Here we go again... (Read 1234 times)

Well, it took longer than I thought but my mother just posted a link to the article on my Facebook page. I find it somewhat ironic because her heart attack was some of the motivation that helped me to discover my love of running.

 

 Spaniel- I think that is an excellent point that I had not even considered. So then the real question is does this change have a detrimental effect on those who are active?

 Just got an e-mail from my girlfriend.  Bad stuff, this running.  Guess I'll have to go back to drinking and smoking.

Arthur Lydiard told me this story; he was in the US, lecturing when he was approached by this guy who told him that he’s a podiatrist.  “Let me analyze your running style and make orthotics for you,” he said.  Arthur said that he didn’t believe in orthotics but the man insisted.  “Okay, you can study my running style and I can give them a try, but if I didn’t like them, I won’t use them,” Arthur said.  So he went to his “lab” and the man put all those light bulbs and wires and all that on Arthur and had him run on treadmill; taking all sort of high-speed video from different directions and everything.  “Come back tomorrow and I’ll let you know what we found out,” he said.  So next day, Arthur went back to the lab to see what the man found out.  “Arthur, you’re bow-legged,” the man said to him proudly.  “I’ve known that for 40 years,” Arthur replied.

We’re putting this training program together for our website and, when you click a certain workout, you’ll hear what Arthur Lydiard said about that particular topic (so it feels like Arthur Lydiard is “coaching” you).  So I’ve been extracting his comments.  One of the first things I got was him saying; “We are all individuals.  We have our own limitations.  And we keep within our limitations, we’ll keep improving…”  I really think this has significance.  So these Greek doctors said; “…that exercise may have an inverted U-shape relation with arterial stiffness. In other words…(risk of cardiovascular events) also happens when you exercise too much…”  I mean, do we really need a bunch of Ph D guys to figure out we shouldn’t do too much?  What Arthur Lydiard said, in this tape recorded in 1983, without any scientific research to back him up, is basically; “Don’t do too much.”  He coined the phrase, back in 1961, “Train, don’t strain” and he didn’t need any Ph D to tell him to say that.

Yet, all the fairness to those docs, I do believe far too many people today do over-do this running business.  I remember, back in 1984, I asked Lydiard about doing more intervals with my HR up to 180+.  “I assume my HR would get up there when I race and I should get my heart used to it by also pushing my HR up in 180+ range in training???” I asked.  He said; “Your heart gets bigger and stronger with a lot of work.  You can’t do a lot of work by pushing your HR up at around 180…” 

Doctors used to say that, if you run a lot, you’ll get your heart become too large and it’s dangerous…”  Today we know your heart WILL get bigger and stronger with a lot of work (aerobic work) and that’s a good thing.  So these guys are now saying that our arteries “increased the stiffness”…  I wonder what that means.  If it means that our arteries get “bigger (thicker) and stronger”, maybe 30 years from now, same doctors might turn around and say that it’s a good thing???  As far as I’m concerned, a bunch of academics saying “SOME type of exercises (never specifying what type) MAY have a risk of…”  Seriously, what the hell does that really mean?  Walking outside MAY have a risk of getting hit by a car?  Is that the same risk we’re talking about?  Are they telling us to get our butt out and run; or are they telling us we should all stop exercising?  If they don’t know, shut the hell up! 

Show me the number of people who died from running out of however many people who run.  And show me the number of people who died from not doing any exercise, sit around on their butt and drink beer and smoke and watch football on TV; and if we have “significantly” higher percentage of people dying from exercising, then I would seriously consider quitting.  Actually, on the topic of “quality of life” as RunningWild mentioned, if it’s a tie, I’d take running.  I’d rather die when I’m 60 and feeling good than prolonging till 90 and feeling miserable.  The only person, nearing 100 and shribbled up and smoking, whom I’d consider being is George Burns.  Right before he turned 100, some young guy came to him and wanted to take a picture with him.  He said, “Mr. Burns, I really hope I can ask for a picture like this 10 years from now…”  “Why worry?” he said, “You’re still young!”  I loved that guy!

By the way, in regards to orthotics in that Lydiard story, the guy made a pair of $200 orthotics for him.  He wore them once and threw them away.

Once again, good stuff, Nobby! 

It seems to me that the line the appropriate level of training becomes too much training isn't in a fixed point on the exercise chart.  I believe that as we approach that point... it moves!!! 

Said another way, the "too much" point was much closer to me on the day I started running than it was six months later, and six years later... and so on...  

(that said by a guy with a sore Achilles...)

 

theoretically, ultra marathon guys have much higher chance of dropping dead than marathon runners.  Do we have statistics on that? 

 ... well, I know of one.

Hardrock, Part 3
Matt Mahoney

This time somebody died.  I last saw Joel Zucker of upstate New York at the Telluride aid station at noon on Saturday, July 11, 1998, about 75 miles and 30 hours into the Hardrock 100 mile run in Colorado.  He was complaining of a migrane headache that might cost him his third finish at this extremely demanding high-altitude trail race, but he later finished under the 48 hour cutoff in 47:37, and seemed to be in good spirits at the awards in spite of two nights without sleep.  The next day while driving home with his pacer, he went into a coma and  topped  breathing -- a cerebral hemmorhage.  The following day at a hospital in Albuquerque, with no hope  remaining, his family turned off the life support machine and donated his organs.  He was 44.

...but it wasn't his heart!  Other than that, I haven't heard of a lot, but we don't get helicopter coverage of most of our events...

Oh, nice plaque put up in his memory...

mta: sp

One of the first things I got was him saying; “We are all individuals.  We have our own limitations.  And we keep within our limitations, we’ll keep improving…”

 Nobby, I try to read everything you write...always enjoy it, but I love this.  

Okay, I'm curious. Why did you add this? (asking cause I too am bow-legged)

Did you read my previoius post?  Lydiard was bow-legged and he had known that all through his life.  And that's what this podiatrist found out after all-day-long gait test.  Did he need that test to find out he was bow-legged?  Do we really need some doctors to "research" and "find out" that doing too much is not necessarily good for us?  Well, considering us runners still continue to over-train, we might...

 ... well, I know of one.

 

Hardrock, Part 3
Matt Mahoney

This time somebody died.  I last saw Joel Zucker of upstate New York at the Telluride aid station at noon on Saturday, July 11, 1998, about 75 miles and 30 hours into the Hardrock 100 mile run in Colorado.  He was complaining of a migrane headache that might cost him his third finish at this extremely demanding high-altitude trail race, but he later finished under the 48 hour cutoff in 47:37, and seemed to be in good spirits at the awards in spite of two nights without sleep.  The next day while driving home with his pacer, he went into a coma and  topped  breathing -- a cerebral hemmorhage.  The following day at a hospital in Albuquerque, with no hope  remaining, his family turned off the life support machine and donated his organs.  He was 44.

...but it wasn't his heart!  Other than that, I haven't heard of a lot, but we don't get helicopter coverage of most of our events...

 

 

mta: sp

My recollection is that Zucker had a bunch of very serious health problems, including hypertension, that he refused to treat. All that and he was still able to have quite the ultrarunning career.

Arla

I started running 10 years ago and I am still building my base... maybe someday I'll get fit enough for intervals...

It's good to see you're getting in a few of those longer runs that you love Lynn, hope the achilles treats you well.  As for ten years of base building, you're just a noob so be patient like Tor.