (run 3-8 miles a day 5-6 days a week, unless training for a race, then I run a little more).

 

Was a halfway decent high school distance runner and then ran Cross Country and Track in College (Ohio Wesleyan University). I've run 7 marathons (though I'm not too good at those) and two ultra marathons (a 50 miler and a 40 miler up Mount Diablo in California and then back down).

 

I haven't run a race since May 2003. Now that I'm 40 though (turned 40 in August) I'm thinking of stepping up the running to see what I could do in my age group. I've got a long way to go though. Even with the running I'm doing, I'm about 30 pounds overweight and need to eat better and lose that weight before I could do anything decent. I'm only 5'4" (or maybe 5'5" -- I've gotten both measurements before) and weigh 170 currently. I really should not weigh that much. I swear if I didn't run I'd weight 300 pounds.

[Phred]

More of a cyclist than a runner. I believe it's important to excercise, and try to do a little every day.

[Garrafon]

"Long distance runner, what you standing there for. Get up, get out, get out of the door. You're playing cold music on the barroom floor. . . ."

 

Fire on the Mountain, Grateful Dead

[delirium]

Originally posted by stepay:

Cool. I'm more of a recreational runner these days (run 3-8 miles a day 5-6 days a week, unless training for a race, then I run a little more).

me too, longer run I do only on weekends.

 

You did marathons? that's great, I'm not ready for that yet. Maybe next year. But ultra marathons...come on, these are for nuts

 

Abouth the weight, that's true I lost 30lb since I started to run. This is actually cool, because I know I can eat now whatever sh*t I want because I'll burn it anyway

[Legatoboy]

Even though I'm overweight by quit a bit , I try to run 1.2 miles 5 days a week. I just feel better. I don't really run I pretty much jog! I have too jog because of my sciatica and back anyway, doctors orders. The furthest I've ever run (about 12 years ago) was 9 miles in one day!

Those days are over unless I can loose 50 lbs!

 

lb

[kwgm]

Originally posted by stepay:

Just curious if anyone else enjoys my other pastime as well.

I used to run 20-30 miles a week and enjoyed it very much. I can't do it anymore, but I do like to spend forty-five minutes to an hour on an elliptical machine, maybe 3 or 4 times a week. I get the same kind of workout without the jarring on my C. spine.

[Joe P]

Stepay,

I ran for the last 10 years but since I got married and have a little boy, I don't have the time. I miss it very much. I dream about it. There are so many benefits to running.

 

I lost weight till I couldn't lose no more and I ate as much of whatever I wanted, though this can become a nuisance because you are always hungry. Slept better, digested food faster, heartburn went away, had more energy, lower resting pulse and lower blood pressure. But most of all what I miss is the equanimity it gives you: the calmness of demeanor and evenness of mind. It aids in concentration be it for playing golf or playing piano. This from only 20 - 25 miles/week!

 

My wife promised I would have time after her big dance performance is over Nov. 11 (her numerous rehearsals leave me with the boy). This is good, except she challenged me in the 100 meters. Even though she ran track in high school, she is in for an ass whuppin' she'll never forget!

 

Regards,

Joe

[soundscape]

Originally posted by delirium:

I do, I do run almost everyday day. I started over a year ago and since then I feel 10 years younger, plus all my health problems are gone.

My longest run so far 10 miles in one shot.

 

Running helps also in playing, now I can more confortable sit for longer period of time at the piano. Running is great

Exactly! Aerobic exercise will improve performance in all respects and make you feel physically and mentally fantastic. Of course resistance training (weights) is also necessary.

 

Personally I have extremely poor 'innate' aerobic ability (fast twitch over slow twitch muscle fibres) but I have trained myself somewhat and I go cycling five days a week.

[Marzzz]

I ran eight marathons between 1990-2002, with a PR of 3:40:35; Getting a bit older, I am not as crazy as I used to be, but will still go out for an hour run at least 3x/wk. More important these days is to do several different activities, cross-training is better for you in the long run (no pun!).

 

btw- my wife's PR is 3:13, how's that for a fast woman??? Stepay, we ran the '91 Columbus Marathon, and she ran right past the stadium (on Woody Hayes Drive, around mile 13?) and didn't see it!!!!!

[Ben One]

I run 10 miles most Saturdays, and try to get in 2-3 3-mile runs every week. I've done one marathon and will do more when I have the time to train for it. It's funny that I just saw this thread--I'm going out to run right now!

[Manhunter]

I used to run but found it caused back problems (too many hard surfaces). I've always cycled and do an 11 mile round trip commute to work every day.

 

Dave

[Moog_Man]

i play a lot of soccer so i run mostly for that, but i do like the long distance stuff. i usually do the half marathon

[delirium]

Originally posted by Manhunter:

I used to run but found it caused back problems (too many hard surfaces). I've always cycled and do an 11 mile round trip commute to work every day.

Dave

back problems? I guess it should be just oposite,

as is in my case. Maybe you had wrong shoes,

I run mostly asfalt paths and don't have issues

either with my knees or my back, but I spent for

a good shoes ~100$.

[Griffinator]

"The miles, they never seem to end

As if you really dream of getting anywhere

It seems so futile

Run on and on, Run on and on, the loneliness of the long distance runner"

 

Iron Maiden - "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"

[stepay]

Glad to hear all the running stories. I've felt the same with regard to running that has been talked about here -- no heartburn, feel better, sleep better, etc. Also, when my kids were very little (they're now 9 and 6) it was much harder to get out the door for a run.

 

The Columbus Marathon is one of the three different marathons I've run (total of 7 marathons split among the three). I didn't run it in 1991 though. The other two were Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC and California International Marathon in Sacramento (PR there of 2:55).

 

Was a bit better at 5,000 meters (5k). 14:58 while in college. Oh those days are long past. Ran a time trial 3 miler a few weeks ago in 20 minutes flat, so that's about where things are these days. Need to eat better, run more.

 

In my younger days I ran a LOT more and played piano much less. Today things are reversed. probably would be good to strike a balance.

 

Oh and yes delirium, ultramarathons are for nuts. Got sucked into them by a former boss of mine who hired me partly because I had been a distance runner in college. He was a former winner of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, and I trained with him for the three years I worked for him (kind of felt obligated since I said I would in the interview). Got into pretty decent shape during those years, but still, distances over about a half marathon don't seem to suit me well. I have no plans to do another ultramarathon, and in fact may just stay at half marathon level and below.

[Last Man Standing]

I do a bit of cycling and running to relax and to avoid the traffic down here! I live about a mile from the beech so it's nice to run/cycle down there in the summer.

 

Also, one band I'm in played as accompaniment to a fun run round the city. The city council put up some stages around the route and got some local bands to serenade the runners. We had quite a good laugh with all the contestants as they went past. I think about 15,000 people took part, so I guess I can say the biggest house I've played to is 15,000 (just none of them stopped to listen... )

[ProfD]

My fastest time in a marathon was getting from the bedroom to basement studio in about 3.5 seconds flat.

 

However, I keep telling myself that I am going to start a running every other day and hitting the gym on alternative days.

 

That has been my plan for a few years now but who is counting?

[Andre Lower]

I ran infrequently some years ago, but have never been very serious about it.

 

Then I played squash for 3 years. My clumsiness yielded three heel ligament tears, and then I switched to badminton in hope that it would keep me from getting hurt. No game either, I had another ligament event and gave up on it.

 

Over the past 3 years or so I found my niche in regular swimming and muscle workout. The latter is great for coping with my dynamic 4 year old, though I'm sure it will not be enough for long, as Ill turn 40 in a couple of weeks...

 

The one hobby I wish I could have kept is scuba diving. With my wife as buddy I've been to many unforgettable places, but with the advent of the kid we have been having to postpone it for quite a while. We have this joke that as soon as he reaches 12 (legal age to scuba dive with adult supervision) we'll take him along whether he likes it or not

[Dan South]

Originally posted by stepay:

Just curious if anyone else enjoys my other pastime as well.

Temporarily on the mend (knee), but I've been a distance runner for thirty years.

 

Favorite race distances: 1 mile, 15k, 10 mile, 18 mile

 

Least favorite: 10k (too long to run fast, too short to settle into)

 

Favorite time of day to run: late morning, anytime in the evening

 

Favorite city for jogging: Paris on a clear morning - beautiful scenery, pretty girls, the smell of bread baking, and French people looking at you as though you just arrived from Mars.

 

Favorite training music: none - I want to focus on the beauty of everything around me.

 

Toughest race ever run (twice): Manhattan Half-Marathon. It's held in July in intense heat and near 100 percent humidity.

 

Toughest place I've trained: Grand Canyon Village. My lungs feel as though they're going to explode the first couple of days.

[Still Learning]

My oldest daughter (a freshman in high school) runs cross country She's # 2641 in this photo: http://www.geocities.com/dgerlach/100_0207a.JPG

She fell at the Worlds largest cross country event Mount SAC and broke both of her wrists. She was running pretty much full out about 100 yds. into the start of a 3.1 mile (5 Km) race. Several girls went down and my daughter got the worst of it. She's in 2 hard casts, the right is a fiberglass cast and the left is a plaster cast. The left is much worse, the doc had to re-set the radius bone prior to putting the cast on.

 

Be carefull when running people !!!

[Bill H.]

If you long distance run and are over 35, please be careful. My AA sponsor died of a heart attack right after a 23 mile race. The body can burn muscle mass for energy, including heart muscle, after running for long periods of time, and it gets more and more dangerous as you get older. You really need to have this whole idea checked out by a physician.

 

If you are short and weigh 170 stepay it might be a better thing for you because you have a lot of fat for fuel, but please have your doctor OK it.

 

Running short distances is part of my exercise regimen that I started in sobriety, and I'm all for it really. At 59, I'm in pretty decent shape physically. Mentally... well I'm never sure about that one.

[Michelle ggurl]

My husband's going to be running the NY Marathon this coming weekend ... I'll be there in support (bad back, no long distance for me). Anyone else?

[stepay]

Originally posted by Bill H.:

 

If you are short and weigh 170 stepay it might be a better thing for you because you have a lot of fat for fuel, but please have your doctor OK it.

Bill H.

 

Thanks for pointing out I have "a lot of fat" for fuel! Yeah. I'm working on that. I was 119 and lean and mean when I graduated from college. Oh well. 140 would really be about right for me now. Last summer I was up to 187, and for my height that's really bad.

 

I started having yearly exams at age 33, so all is good there. I think one of the ways I justify being too much overweight is that I have really low blood pressure and low cholesterol. I think if one of those were high it might scare me into losing the weight. I should go on The Biggest Loser and lose 20 pounds the first week and then 10 more the second week and then I'd be done! Well, I'm not fat enough to be on that show -- just fat for a distance runner. But like I said, I'm working on it!

 

Steve