Debating Runners!

FinalEnigma · Post by **FinalEnigma** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:09 pm

An idea struck me while out running today, I'm trying to get in shape and get some exercise, and I'm sure there's others on here who are as well, so why not do it together and be accountable to one another? we all know that if you just do it on your own, with nobody to keep you honorable you're gonna cheat.

Now You don't have to run if running isn't your thing, you can walk, swim, bike, skip, fly or marathon somersault down the street if you like, the important thing is to get some exercise and keep up with it. You don't actually have to debate while running either, although that is worth bonus points.

I'm making a usergroup for this, and I know it's a bit silly and has nothing to do with the forum, but this is for everyone who's trying to get in shape, lose weight, or bring down their mile time.

I know I'm a few days late, but here's my new years resolution: To outrun everyone on DC&R! Now who's gonna stop me?
That's gonna be a tough one I know, as I'm not much of a runner at the moment, and I know at least Confused can outrun me, and I doubt shes gonna give ground without a fight.
And I know some of you have resolutions to get in shape. according to a poll on the news a few days ago that's the most common resolution, so who's up for doing it together? maybe a little competition and fun while we are at it?

So if you are interested, just post here with your current status(running time and distance, biking, swimming, walking, weight you're trying to lose[don't have to tell us your weight, just how much your trying to lose!]) and keep us updated every week or two weeks and post your latest accomplishment. Feel free to join the usergroup Debating Runners as well.(which I'm making right after this post)
I'll put up my mile time tomorrow once I get it timed.

FinalEnigma · Post by **FinalEnigma** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:32 pm

Cmass wrote:
Confused wrote:
FinalEnigma wrote:I have to agree with confused here. doing something dangerous alone and at night because its illegal to do it does not sounds like a great idea. What if the bike had fallen across your chest and pinned you? I don't know about you, but I would be pretty hard pressed to push a 400 lb object off my chest. or if it had fallen on your leg and broken it?
Yeah, see, I am much more sane than Cmass!!!!!
Oh no yer not dude-ette!

-------------

Well I'm feeling left out! I didn't get to run today. Instead, I spent most of it attempting to clear the 1 mi of trail from my house to the dozens of miles of mountain trails above. This is a trail I built (including 2 bridges) and since I'm the only one who even knows it exists, I do all maintenance - and this year has been hell. The problem is the snow keeps smashing the elderberry, salmon berry, devils club and vine maple onto the trail making it impassible . . and then there are the huge trees that keep falling. I keep thinking winter is over . . . and then the snow starts falling again and smash bash smash, time to whip out the chain saws, week whacker and pruning sheers.
The underbrush is so thick on this section of trail that I literally make tunnels through it with the trimmer. The problem is when enough snow falls, the tunnels collapse:

Depending upon how much damage this current storm is doing . . . I hope to join you all soon.

okay, that's just awesome. A tunnel made of underbrush? That is so not fair. Why does everyone else get to live in awesome places while I live in the boring suburbs, 5 or 6 miles from anything resembling the woods ( and that's just a park).

Confused lives in Florida by some very nice-sounding parks and swamps, Goat lives in Michigan by a big lake and some really beautiful waterfalls and cliffs, Zzyzx lives halfway to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas in the middle of the woods, and you live in Washington with all the mountains and underbrush-tunnels and snow.

the best thing around here is pinnacle mountain, and that's a 40 minute drive.

http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P4.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P6.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P9.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P11.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P2.JPG

Goat · Post by **Goat** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:48 pm

FinalEnigma wrote:
Cmass wrote:
Confused wrote:
FinalEnigma wrote:I have to agree with confused here. doing something dangerous alone and at night because its illegal to do it does not sounds like a great idea. What if the bike had fallen across your chest and pinned you? I don't know about you, but I would be pretty hard pressed to push a 400 lb object off my chest. or if it had fallen on your leg and broken it?
Yeah, see, I am much more sane than Cmass!!!!!
Oh no yer not dude-ette!

-------------

Well I'm feeling left out! I didn't get to run today. Instead, I spent most of it attempting to clear the 1 mi of trail from my house to the dozens of miles of mountain trails above. This is a trail I built (including 2 bridges) and since I'm the only one who even knows it exists, I do all maintenance - and this year has been hell. The problem is the snow keeps smashing the elderberry, salmon berry, devils club and vine maple onto the trail making it impassible . . and then there are the huge trees that keep falling. I keep thinking winter is over . . . and then the snow starts falling again and smash bash smash, time to whip out the chain saws, week whacker and pruning sheers.
The underbrush is so thick on this section of trail that I literally make tunnels through it with the trimmer. The problem is when enough snow falls, the tunnels collapse:

Depending upon how much damage this current storm is doing . . . I hope to join you all soon.
okay, that's just awesome. A tunnel made of underbrush? That is so not fair. Why does everyone else get to live in awesome places while I live in the boring suburbs, 5 or 6 miles from anything resembling the woods ( and that's just a park).

Confused lives in Florida by some very nice-sounding parks and swamps, Goat lives in Michigan by a big lake and some really beautiful waterfalls and cliffs, Zzyzx lives halfway to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas in the middle of the woods, and you live in Washington with all the mountains and underbrush-tunnels and snow.

the best thing around here is pinnacle mountain, and that's a 40 minute drive.

http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P4.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P6.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P9.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P11.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P2.JPG

That's New York, not Michigan .. but surrounded by lots of woods. and cliffs.

FinalEnigma · Post by **FinalEnigma** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 4:04 pm

goat wrote:
FinalEnigma wrote:
Cmass wrote:
Confused wrote:
FinalEnigma wrote:I have to agree with confused here. doing something dangerous alone and at night because its illegal to do it does not sounds like a great idea. What if the bike had fallen across your chest and pinned you? I don't know about you, but I would be pretty hard pressed to push a 400 lb object off my chest. or if it had fallen on your leg and broken it?
Yeah, see, I am much more sane than Cmass!!!!!
Oh no yer not dude-ette!

-------------

Well I'm feeling left out! I didn't get to run today. Instead, I spent most of it attempting to clear the 1 mi of trail from my house to the dozens of miles of mountain trails above. This is a trail I built (including 2 bridges) and since I'm the only one who even knows it exists, I do all maintenance - and this year has been hell. The problem is the snow keeps smashing the elderberry, salmon berry, devils club and vine maple onto the trail making it impassible . . and then there are the huge trees that keep falling. I keep thinking winter is over . . . and then the snow starts falling again and smash bash smash, time to whip out the chain saws, week whacker and pruning sheers.
The underbrush is so thick on this section of trail that I literally make tunnels through it with the trimmer. The problem is when enough snow falls, the tunnels collapse:

Depending upon how much damage this current storm is doing . . . I hope to join you all soon.
okay, that's just awesome. A tunnel made of underbrush? That is so not fair. Why does everyone else get to live in awesome places while I live in the boring suburbs, 5 or 6 miles from anything resembling the woods ( and that's just a park).

Confused lives in Florida by some very nice-sounding parks and swamps, Goat lives in Michigan by a big lake and some really beautiful waterfalls and cliffs, Zzyzx lives halfway to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas in the middle of the woods, and you live in Washington with all the mountains and underbrush-tunnels and snow.

the best thing around here is pinnacle mountain, and that's a 40 minute drive.

http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P4.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P6.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P9.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P11.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~rdonj/images/P2.JPG
That's New York, not Michigan .. but surrounded by lots of woods. and cliffs.

oh, sorry. Why did I think you live in Michigan? Must be someone else I know...

Cmass · Post by **Cmass** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:46 am

the best thing around here is pinnacle mountain, and that's a 40 minute drive.

Then you better start your run reeeeally early so you can get there by sunset!

FinalEnigma · Post by **FinalEnigma** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:39 am

Cmass wrote:
the best thing around here is pinnacle mountain, and that's a 40 minute drive.
Then you better start your run reeeeally early so you can get there by sunset!

great plan, but doubt I'm up to running quite that far.

FinalEnigma · Post by **FinalEnigma** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:09 am

Ran 4 miles today, my time was horrid, but that's cause I don't know how to pace myself. took me 46 minutes. I use my mp3 player to time my runs - I add up all the time from the songs I've gone through and the time on the current one. The first 2 miles were about as strenuous as a 4 mile walk, the third started to matter a little bit more - but it had some hills to contend with, the fourth mile wasn't bad though. I start to get drained at about the 3 1/2 mile mark though, so 4 miles almost isn't enough to give me a tough run. I did 5 miles once before, and about killed myself doing it, But I'm in significantly better shape now.

Of course, being me, I'm bad at exercise in a way. I get into patterns. I always run the same place, listen to the same songs, in the same order. On rare occasion I bike to a nearby park that has a woodsy trail that I love because its woodsy, but that's a long way to go - 5 miles each way. Someday I'll have to actually run to the park, run the trail, then run back, but I don't think I'm up to a 12+ mile run yet. :p

I suppose if I paid attention I could pace myself by the songs, but then I'd have to break down landmark spots on the places I run to know distance, and learn the approximate time at the start of each song so I'd be able to do the math. Would be slightly tough to remember the start times of each song by song name though, cause none of them are in English, and their names are sometimes odd. And yes, I run to foreign songs. Of the songs I've got on my mp3 player or in CD from to put on it, my Korean techno has the best beat for running, though it's better for fast running than long distance running. ( ) yeah, she makes odd music videos. you should see time machine.

Cmass · Post by **Cmass** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:52 am

Good job Mr. Enigma!
You know, I'm not so sure a "pattern" is such a bad thing. I think it is a good idea to change things up from time to time but if your exercise "routine" becomes totally integrated into your daily life it may stay with you longer. I read a book years ago called "Positive Addiction". It drew parallels between drug addiction and sports/exercise addictions. All really good professional athletes are addicted to doing their thing every day - and a day without it can seriously bother some of them. With high cardio sports it can be the actual narcotic effect of the endorphins you feel after a long workout that keeps you coming back for more. Wiki:
Endorphins are endogenous opioid polypeptide compounds. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during strenuous exercise, excitement, pain, and orgasm, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a sense of well-being. Endorphins work as "natural pain relievers", whose effects may be enhanced by other medications.
So, there you have it: Resemble opiates, can bring on sense of well being and are present during orgasm! Good reason to go running eh?

The song is definitely a heart pumper and I see how it could help you keep going. Techno has never been my thing: Actual human beings have little to do with it past entering notes on a computer screen. However, I could run for hours if she was running in front of me!

Keep up the great work!

- Chris

FinalEnigma · Post by **FinalEnigma** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:25 am

running daily is great, but from everything I've read, doing exercise the exact same way all the time tends toward making it less effective, because your body gets used to what you are doing to well.

Cmass · Post by **Cmass** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 3:37 am

FinalEnigma wrote:running daily is great, but from everything I've read, doing exercise the exact same way all the time tends toward making it less effective, because your body gets used to what you are doing to well.

A routine can include a lot of variety in the muscle groups worked on as well as the cardio stress you introduce. When I was training for a triatholon a few years back I would combine a whole host of different activities. However, I had a rhythm, a routine, a daily map of what I was going to do and I did it every single day or I would feel awful. Confused does a killer workout routine that includes running, biking and calisthenics. No way to go wrong following her lead!
Hey, post some pictures of your run so we can see the surrounding terrain!

FinalEnigma · Post by **FinalEnigma** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:49 am

Well, I'm not running for a few days.

was out doing yard work today, digging out an about 5x12 plot of a ton of nandina. I had to cut them all off close to the ground so i could get the shovel into the ground, then dig up all that and rake through it to get rid of the roots left over. I didn't want to do it all in one day, but I didn't have much choice.

But in the end, my knee is really swollen, stiff, and not very happy. This is of course a result of agitating my former knee injury, which was never properly dealt with. This happened due to trying to cut through roots with the shovel by kicking the back part that you normally would push on with your foot to dig - it was the only way I was getting through the roots.

sometimes it gets a bit swollen and such after running, but not this badly

so, anybody know how to treat a very swollen knee? ice and ibuprofen are obvious, but got anything else that might help it get to a more useful state faster?

I need to get some baggy pants or something. all I wear and have around (for the most part) is jeans. I have one pair of baggy pants that I know the location of, and they are a horrid tan color.