And if running doesn't work for you try weightlifting. I was 45 in this pic. :)
Posted on 05/20/2014 9:51:59 AM PDT by Phillyred
A friend recently turned 30 and at her party — along with the cake, gifts, and general merriment — I felt a responsibility to offer a warning that I would have appreciated when I reached that age.
I told her that she was about to lose many of her close friends to an insidious cultural practice that snakes its way into our lives just as adulthood is waving its hoary hand.
I'm not sure how, or when exactly, it happens, but if you are one of those infected it takes over and pretty soon you can't relate to your friends anymore.
I'm talking about running marathons.
Why is it that seemingly normal people turn 30 and then feel compelled to start training for marathons? They don't run towards or from anything, they just start running.
I can't tell you how many friends I have lost to this obsession. My birthday friend waved off my concerns as, well, insanity. But I've seen too many friends and loved ones give in to this crazy compulsion not to try to hold up a stop sign.
It doesn't make sense — 30 isn't the age to start running, long distances in particular. It's the age you start lying down.
A lawyer who used to represent injured workers told me that 30 is the age where the body starts breaking down — backs give out, knees get wobbly.
Humans actually start to shrink after 30 as muscle tone deteriorates and gravity has its way.
Most of this lawyer's clients had their first injury at around age 30. So why would we start taking up an activity that's so hard on our backs and knees, not to mention the big pump?
Researchers at places like the Mayo Clinic continue to warn that running more than 60 minutes a day can scar the heart.
Big butts
Unless a pack of wolves is chasing me, or there is a sale at Dairy Queen, there's no reason for me to run anywhere, let alone do a marathon.
marathon-300-rtr206u8 A marathon runner hits his stride in Vancouver's Stanley Park. (Andy Clark / Reuters)
But I'm having trouble keeping track of all my friends who have taken up this "sport" and, despite all my protestations and my logic, it turns out we human beings are designed to run. Long distances, in fact. And for reasonably long periods of time.
Our gluteus maximus is responsible for this. In other words, as studies have found, we have big butts that do relatively little work when we're walking on flat surfaces but they come in incredibly handy to propel us during running.
According to evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman at Harvard University, our huge bumpers give us the balance that other bipedal animals get from tails, and they also aid in making us superior runners.
Our ability to run apparently helped in our evolution as well because while there is no way we could beat one of the other great apes in a fight we could definitely outrun them.
We also had to run to catch some of the animals we wanted to eat.
Even though many animals, like dogs and cats, run faster than us, as the distances get longer we're actually able to catch up and beat some of the fastest creatures on the planet.
Add to this the configuration of our ear canals, which give us the incredible balance needed to run on two legs, and you see why we might make ideal marathoners.
Being relatively hairless also helps. It makes it easy to get rid of excess heat.
'Marathon Boy'
Of course all that evolutionary stuff was clearly useful for our cave dwelling ancestors, but what does running a marathon really mean in our modern world, I want to ask.
Well, I may have to concede that argument as well.
I do recall that when the 9/11 attacks shook the world, New York City especially, in September 2001, the New York Marathon two months later became a symbol of perseverance.
I remember then cabinet minister John Manley going to run that marathon as a show of solidarity with our U.S. neighbours. It was potent reminder that we are in this together, for the long run.
The same can probably be said for all the charity and worthy-cause marathons that keep cropping up and occupying the ambitions of so many of my friends.
I suppose that if you think of running in socio-economic terms, it is also an incredibly democratic and accessible activity.
Unlike so many other sports, there is no expensive equipment required, just some decent shoes, I guess. No hockey-style body armour or graphite rackets, just the open road and the will to push yourself forward.
There was a beautiful and moving documentary last year called Marathon Boy about Budhia Singh, a child from the slums of India, who became a sensation for his ability to run long distances at a very young age.
He ran half-marathons when he was three, marathons and, in the most famous instance, more than 64 kilometres non-stop at four.
Budhia was loved and admired, not just for his abilities as a runner, but because of what the running represented. In a country where most live in abject poverty, to see a young boy, especially from the slums, rise to fame and notoriety for his abilities, is the great American/Canadian/Indian dream.
So maybe the marathon is more than a yuppie rite of passage, or friends going through an early mid-life crisis.
But maybe this summer, when my friends and loved ones take on the selfless task of long-distance running — either for charity or for their own insanity — I'll cheer them on and try to not to mock, from the comfort of the sidelines of course.
Mrs. Slim ran tons before she married me and learned the value of sloth. She's had one hip done, needs the other, and the knees are only a question of time.
I love walking.
“Mrs. Slim ran tons before she married me and learned the value of sloth. She’s had one hip done, needs the other, and the knees are only a question of time.”
Unfortunately Mrs. Slim sounds like so many of our neighbors and friends our age, who got addicted to running.
Hopefully, she will be able to take up walking after all the repair jobs are done.
Humans are fond of extreme sports. Marathons gave way to Ironman competitions and other extreme-distance extreme-conditions races. It’s all part of the “climb Mt Everest” mentality.
Last year a couple ran a marathon every day. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/01/01/elderly-couple-ran-a-marathon-every-day-of-2013/
Not entirely unheard of, there are other groups that perform long-distance runs on a frequent basis (look up “marathon monks” and related research).
And if running doesn't work for you try weightlifting. I was 45 in this pic. :)
High-impact intervals burns calories faster than plodding along.
She’s been doing slow hikes for some years now.
Believe what you want. There will always be a study by an interested party to support you.
I’ve got to go with my own personal experience, where I’ve witnessed 30-50 year old runners getting impact injuries and destroying their ankles, knees, and hips.
Of course, not exercising at all leads to a weak joint support, and that also causes injuries and pain.
I’ll never believe that running 3 miles is better for a person than fast-walking it. As for running 5 miles or more a day? That’s just abusive on your body.
“She’s been doing slow hikes for some years now.”
Good news for her and you.
"Despite all its benefits, running isn’t without risk. Every year, 36 million people in the United States run, and 40% to 50% of them suffer at least one running injury."
In new research announced last week, scientists examined which sports were the most likely to lead to knee arthritis. At the top of the list was both recreational and elite soccer, followed by competitive long-distance running,... from http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2011/11/10/new_research_ranks_top_sports_to_wreck_your_knees/
So your running magazines promote running. Great, good for you, now you believe what you want.
I would guess that is why it's popular.
Now hiking to me is exciting. You get to explore and enjoy nature, birds, wildlife and peace and quiet. All while getting exercise.
Endorphins are addictive.
Yes, Running Can Make You High
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/health/nutrition/27best.html
“Victorious!”
"Physical activity is important in maintaining health. Long-distance and marathon running are relatively safe sports.1 Anecdotally, however, it is felt that “Today's runners are tomorrow's cyclists”—not because of a “natural progression” from one sport to the other, but as a result of joint injury.
Is there a causal relationship between running and osteoarthritis? The current data are based on small studies, and their results are often unclear. People engaged in sports or other physically demanding activities are known to be at an increased risk of osteoarthritis in the joints they use most (eg, knees and hips in soccer players, hands in boxers, lower backs in construction workers). Part of this apparent correlation can be explained by increased risk of joint injury.2 It would also seem logical that these groups would be predisposed to osteoarthritis from overuse injuries and not necessarily from trauma.
Osteoarthritis is generally divided into primary osteoarthritis, related to age and genetics, and secondary osteoarthritis, which is associated with a history of any kind of joint injury (eg, trauma, infection, surgery, mineral deposition, autoimmune disorders). Joint trauma can be acute or chronic, and pain intensity can be severe or mild. The trauma may be ligamentous, meniscal, or muscular in origin. Because of nonpathogenic but highly repetitive loading, overuse injuries may be considered a mild, chronic joint trauma. Such use is thought, with time, to deplete the joint of the lubricating glycoproteins, disrupt the collagen network, slowly wear away the cartilage, and cause numerous microfractures in the underlying bones.3"
I never ran until my mid 40’s and then started. now at 55 I did two Half marathons last year. Not ready to do any this year but I do keep on running. Not very fast but more like the tortise than the hare.
Actually you are smiling when the run is over its an endorphin. Better than sex.
Having fought the Persians all day in full body armor and run to Sparta and back ( 140 miles each way ) immediately prior to that. Too much of a good thing can get you in trouble.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.