Long Distance Runners

[Al]

Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted By: HondaBroMike
This whole workout weekly and having routines is all in excess and the entire industry is a scam. just go to a park 1 or twice a week and be done with it. free and gets the job done. no fitness memberships to worry about. a scam.


Well that's what some people say. I'm 73 I keep watching my former friends that believed that drop dead. I'm still reasonably healthy I think and they're still dropping dead. Of course they are saving the $175 a year its costing me to go to the community health center with my senior discount. And yes I know just how long that going to the park lasts when the rain and the snow fly.

You are responding to someone who's profile is "Ocupation-Easy Street" "Location- Easy Street"...in other words..lives with parents.

Couldn't agree with you more Johnny. I go workout 4 times/week and will be 72. I can do what a reasonably fit 40 year old can do. Sure, I have aches and pains. It goes with the territory though.

 

[Huie83]

I ran cross country all through high school and track one year. Left for the Navy after HS and continued to run during PT etc. I would never call myself super long distance, but I used to do 8-9 miles multiple times a week with hills and speed work mixed in there.

I started to have Knee issues about 8 years ago in my late 20's and have never been able to get back into it. The lubricating tissues and fluids in my knees (especially my right) just aren't there anymore.

My dad on the other hand who just turned 53 is a freak of nature. Runs ultra marathons, 100+ multi day races etc and his body is holding up just fine. I wish mine didn't break down so early, that's a big part of his life that I just can't keep up with. I loved running too before my joint issues, it used to feel great to go out and do 4-5 miles, now it just wrecks my knees.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Al good for you. I don't seem to have aches and pains I'm lucky. A couple of my friends go to the gym one day a week and they over stress themselves. One day a week when you do that is more harmful than good. But you know those kind of people you can't tell a thing. I just do my thing and my BP has dropped to around 107/68 and my resting heart rate is 68 give or take a couple beats. It has come down from 80.

 

[SeaJay]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Are any of you guys long distance runners? I'm not even sure how many miles a person would have to run to qualify as a long distance runner; to me, 5 miles would be a long ways to run. When I was in the military, we were supposed to be able to run 1.5 miles in 9 minutes or less. I look back and wonder how I ever pulled that off.


1.5 miles in 9 minutes (6 min per mile) is a fast pace. One time in college our basketball coach required a 6 minute mile before he'd let us join practice. I did it in 5:45 (didn't want to risk going over by a couple of seconds), but that was quite an effort to do that at 20 years of age. Those days are long gone for me.

 

[wallyuwl]

Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
For general cardiovascular health purposes, walking briskly 3 days a week for 20 minutes is all you need. It has been shown over and over again in the scientific literature.


Everything I read says 3 times a week is beneficial but they say 150 minutes a week is much better. Especially if you're looking to improve rather than maintain what you have.


The 150 minutes is for physical activity, not exercise. Physical activity is more loosely defined. For example, gardening or mowing the lawn are physical activity and not considered exercise because it isn't structured and planned. Exercise counts as physical activity, but many types of physical activity do not count as exercise.

 

[OneEyeJack]

I've always been bothered by experts that don't run telling me it's bad for me to run and that I'm stupid to disagree with them. They have an MD or a Ph.D. and that is supposed to be enough explanation for anyone but an idiot, like me.

I ran and competed for almost 40 years. Running for me was a very natural activity. I grew up in an orphanage and running was my escape from a tough childhood, an activity that cost me or others nothing and allowed me to slip into my own world, a kind of privacy never experienced anywhere else for me. I had many later years of running 65 to 100 miles a week. My marathon PR is 2:16:03 and my 10K PR is 30:05 so I can claim to be a runner and not a jogger. I've run ultras from 50K to 100 miles. Other than a couple of sprained ankles I've never had a serious injury.

I've never been really sick until Haloween, 2008 when I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 9 years later, this Haloween, I'm still kicking and going back to running after a long hard battle against cancer and traditional healthcare. I think that my good health and athletic discipline helped me to survive a very deadly cancer, an opinion finally shared by my doctors after I survived. It's my opinion that I owe my health today to a lifetime of running. Right now I'm on the treadmill and stairclimber building back my strength and will be hitting the road very soon. I miss running and I'm going back where I belong.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
For general cardiovascular health purposes, walking briskly 3 days a week for 20 minutes is all you need. It has been shown over and over again in the scientific literature.


Everything I read says 3 times a week is beneficial but they say 150 minutes a week is much better. Especially if you're looking to improve rather than maintain what you have.


The 150 minutes is for physical activity, not exercise. Physical activity is more loosely defined. For example, gardening or mowing the lawn are physical activity and not considered exercise because it isn't structured and planned. Exercise counts as physical activity, but many types of physical activity do not count as exercise.


No it said 150 minutes of aerobic exercise.
But I'm doing 200 and I've been doing it for over a year now my conditioning has greatly improved. Went I did 20 minutes a day three day a week. My conditioning changed upward but very little.

 

[Alfred_B]

Some skeletal structures are not suitable for running (I am not talking about ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph types). Things like bow legs, etc. will be detrimental in the long term.

Shorter and thinner individuals with straight legs tend to be better suited for long distance running.