Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023 (Read 573 times)

And I'm going for my math PhD. Just finished my third year, hopefully only two more to go... you know how that is lol. It does seem that being in academia is conducive to running, but landing a position is really difficult as you know. Tenure track at an R1 is plan A at the moment, but I am exploring plan B's just in case.

mmerkle, do you have to write a dissertation for the maths PhD? Or "just" a series of articles? Either way, two more years! All the best! (going to PM you with more comments, to avoid boring people with uni talk :-) )

 And again, I am not anti-running. I probably just in a wrong phase for this particular place ...

I don't know, Cal. I think this conversation falls into another question that's been asked a lot on this thread. I think we all like to think we're exceptionally healthy because we can run long distances and perform outrageous feats of endurance, but the bottom line is that there's no guarantee that you'll live longer if you run. However, I do think that the odds are in your favor if you do run at least 20 minutes 3 times a week. And probably even more if you do more (to a point, as has previously been discussed on this thread). The science still says that more exercise is better than less... and this involves vigorous activity, which would include any of those activities (swimming running, cycling) more than walking.  A 2022 study determined that "[p]articipants who undertook no vigorous activity were found to have a 4 per cent risk of dying within five years. This was halved to 2 per cent for those taking 10 minutes per week and halved again to 1 per cent for those taking 60 minutes or more." Obviously, most of us are doing 60 minutes each outing, multiple times a week, but still. Wouldn't we still be in <1% group?

Side note, but there's also the possibility that what you're looking at doesn't account for the difference in women's and men's hearts and the effect of aerobic exercise on the longevity of women.

Another side note, but apparently the latest science suggests the best way to improve longterm health isn't physical, it's social: connection.

btw, I have to correct myself about the health insurance-in-German thing. It's not so much about paying taxes (lots of people have it without paying taxes), but as a non-resident, it's hard to get health insurance. That being said, it's easy to get health care (though admittedly not as easy as in England!)

RP - Could not agree more on Newsom aka Patrick Bateman.  I'll bite my tongue at this point though...

DK - I enjoyed your HTML struggles and success!  The plan was always to take a break and do shorter races both to try and get some PRs and to qualify for NYC 2024.  I'm unsure now about the New York plan but I'll continue with the short race plan.  Another option I may consider is Sydney 2024 - they're trying to become an Abbott World Major in 2025 which is looking probable, and anyone who finishes in 2023 or 2024 gets an automatic entry to 2025.

mmerkle (and dk) - Mad respect for anyone who decides to go down the research path.  I started a Computer Science PhD some years ago but soon found research wasn't for me - I'm not smart enough to discover something groundbreaking and didn't have the passion to just put my head down for 3 years and get it when I could be earning (was so used to being poor!).  I guess I could use that argument for running too...I'm not elite so what's the point.  Looking at it now, that's a sad way of looking at life.  Anyway, good luck to you on that Maths PhD - not an easy subject for sure.  I've got my first exam in over 20 years on Tuesday for my Data Science post grad and there are nerves aplenty.

Steve good luck for your exam, do you think you will cramp up ?  I'm sorry couldn't help myself 

Haha, yeah I was figuring this is one thing that if I prepare enough there won't be an unexpected debacle but...for the last day or so I thought I better handwrite all my study because I'm so out of practice when it comes to writing.  And yeah, there's the potential for cramp there 

Cal what you are saying is all good stuff. We need to keep the body moving and working as we age. My parents just hit 91 and 92 and still relatively fit. They never purposely exercised but were always active in the garden and hiking etc.

My mom is 84 and goes out at 6 AM every single day and walks for 2 hours, which ends up being about 5 miles. On two artificial hips and one artificial knee. She's never run, but she's always been a walker. I've told her she should do some 5k's and she'd win her AG every time. She says "but I'm so slow!" But at that age you basically just have to show up and finish. Anyway, I expect she'll live for a very long time. And more importantly, have a good quality of life as she goes.

My eyes glaze over at all this strength talk, and I haven't read most of it. It's something I know I should do, but don't.

It’s slightly bizarre to see Cal being so interested in strength training now.   I first embraced it at beginning of 2016 and have been reasonably consistent ever since, simply because I enjoy it rather than feel that I have to do it. Has it helped my running?…if so then I’d say not a huge amount.

 

I think I get the point this guy is making in that don’t put all your eggs in one basket. For a few years I was obsessed with running and the main focus in my life. Funnily enough that stopped happening during my 2019 PR cycle and have never had that full on enthusiasm again….maybe because running wasn’t a life long hobby or my number one sport?

I’ve pretty much achieved everything I wanted in marathon running….apart from beating Cal in a head to head race!  I think CIM will be my final marathon and I’ll be totally giving it my best shot as I’m not planning on travelling 3000 miles just to have a jolly with Cal. 

Yeah, if I reflect just a couple of years back, that "interest" would be bizarre for me too For all those previous years I was kind of - "who need that strength training?" when I was totally fine and relatively injury free without that stuff. Now, when I understand the value of strength training for my future quality of life (not strength training to support running - real strength training - barbells and weights), I embraced it completely. I do it not because I HAVE TO do it, I enjoy it a lot - I am competitive guy and I was losing competitive spirit in my running endeavor, but now I found it again - in weights. And yes, I compete with weights, squat more, press more, deadlift more. My numbers are laughable now, but that doesn't bother me - it's a long process - progressive overload is the name of the game

You need to talk more about beating me  at CIM - I am getting more excited about going out and run But you are right, your motivation is probably bigger than mine - travel distance and spent money motivate runners a lot Yes, it is a local race for me, so, my only expense will be a night at the hotel.

DK - you are absolutely right - social connection is a crucial part of longevity and better aging - I am working on it, that is definitely lacking in my life now. But there are at least 3 other not less important pillars of the healthy aging - exercise (I think ideally it should include both - aerobic and strength training, with more emphasis on having some muscle mass), diet/nutrition and sleep. There dozens of other things we can add to improve our survival chances - like sauna, cold shower, some supplements (this  one is really a grey area - but at least vitamins D3 and K2 are without a question), some other stuff.

So, basically, I think I am going through mid life crisis - I know, it seems a little bit late, but they say it different for everybody

Btw, mmerkle mentioned that guy Nick Bare as an example as being strong and fast - I watched his video on youtube - the guy ran 2:48 at the age of 28 yo !!! and he sounded so proud of himself. Come on - I ran 2:48 at the age of 50 and I think I could go faster if I was a little bit wiser with my following two years of training. 28 !!!! years old - even JMac faster than that guy by almost 15 minutes !!! Of course, 2:48 is a good time for any age, I agree, but this is not fast for 28 years old in my opinion.

Cal - If you’re having a midlife crisis then definitely get a motorbike! I would recommend a Yamaha Virago 535 which looks good, but won’t break the bank. 

Not fast enough of a runner to contribute on running related topics but can contribute on German language and German social security topics - country has a fantastic health care system - founded by Otto von Bismarck in the 19th century. Every employee has at the minimum comprehensive health insurance, financed through payroll deduction. If you are self employed or make a lot of money (the threshold of a lot used to be around EUR 50k...) you have the choice to go private - which is more expensive but guarantees faster service. If you return to Germany empty handed, then the system will welcome you back into the public insurance coverage. If you live abroad, have not been contributing to the social security insurance and want to get treatment in Germany, then you have to pay for those services out of pocket. Having lived in a number of places around Europe & the US, I really like the German and the Swiss health care system. Affordable and efficient.

I once visited a friend who had surgery at Standford - and she told me they were really nice even the head doctor came to visit her daily. It almost ruined her financially when she got the bill. A simple advil was charged at $35 a piece (this is 15 years ago, so before inflation). And everytime the doctor came to shake her hand, she had to pay for the head doctors' consultation. Really ridiculous.

Now the downside is that payroll deductions in Germany for health care, invalidity insurance, pension - those are hefty. Republicans would label this a socialist scheme. But is it really better to leave these things up to the individual, who often lacks the understanding and is unable to foresee what gaps in coverage will mean for the future? It is an efficient safety net and longevity is visible from mortality tables - with fast declines in life expectancies in the US.

This loops nicely back to Cal & all topics related to making more friends, riding Harley Davidson bikes and eating kale soup 3 times a week (which is a national dish in Portugal, where Flavio currently resides - and the Florida of Europe I would call it, that attracts a lot of snowbirds here).

PS: Flavio - there is an easy fix to your squat problem. Just tell your misses to lose 10 kg Please report back how she reacted to your suggestion.

RP - thank you man, I was wondering how to enter those big races as I am simply too slow and not old enough for those snail paces. $180 is a lot of money but I will consider this!

So, uh, I thought I was going to do less posting and now I'm doing even more. It's my avoidance strategy, I guess. Don't want to look at student papers.

 dktrotter - I started running without thinking about racing. It was mainly to complete the distance. My first one was actually a 10 mile (still the only one of those I've ever run), then tried a half to see if I could run 13.1 miles. Then a (very undertrained) full to see if I could do that. Why would I want to race 5k or 10k when I run those distances all the time? [...]

 

Incidentally, other than that first 10 miler, I have never raced any distance other than the big 4 (5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2).

Dave, ha ha. I like that logic. If I hadn't been in cross country, I probably would have thought the same way. When I first started the longer distances, I spent a long time singing up for the longer races because they were more cost-efficient. :-) I don't know how many non-standard races are offered. 10 mile and 15k are the only other ones I know. Very rarely do I see a 4-miler... There's definitely more variety in ultra-running.

DK - I enjoyed your HTML struggles and success!  The plan was always to take a break and do shorter races both to try and get some PRs and to qualify for NYC 2024.  I'm unsure now about the New York plan but I'll continue with the short race plan.  Another option I may consider is Sydney 2024 - they're trying to become an Abbott World Major in 2025 which is looking probable, and anyone who finishes in 2023 or 2024 gets an automatic entry to 2025.

thanks Steve! Now that I know how to do those quotes, I'm going to probably do them too much, until I figure out the proper etiquette. I like your plan, and interesting about the Sydney Abbott bid. I wonder if it could be within a reasonable time of Tokyo, so that one could try to combine that trip somehow (those folks who are just running them all to run them, not necessarily run them well). [edited to acknowledge maybe that's stupid. I don't know. In my mind, Sydney and Tokyo are both places I may unlikely get to visit because they're so far away... but they're also still 10 hours apart, so never mind[.

And all the best to you in your exam! Is it like the comprehensive one at the end of an M.A./M.S. program? That must be nerve-inducing, for sure.

Not fast enough of a runner to contribute on running related topics but can contribute on German language and German social security topics - country has a fantastic health care system - founded by Otto von Bismarck in the 19th century. Every employee has at the minimum comprehensive health insurance, financed through payroll deduction. If you are self employed or make a lot of money (the threshold of a lot used to be around EUR 50k...) you have the choice to go private - which is more expensive but guarantees faster service. If you return to Germany empty handed, then the system will welcome you back into the public insurance coverage. If you live abroad, have not been contributing to the social security insurance and want to get treatment in Germany, then you have to pay for those services out of pocket. Having lived in a number of places around Europe & the US, I really like the German and the Swiss health care system. Affordable and efficient.

Cheers, MickJogger. Yeah, I sometimes don't think before I write. Thanks for the detailed explanation. I definitely find the German health care system superior to the US one, but really, that's not saying a lot-- the US system is truly ... . Health care was the 2nd most important issue for voters (after economy) in the 2020 election (accord to PEW), so I wonder why we can't move towards a more efficient and equitable system (being facetious here... I know exactly why, but I'm not going to complain about that here and now). My parents are still paying off the debt from my 12 surgeries as a kid and all the necessary orthodontist work (not your standard kid with braces)... and my dad had good insurance. I had one surgery in Germany and paid 15 Euro for the 3-day hospital stay. I also actually went to doctors when there was something wrong, because I wasn't worried about a co-pay or the costs of treatment. This is also what contributes to a higher quality of life, if only one could get US Americans who know no different to see it.

 

My preference has always been for a system similar to how you describe Germany - have a basic safety net available to all, with people able to spend above that as they choose.  The prospect of being without healthcare in the US is both terrifying and very real; at the same time, I don't necessarily think that people's payroll taxes should cover the MRIs I get for plantar fasciitis that I brought on myself  by training errors (this is a hypothetical - I do not currently have PF).

 

[...]

 

Obamacare/ACA helped somewhat with this, by creating a marketplace where those who either were not employed or could not get acceptable healthcare coverage from their employer could buy a health insurance plan.  For the last several years (until I changed jobs this past summer) I myself rejected my employer's plan and bought my insurance on the ACA marketplace.  It was a bit more cost and work up front, but the insurance plan I bought ended up much easier and cheaper overall, since it covered much more than my employer's plan did.

 

Now, in my current job, I have good health insurance, which I'm very grateful for.  But even now, there are still hiccups.  For example, I take 0.5 mg of a medication each morning.  This medication is manufactured in 0.5 mg tablets and 1 mg tablets.  The 1 mg tablets are not scored, meaning that it is hard to cut them in two perfectly, and implies that one is not supposed to be able to cut them into pieces.

 

However, I get the 1 mg tablets and then try to split them as best as I can.  This is because my current insurance covers the 1 mg tablets but does not cover the 0.5 mg tablets....

darkwave, I think we're in general agreement. I think the ACA did help in some gaps in who is insured and gave more options, but the messed up thing is that for being an insurance that's meant to help cover precisely those people who are not employed or not covered by their employers, the lowest insurance still cost a good amount (I forget what it was, but for a marginally decent one I was paying $300 a month from my savings), which is hard to pay, especially since there were still out-of-pocket costs. That being said, it is nice to have a choice. But it doesn't solve the overall issue of health insurance being too expensive, and part of this is because costs are so high (I don't get the logic of covering 1mg versus 0.5mg tablets, but that probably also has to do with costs)... so we need to fix a lot more than just the insurance system.

And I think the attitude that not everyone should pay for everyone's healthcare is precisely why we can't move forward in the debate. If we flipped that thinking (though not sure to what) then we could maybe move forward.