ARRRGH!

[LA Ute]

I am in awe. Congratulations. Heal up quickly!

[PaloAltoCougar]

Nik, I've never felt so much respect for an insane person. Reading your report, at mile 6 or so I was yelling at you to bag it and save yourself for another day, but as you kept on I was cheering for you. Very impressive. But you're still insane. Hope the rehab goes quickly and well.

[happyone]

Congrats, that is a real accomplishment

[Surfah]

Nikuman, I have to admit to logging onto the Houston Marathon site and tracking your run.

[Pheidippides]

Nikuman, I have to admit to logging onto the Houston Marathon site and tracking your run.

Lol - I did the same for bluegoose and SteelBlue when they ran this fall.

[Gidget]

Awesome Nik! I feel proud of you as well, as weird as that may seem! I can't believe you completed your very first marathon in 4:10! Rad!

[New Mexican Disaster]

Great job. You've got guts and that will take you a long way. At least 20 miles it looks like.

[Pheidippides]

Now its time to log into the St George website and figure out when applications are due.

I looked it up. The application period is April 1 through May 1.

I just got back from seeing an orthopedic surgeon. X-rays say the knee looks great. He believes, as do I, that it's ITBS. Outside chance of a slightly torn meniscus, but we don't think so. He also notes that my patella on that knee floats outside a bit and recommends some strengthening exercises on the interior muscles of the quad.

I'm seeing a PT next week to start a rehab program, get some tips on good exercises to strengthen my quads, and to have my gait analyzed for other problems (it's a sports medicine clinic). I'm going to take the next three months off of running (P90X and swimming instead), except for a 5k my daughter wants me to do with her (it will be mostly walking). If I get everything squared around, I'll start running again in April, and hopefully won't have lost too much ability. And if that goes well, I'm considering doing St. George.

[LA Ute]

I looked it up. The application period is April 1 through May 1.

I just got back from seeing an orthopedic surgeon. X-rays say the knee looks great. He believes, as do I, that it's ITBS. Outside chance of a slightly torn meniscus, but we don't think so. He also notes that my patella on that knee floats outside a bit and recommends some strengthening exercises on the interior muscles of the quad.

I'm seeing a PT next week to start a rehab program, get some tips on good exercises to strengthen my quads, and to have my gait analyzed for other problems (it's a sports medicine clinic). I'm going to take the next three months off of running (P90X and swimming instead), except for a 5k my daughter wants me to do with her (it will be mostly walking). If I get everything squared around, I'll start running again in April, and hopefully won't have lost too much ability. And if that goes well, I'm considering doing St. George.

I will be the lone dark cloud in this thread and share with you what I learned at about your age: The human body is not designed for long-distance running. Some bodies tolerate it better than others. In my case, at the age of 34 I learned I had joint issues stemming from a sub-clinical injury I probably suffered as a teen-ager. Running ended for me. But I switched to aerobic walking, a terriifc low-impact exercise that happens to be a motion our bodies are designed to perform. Haven't missed a beat and the walking is actually a better aerobic exercise than running. (Takes too long to explain why.)

My point: Don't get too attached to running. And remember, there is life (and great exercise) after running.

[cowboy]

I looked it up. The application period is April 1 through May 1.

I just got back from seeing an orthopedic surgeon. X-rays say the knee looks great. He believes, as do I, that it's ITBS. Outside chance of a slightly torn meniscus, but we don't think so. He also notes that my patella on that knee floats outside a bit and recommends some strengthening exercises on the interior muscles of the quad.

I'm seeing a PT next week to start a rehab program, get some tips on good exercises to strengthen my quads, and to have my gait analyzed for other problems (it's a sports medicine clinic). I'm going to take the next three months off of running (P90X and swimming instead), except for a 5k my daughter wants me to do with her (it will be mostly walking). If I get everything squared around, I'll start running again in April, and hopefully won't have lost too much ability. And if that goes well, I'm considering doing St. George.

May I (again) suggest Top of Utah? I'd like to run with y'all, but I don't think my knees can take St. George again.

[Pheidippides]

May I (again) suggest Top of Utah? I'd like to run with y'all, but I don't think my knees can take St. George again.

Was it really that bad? I had a friend run it, and he didn't mention the knees, but I definitely see the downhill element of the course profile.

[happyone]

I will be the lone dark cloud in this thread and share with you what I learned at about your age: The human body is not designed for long-distance running. Some bodies tolerate it better than others. In my case, at the age of 34 I learned I had joint issues stemming from a sub-clinical injury I probably suffered as a teen-ager. Running ended for me. But I switched to aerobic walking, a terriifc low-impact exercise that happens to be a motion our bodies are designed to perform. Haven't missed a beat and the walking is actually a better aerobic exercise than running. (Takes too long to explain why.)

My point: Don't get too attached to running. And remember, there is life (and great exercise) after running.

:ditto

although I do mix running and walking. I never run two days in a row and limit my run to 4 miles out of 6-7 that I cover.

[woot]

I will be the lone dark cloud in this thread and share with you what I learned at about your age: The human body is not designed for long-distance running. Some bodies tolerate it better than others. In my case, at the age of 34 I learned I had joint issues stemming from a sub-clinical injury I probably suffered as a teen-ager. Running ended for me. But I switched to aerobic walking, a terriifc low-impact exercise that happens to be a motion our bodies are designed to perform. Haven't missed a beat and the walking is actually a better aerobic exercise than running. (Takes too long to explain why.)

My point: Don't get too attached to running. And remember, there is life (and great exercise) after running.

Good points here, although I mention make one correction: If the human body was designed for anything (and if by "designed" we mean "evolved" as obviously the human body wasn't "designed" for anything), it is long-distance running.

In the Animal Olympics, humans get slaughtered in every event but one: long-distance running. No animal on the planet can keep up with humans over long distances.

You are correct, however, in stating that doing so is not sustainable over many years. This is particularly true when we insist on doing so on hard surfaces with nerve-deadening shoes on.

[LA Ute]

Good points here, although I mention make one correction: If the human body was designed for anything (and if by "designed" we mean "evolved" as obviously the human body wasn't "designed" for anything), it is long-distance running.

In the Animal Olympics, humans get slaughtered in every event but one: long-distance running. No animal on the planet can keep up with humans over long distances.

You are correct, however, in stating that doing so is not sustainable over many years. This is particularly true when we insist on doing so on hard surfaces with nerve-deadening shoes on.

I didn't mean to push the "design" button, and we'll save that discussion for other threads. It's my understanding that if one "reverse engineers" the human body, one finds that it's best suited to the rolling pendular movement of walking, even at higher speeds. It is not suited to the springing and landing motion of running over a long period of time. In evolutionary terms, our bodies are built to be hunter-gatherers: When it comes to running, our bodies are good for short sprints - as in chasing prey (or running away from predators), but for a long journey we are best suited for walking.

That doesn't mean we can't long-distance running well, our bodies just suffer if we do. Niku's body may be trying to tell him something. (Am I a wet blanket or what???)

[bluegoose]

I will be the lone dark cloud in this thread and share with you what I learned at about your age: The human body is not designed for long-distance running. Some bodies tolerate it better than others. In my case, at the age of 34 I learned I had joint issues stemming from a sub-clinical injury I probably suffered as a teen-ager. Running ended for me. But I switched to aerobic walking, a terriifc low-impact exercise that happens to be a motion our bodies are designed to perform. Haven't missed a beat and the walking is actually a better aerobic exercise than running. (Takes too long to explain why.)

My point: Don't get too attached to running. And remember, there is life (and great exercise) after running.

I thought I felt an increase in the spirit in far Northern CA the past several days. We've seen nothing BUT rainclouds all week with no end in sight. You must be up here for a visit.

You must have been ill or incarcerated last August. Everyone else who was logged into the board surely must have followed our riveting dialogue regarding exercise myths. The evidence would indicate that this is one of those myths. Here is a link to one post in that thread. It was a good thread, but as any true narcissist would do, I only linked the post I spent some time crafting.

For every anectdotal experience like yours, there is another one like my father in law who continues to run ultra marathons into his early 60s or my wife's uncle who recently finished the St George marathon at (I believe) age 74. Each of them has little to no pain or arthritic changes to speak of.

So I say to nikuman and others, run on. If daily running is too much for you, then consider crosstraining on the bike or in the pool. There is minimal, if any, actual evidence to indicate that long-distance running is doing more damage to the joints than would occur by not running.