I run
 I run every day. Almost, I take Sundays off. The picture is of my new friends, my old running shoes are getting worn out (I've had them since January) and I picked up a new pair. That's well over 300 miles since January.. running. It's probably not much for someone who has done it for years, but it's a lot for me. I run about 20 miles a week right now.. increasing it to 35 in a few weeks since I'm in the mid of training for a half marathon this coming October. Eight months ago I could barely run a mile after being sick for a week and not exercising for months. It feels good to be back in the swing of it. I'm slow, but I'm running (personal best is 5 miles in 45 minutes, not exactly speedy gonzales here).
I read a post in a forum today.. that said essentially this (grammar errors included): hi unfortunately my family has a history of diabeties and now im 17 and i also have it im wondering if there is a short workout say 5-10 mins or so that would do real good since im real lazy to work out an hour a day to stay alive before the side effects took place That post scared me. Here's a 17 year old with a serious condition that is not willing to do anything more than a 5-10 minute workout a day.. I myself was not a vision of health at 17 (alcohol, smoking, partying all the time.. ) but I was active.. But this isn't how people are meant to be, sitting on our butts all day long.. no physical activity. Our bodies were meant for movement. Men used to hunt animals by running them down.. literally.. tiring them out by running. If our young people have this attitude (and not that I'm old, but I'm not a teenager anymore) what will happen to us in 30 years? I live in Connecticut, I'm sure most people realize our state has become the state of casinos lately.. went to Mohegan Sun for some fun a few Saturdays ago. What I noticed most is not how much money people lose (they really do, but it's just money) but how many people there were, well, fat. It's an ugly word, but it's true. People are fat and getting fatter. I've been guilty myself -- years of no exercise -- but at one point I decided enough is enough. These days I cannot imagine not exercising.. It's addicting. Yes, hard to start.. but if you stick with it, it's like a drug -- but good for you. It seems particularly poignant among computer geeks.. we have a reputation for being fat, lazy and slobs. It doesn't have to be true. I run. |
Comments
I can only hope that person was being facetious. If not, there's this high-arsenic diet that I'd like to see him try.
Personally, I dropped 40 lbs through yoga and weight lifting. I only wish I'd started lifting weights back when I was 17...
Posted by: Matt | August 5, 2003 10:54 PM
http://tour.diabetes.org/site/PageServer
Biking is better than running anyhow...;-)
Posted by: Techie2000 | August 5, 2003 11:33 PM
Depends on how you define better.. whatever exercise you'll actually do over running would be better (for you), but in terms of burning calories and getting fit, nothing beats running.
Now.. if you mean events.. all the races I've done have been for charities.
Posted by: kasia | August 5, 2003 11:36 PM
It's possible to loose weight while sitting all day: stop eating.
It's not exactly healthy, but when you know you can't keep up regular exercising, then it's better not to start at all (because when you stop exercising, you end up putting on twice the weight you lost).
I found the slim-fast shakes useful. I'd still feel hungry, but at least I knew I wouldn't die for malnutrition (you still need a normal meal per day). Lost 10kg since I started (about 2 months) and it's still slowly decreasing. Not bad, taking into account the most exercise I do is walking down the shop to buy more shakes :)
For those of you who do exercise to burn fat, here's a tip: drink some coffee (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3122319.stm)
Posted by: Daniel | August 5, 2003 11:48 PM
Oops, nasty brackets...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3122319.stm
Posted by: Daniel | August 5, 2003 11:51 PM
It's better in that after you spend all that effort trying to get up the big hill, going 35MPH down a hill is much more enoyable than running up and down the same hill...
Posted by: Techie2000 | August 6, 2003 12:32 AM
heh, have you ever done a run up and down hill? The first mile at the West Hartford Reservoir.. run it in reverse.. first mile only.. then run back down.. then let me know :)
Posted by: kasia | August 6, 2003 12:37 AM
Reverse as in walk backwards? I've run up and down hills before, but not backwards...
Posted by: Techie2000 | August 6, 2003 01:54 AM
interesting,
i myself started running in may. couldnt run half an hour w/o two days of suffering afterwards.
w/o my running buddy i wouldnt have kept up the motivation. but today we run every second day for about 60-75min. thats around 36km or ~22miles a week.
we also intend to participate in a half marathon in october. nice coincidence.
btw: the guy who sold me my running shoes (he seems to be an expert in running) said that they should last about a year of running (march-october, with those 20miles a week). they still look pretty good after 2months. lets wait and see.
Posted by: frank | August 6, 2003 02:43 AM
Techie, you might want to try the following:
First your start running (towards and) up a good hill. You continue to do this until you're almost completely exhausted.
Then you start with going downhill. Now if you were really exhausted you'll soon feel how hard it can be to stop yourself from going too hard towards sea-level :)
Posted by: Starfish | August 6, 2003 04:44 AM
Kasia-
Check out Stephen Forte for the antithesis of the lethargic programmer. He's training for a triathalon and on his way to climb Everest! Of course Stephen has more energy than anyone I have ever met in my life. Here's his blog: http://www.stephenforte.net/owdasblog/
I am usually very active. I was cycling about 3000 miles a season up until a few years ago. Cut back to about 1000 but I was running about 4 times a week and kayaking. We back country and tele ski and hike in the winter. This summer however has been completely lost with working and also selling/moving our house. I can't wait to get my life sorted out again so I can get back to doing the things I love so much.
Posted by: julie | August 6, 2003 04:06 PM
I've been known to run occasionally, usually from local law enforcement, but oh well. On average I walk about 30 kilometeres a night. I'm a grafitti bomber, I paint artworks in tunnels, train tracks, old warehouses, etc. I'll let you make up your mind if I'm a bad person or not.
Anyway, I'm 16, geek by day (and early night). Don't eat properly (mainly due to depression and my metabolism), don't play any sports. I pretty much do everything that's unhealthy and socially unacceptable in terms of my health. But, I've never had a major issue with it. Ever.
This guy should stick with his insluin or whatever it is that they give you, and get out more. Excercise by walking to the shop, going to a movie, seeing friends, etc.
Sitting on the couch and not eating works...but when you want to eat again, you'll find your stomach has shrunk so much you can't eat again.
Posted by: Codestorm | August 7, 2003 12:42 AM
Oh yeah just wanted to mention nice tile you got there...:-)
Posted by: Techie2000 | August 8, 2003 12:57 PM
I Ran. But don't tell the President. I might get invaded.
Saucony makes a good running shoe. I was a Nike Air whore back in the day, but in my old age I've converted to New Balance. Though only for Tennis. The 2000+ miles I ran in HS were enough for a lifetime. I'm fond of being able to bend my knees within 5 minutes of getting out of bed.
Here in central NC, biking is the major thing to do. I see people out joggin in the 'hood, but outside of it road bikes dominate the non-motorized modes of transport.
Posted by: Dan Isaacs | August 9, 2003 10:53 PM
I used to run all the time. My girlfriend just got those exact sneakers and she loves them!
Posted by: Jon P | August 15, 2003 02:38 PM