ARRRGH!

[Sea Chicken]

Hey Niku, a little late, but I wanted to shout out a big congrats. Way to gut it out and keep running through the pain.

I suffered from knee pain on my first marathon too. When I finally crossed the finish line I saw my family there and heard those words I'd been waiting almost five hours to hear "Hey dad, what took you so long. We've been waiting here all morning."

I've run six others since then with no knee problems at all. I just came down with a bad case of suck a few times.

[LA Ute]

If runners would only run barefoot on softer surfaces, they would not be injured nearly as often.

And if walkers walked barefoot on softer surfaces, that would be even easier on their bodies.

[Eddie]

Niku - congrats on finishing the race. Tough deal with the IT band. It would appear that you are tougher.

I have to admit, reading this makes me a little more nervous for my own race in May.

So - I do have one question being new to all of this - what's with shaving the chest?

I hadn't heard that one before.

[Pheidippides]

Niku - congrats on finishing the race. Tough deal with the IT band. It would appear that you are tougher.

I have to admit, reading this makes me a little more nervous for my own race in May.

So - I do have one question being new to all of this - what's with shaving the chest?

I hadn't heard that one before.

Lol - that's just me. I do it for a number of reasons (mostly because SHW likes it). My chest doesn't itch when I shave, although I only shave about once a week. I shaved the night before so I'd feel clean and smooth the day of the race (and wasn't sure I'd have time the morning of the race to do it properly).

You'll be nervous for your race in May, and there's nothing any of us can do about that. But I will say that, even with my less-than-optimal race, I'm as proud of finishing as anything I've ever done, and all I can think about is my next race.

[jay santos]

Niku, I just read your marathon account. I got emotional reading it at the end. Very inspiring. Great job!

[Eddie]

Lol - that's just me. I do it for a number of reasons (mostly because SHW likes it). My chest doesn't itch when I shave, although I only shave about once a week. I shaved the night before so I'd feel clean and smooth the day of the race (and wasn't sure I'd have time the morning of the race to do it properly).

You'll be nervous for your race in May, and there's nothing any of us can do about that. But I will say that, even with my less-than-optimal race, I'm as proud of finishing as anything I've ever done, and all I can think about is my next race.

I thought I had read everything available online about race prep - and chest shaving had never come up before. I was sure I was missing something, even though there is plenty of time.

Right now I'm more excited than nervous.

Thanks again for taking the time to write up your experience. Very touching indeed.

[Pheidippides]

I thought I had read everything available online about race prep - and chest shaving had never come up before. I was sure I was missing something, even though there is plenty of time.

Right now I'm more excited than nervous.

Thanks again for taking the time to write up your experience. Very touching indeed.

If you are like me, you will be really, really nervous the morning of. However, I found that I was less nervous than when I ran the 5k last October, precisely because I ran the 5k last October. I already had a big crowded race - albeit a much, much shorter one - under my belt. I will echo what many people here told me: get plenty of sleep the night that is 2 nights before the race. That is the important one, and was definitely very helpful for me.

Also, I've spent the last few days doing a post-mortem on my race. Among many other things I will do differently, I won't use my iPod very much next time. All the spectators and bands and events and people along the route are too fun and distracting to miss. I'll carry it should I need it, but I actually took it out for the last stretch of the race this time.

[TheBYUGuy]

A horse on a canter will rarely last more than a couple of miles. Pony express stations were spaced every ten miles, because that's the farthest that most horses could travel on a full gallop. A full gallop, though, is somewhere in the 10-15 mph range.

A trot is really the sweet spot on a horse. A horse can travel for hours on a trot, roughly 5-8 miles per hour. My grandfather and his father ran a mail route in the 30's where they transported mail on horses, roughly 50 miles both ways, and changed horses every 10-20 miles. The spare horses still stayed with them though, and continued to follow behind on a trot.

I'd say that a man in marathon shape can outrun a man on one horse after 15 miles our so, but it would take 2-3 times that distance to run down a horse with no rider.

Other animals are much easier to run down. A domestic cow, for example is done after 4 or 5 miles.

To me what's lost in this discussion is that it looks like we're comparing cardio-trained humans to out-of-the-box horses, so to speak. Out-of-the-box man is not equipped to run 26 miles, let alone 10 or even 5. I couldn't tell you how much a horse is "designed" to run, but is it inconceivable that a horse could be cardio-trained much the same way that humans are trained? And if the horse can build up that stamina, it's hard to imagine a trained human being able to outrun a trained horse over any distance.

I'm now open to correction by someone who actually knows something about horses.

[woot]

To me what's lost in this discussion is that it looks like we're comparing cardio-trained humans to out-of-the-box horses, so to speak. Out-of-the-box man is not equipped to run 26 miles, let alone 10 or even 5. I couldn't tell you how much a horse is "designed" to run, but is it inconceivable that a horse could be cardio-trained much the same way that humans are trained? And if the horse can build up that stamina, it's hard to imagine a trained human being able to outrun a trained horse over any distance.

I'm now open to correction by someone who actually knows something about horses.

This is a good point, but we must keep in mind that the people that were chasing down game animals back in the day and the ones still doing it today were extremely well conditioned. My understanding is that regardless of how well-trained a horse is, on the other hand, they just can't outlast a human because their heat-dissipation ability is not as good as ours. That's why they must rest, and why if they don't they're likely to just up and die due to overheating.

[UtahDan]

This is a good point, but we must keep in mind that the people that were chasing down game animals back in the day and the ones still doing it today were extremely well conditioned. My understanding is that regardless of how well-trained a horse is, on the other hand, they just can't outlast a human because their heat-dissipation ability is not as good as ours. That's why they must rest, and why if they don't they're likely to just up and die due to overheating.

Also, what does "out of the box" really mean? How strong is an out of the box Samoan? How far can an out of the box Kenyan run? White middle class Americans are pretty shabby out of the box mostly because there is nothing required of us physically, but that doesn't mean it was so for our ancestors.

[LA Ute]

Also, what does "out of the box" really mean? How strong is an out of the box Samoan? How far can an out of the box Kenyan run? White middle class Americans are pretty shabby out of the box mostly because there is nothing required of us physically, but that doesn't mean it was so for our ancestors.

I think my ancestors have been lacking fast-twitch muscle fibers for at least a thousand years.

[UtahDan]

I think my ancestors have been lacking fast-twitch muscle fibers for at least a thousand years.

Mine too, but they were superbly adapted for quickly storing up fat on their bodies, presumably to survive winters when food was scarce.

[Pheidippides]

I love PTs.

Just had my first appointment. This was at a very reputable local sports medicine clinic. This PT obviously knew his stuff and was able to give me all sorts of information, exercises, etc. to both rehab and to prevent further IT issues. Also, he looked just like bluegoose.

I love people who don't tell me the best way to fix my problem is to give up running.

[LA Ute]

I love PTs.

Just had my first appointment. This was at a very reputable local sports medicine clinic. This PT obviously knew his stuff and was able to give me all sorts of information, exercises, etc. to both rehab and to prevent further IT issues. Also, he looked just like bluegoose.

I love people who don't tell me the best way to fix my problem is to give up running.

PTs are the handymen and handywomen for the human body. (Orthopedists are the master carpenters.) PTs have an impressive sore of knowledge and just know how to fix stuff that's not working well. They also know how to find and exercise muscles and tendons that we didn't know we have (and how to make those muscles and tendons very sore).

[Jarid in Cedar]

PTs are the handymen and handywomen for the human body. (Orthopedists are the master carpenters.) PTs have an impressive sore of knowledge and just know how to fix stuff that's not working well. They also know how to find and exercise muscles and tendons that we didn't know we have (and how to make those muscles and tendons very sore).

If that was intentional, then that was awesome!