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Would you run if it were not for the internet? (Read 967 times)


Feeling the growl again

    I started running pre-internet, so yes.  I've been in running "social media" since the usenet days though, so I got in early (circa 1998?).

     

    I'm a bit envious of people starting to run now.  For years I was told that the proper way to run a 5K was to go out so fast that you slowed down 30sec each mile.  There was nobody to tell me any differently so all through HS that's what I did.  

    "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

     

    I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

     

    kcam


      I was a runner way before I found the internet running forums.  But the internet did open my eyes to what normal people like myself were capable of with more, smarter, better training.  An inflection point in my racing came when I realized that there were people out there that weren't professional runners that were putting in two and three times the mileage I was doing (and I thought I was running a lot).  All while pursuing careers and raising families.  So many people out there pursuing excellence in running in different ways.  Places like RA really raised the bar for me.  

        I don't know. I would definitely be active, but I would probably be playing a lot more soccer and tennis and not running. I did go out and run a 1500 at a local toonie tuesday meet ($2 per event - toonie is a $2 coin for non-canucks) and run the 1500 and the 400 when I was on a work term at the pulp mill. I didn't train though, I just showed up and ran, training was the one soccer game a week I was playing. My running training was about 8 runs spread over 2 weeks right before soccer season started.

         

        I kind of got started when a freind asked me to run a half with her, she started with the Running Room walk-run stuff. So maybe it was the running room, not the internet. Coolrunning (before assimilation by Active.suck) and RunningAhead are definitely a big part of what made me really treat running as a sport.

        L Train


          I might be running, but I never would have run as much as I have or as well.  Seeing what people here have done and learning from everyone really opened my eyes about what was possible.  It also helps the grind to know that occassionally people will be checking to see if I ran today.  Or I imagine they are at least.

           

           That's RA specific, no other social media because I'm generally socially intolerable. 

           

            I probably wouldn't have even considered running an option for me had in not been for C25K I found at coolrunning - then the support there.   And if coolrunning hadn't exploded and resulted in the great migration of '07 (was that really just 5 years ago?  Or was it '06?), I probably wouldn't have stuck with it.  I don't want to make this a gush about Eric and the fine folks of RA, but it really did shape/change my life.


            Feeling the growl again

                I don't want to make this a gush about Eric and the fine folks of RA, but it really did shape/change my life.

               

              Like I said, I've utilized the internet for social interaction around running almost from the beginning....and, no doubt, RA stands head and shoulders above any other option I'm familiar with.

              "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

               

              I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

               

              WhoDatRunner


              Will Crew for Beer

                Wanting to improve my running led me to RA. RA got me involved in Beer Miles and Mileage Throwdowns. Thanks RA!.....I think. Big grin

                Rule number one of a gunfight, bring a gun. Rule number two of a gunfight, bring friends with guns.

                  I started jogging in the late 70s so, yes, I'd run without the internet.

                   

                  However, when I started getting interested in doing "a little more" (no idea what I was thinking) in late 2000/ early 2001, I went to the internet (usenet), and discovered there were races for common folks. Then I got into trail running and ultras. I'm not sure if I would have gotten into trails and ultras without the internet since running was mostly for stress relief and maybe a bit to stay in shape over the winter for my summer field work. But I first got into trails, then trail work and other volunteering. Trails - either running or volunteering - now dominate my life. Some aspects of that are dominated by internet - source of information as well as communications.

                   

                  I'd continue in my present running without the internet, although FB does help provide information on trail conditions and inspiration when my friends are out running at -20F to almost -40F for a winter ultra. (It was only  -10F where I was running that day.)

                   

                  I don't participate in any of the mileage games or daily reporting.

                   

                  While I'd run without the internet, the extent of my running is probably very different as a result of internet - from usenet to websites (RA, RW, etc) to FB. I don't think it affects what I eat, but the ease of communicating with others for both running and volunteering has certainly made a difference. Even foundations are using FB as a means of getting the word out about whatever. It's an easy way to increase visibility.

                  "So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog

                    Yes, I would be running without the internet.

                    To make a short story long, it was a doctor visit that caused me to realize that I was diabetic, and in need of a lifestyle change.  That lifestyle change happened without the internet (RA, CR, FB, or whatever). 

                     

                    I found you guys here on RA January 1, 2011.  Prior to RA, I was on another sight for a year logging my information.

                    Before that, I spent 10 years running and thinking solo. 

                    It was a lonely 10 years.

                     

                    During that time, I only ran. 

                    I didn't race. 

                    I didn't read any running books or think about MAF, barefoot, tempo, intervals, or hills.

                    I didn't log miles (other than the miles per gallon on my car). 

                    I didn't worry about missing a workout or making sure my charts were sloping upwards.

                    I didn't worry about the colors on the bar chart and making sure there was enough red, green, and purple in the last 30 days.

                    I enjoyed it.

                     

                    I likely averaged about 15 miles per week, and did all of it to stay healthy. 

                     

                    Today,

                    I log my miles (running, biking, and swimming), and I quit logging the miles per gallon on my car.

                    I occasionally race.

                    I frequently visit this site (read and write and log).

                    I worry about my bar charts, and my green, red, and purple combinations.

                    I enjoy it.

                    Life Goals:

                    #1: Do what I can do

                    #2: Enjoy life

                     

                     

                      Like I said, I've utilized the internet for social interaction around running almost from the beginning....and, no doubt, RA stands head and shoulders above any other option I'm familiar with.

                       I probably wouldn't have hung around coolrunning so much if it weren't for the, and dare I say his name and risk of conjuring him, Richard discussions with you, SRL, and Willa...I'm sure there were more folks, but God, sometimes those discussions would be hundreds of pages and I got sucked in!

                      zoom-zoom


                      rectumdamnnearkilledem

                        I probably wouldn't have even considered running an option for me had in not been for C25K I found at coolrunning - then the support there.   And if coolrunning hadn't exploded and resulted in the great migration of '07 (was that really just 5 years ago?  Or was it '06?), I probably wouldn't have stuck with it.  I don't want to make this a gush about Eric and the fine folks of RA, but it really did shape/change my life.

                         

                        You are one of many people who make me thankful that CR imploded.  I'd be missing out on some really amazing friendships had you all not migrated here.  The migration was really overwhelming at the time...but once the growing pains dissipated it made RA all the more awesome. Smile Had CR not been FUBARd I'd not know about Chipotle margaritas, for instance! Evil

                        Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                        remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                             ~ Sarah Kay

                        zoom-zoom


                        rectumdamnnearkilledem

                          <--- courtesy of Knifey and Chipotle margaritas...

                          Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                          remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                               ~ Sarah Kay

                          npaden


                            Yes, but in a completely different format.  (and not in a good way).  I doubt I would have ever made it past the 6 or 8 mile long run peak that I had hit last fall.

                             

                            There is no doubt that the internet and technology has made the difference for me to take things up another level for me. 

                             

                            I have way too many hobbies, and in pretty much every one of them the internet allows you to make it up the learning curve in record time compared to the previous methods that tended to be pretty much trial and error and life experience. 

                             

                            For some folks (like me) it still might take a while for the information to sink in, but the information is there for anyone willing to open their mind and listen to it.  What might take a new runner a few months or a year to figure out might have taken years or decades of trial and error for someone in the past, IF they stuck with it that long.

                            Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)

                            Current PR's:  Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)

                              Facebook has approximately zero effect on my running.  RA has a tremendous effect.  Race websites have an important effect, and I think most races would be *much* smaller or nonexistent without the Internet.  Would I be running without it?  Only if I were lucky enough to be involved in an active local running club.

                               

                              I'm not sure I can add anything more to this post besides I think Facebook is STUPID. Maybe I'm too old to think its cool or useful?

                               

                              The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

                               

                              2014 Goals:

                               

                              Stay healthy

                              Enjoy life

                               

                                <--- courtesy of Knifey and Chipotle margaritas...

                                 I think this is my most favoritest avatar you have ever had! 

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