Any distance runners here?
Started running at my local park, as opposed to the footpath on main roads.
It's loose gravel, so I am guessing that affects speed??
What I like is that it is a flat circuit, as opposed to the main road circuit I ran which was pretty undulating.

I am currently running 9km in 45min, but aiming for 42min.
Might also up it to 12 or 13km after Xmas/New Year hols.

By the way, RunKeeper is a brilliant app.

Are there still people around that think long distance running is healthy?

I used to do heaps of long-distance running until my ITB developed so now I can't run as much or for as long in fear of it coming back :lol:

Loose gravel will slow you down purely because there's less friction and so you're not going to be able to effectively convert your pushing off mechanism into forward momentum.

At my peak I was running 10k in about 35 minutes, not super brilliant but pretty good imo :)

EDIT: I know Benjo does long distance running so he'll be all over this discussion :lol:

Would love to do distance running, but I just don't think I'm right for it.

Why?

I tend to get bad stomach pains when I run for too long - too long being more than 10/15 minutes. It's nothing to do with my fitness (or lack of) since it's always been a problem for me. Plus I have bad arches, and although I wear orthotics, it's not perfect.

Are you aware that you shouldn't eat complex foods less than 2 hours before running & preferably no sooner than 4 hours?
Also, the stomach pains could come from the type of food mix you have eaten during the day. The movement of running churns things up.
Coffee can also have a bad effect.

The above is all from personal experience.

I leave plenty of time between eating and running, and I don't like coffee. Maybe I just don't drink enough water or something.

Short of there being medical problems (eg: stomach ulcers, reflux, etc), it might be worth seeing a dietician.

Are you aware that you shouldn't eat complex foods less than 2 hours before running & preferably no sooner than 4 hours?
Also, the stomach pains could come from the type of food mix you have eaten during the day. The movement of running churns things up.
Coffee can also have a bad effect.

The above is all from personal experience.

Kiwichick, if you want to get the biggest fitness bang for your time and effort whilst losing bodyfat - train high intensity weights and sprint intervals. Cut inflammatory foods out of your diet and eat at a slight calorie deficit and under 50g of carbs per day, high fat (60-65% of total calories) and moderate protein (around 2g per kilo of bodyweight)

Try this calculator http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ and enjoy.

Seems like a lot of effort for something that gives no tangible health benefit anyway.

Are there still people around that think long distance running is healthy?

Stop discouraging people to do running. One of my mates lost over 60kg in a year by eating healthier and running. A lot.

Improved VO2, lower blood pressure & slower heart beat are no tangible benefits???

Edited by ozboy: 13/12/2012 04:25:19 PM

All things achieved by HIIT without the heart tissue damage.

How to Avoid Being Raped : Male on Male Rape Prevention
by Jim Wendler - 06/16/2011

A how-to guide to keeping the predators at bay.

During an academic conversation with my friend Matt Vincent, the issue of being strong and awesome came up as a topic, as it always does. Matt shares a lot of the same ideas about training, life and our love of our big Bear friend, Jason Pegg. Two topics were of note. The first was how to avoid being raped and the second was how to train if we knew the apocalypse was coming. This spill is on the former.

First, you gotta have some strength in the legs and hips . This is paramount when you initially have to take an athletic stance to not be thrown down. Keep the legs strong and bent and in an athletic position. You need to learn to brace yourself against the agitator. Solution: Squats and Deadlifts

Second, you need to combine this lower body work with strong shoulders and lats. This will allow you to engage and toss the foe once your base has been set . Solution: Pressing, chins, and rows.

Third, you must have good grip and arm strength. Grabbing cloth, arm or a throat to dissuade the penetration is a good way of warding off the attack. Solution: high rep DB rows, curls, towel/rope chins.

Fourth, you need to have a strong core to maintain balance during the struggle. Solution: Deadlifts, good mornings, back raises, hanging leg raises, sit-ups and the ab wheel.

Fifth, you need some footwork to shuffle and move quick to avoid anal assault. Solution: Jumping Rope

Finally, you need to be in some kind of decent shape - this is not a marathon fight (few are, no fights are 3 rounds like the UFC fighters engage in). I recommend short bursts of physical activity. Solution: Prowler and hill sprints.

In addition, Matt pointed out to me that while a smaller man may be more agile, a bigger, stronger man is always harder to contend with. So don’t be “that” guy that wants to be “all show and no go” – you are only doing your and your manhood a disservice.

http://www.archevore.com/panu-weblog/2009/11/1/cardio-causes-heart-disease.html

So marathon running is effectively overtraining. A little less than what I thought is overtraining but so be it. Regardless, maybe 1 in 1000 people train for a marathon???
Based on that meta-summary (with, mind you, non-statistically significant results in certain areas/aspects) I don't see how running 20 to 50km per week is detrimental. And that's not mentioning its numerous benefits.

Don't you work in a gym or something notor? Is this what you get told to tell people in order to get them to pay $20 a week so they run on treadmills for near 20km a week anyway?

What were the benefits again? Other than the ones that weren't exclusive to chronic solid-state running.

No-one's talking about aesthetics in this thread - we're talking fat loss and health.

Not too worried about cholesterol

hormone and inflammation levels would be interesting.

The line between fine (fine is not synonymous with optimal, mind you) and dangerous seems to be around 30km/wk.