Question on running

[ewallace]

Would I benefit more from jogging a mile on concrete or doing 6-8 sets of 100yd sprints (approx 91 meters) on grass? Now the obvious answer would seem to be the sprints for cardio. However, for me, jogging a mile on concrete is a real pain since I had the fibula from my right leg removed a few years back. Of course both would be the correct answer. What is your opinion?

[hkphooey]

if you insist on running, i'd do intervals on the grass. you can do a lot of different combos with 100 yards.

no fibula?? is running on your list of "things i shouldn't do?" what is currently where your fib used to be???

[ewallace]

You would think so. What the doctor explained to me was that only about 5% of your weight is put on the fibula. That 5% is placed at the knee and ankle. They left part of the bone by the knee and by the ankle, and removed what was in between. If you put your hands in front of you and make two fists, then stick out your pinky fingers so that they are pointing at each other about 8-10 inches apart, that is pretty much what an x-ray of my right leg looks like. What this amounts to is that I can still run and walk, and put full weight on my leg. I am trying to build up the muscle in that leg. It is "fairly uncomfortable" to run on, but it gets easier every time I do it. I have a tendancy to roll my ankle more than I used to.

The reason for this mess was because I broke my right clavicle. There was about an inch gap where there was no bone. They tried a normal pin which didn't work. Then they took bone out of my hip and graphted it to my shoulder but the plate somehow bent. So they decided to do a vascular bone grapht in which the bone from my fibula along with a vein was removed from my leg and attached to an artery close to my neck. This was the first documented case of a vascularized clavicle bone grapht. It is funny because now I have a oval-shaped patch on my collarbone that grows hair (remember, the vein was from my leg). It is pretty funky looking but I wear my scars proudly!!

[hkphooey]

holy ****....

if you got in to this whole mess by doing something that involved running, i'd have to say STOP RUNNING!! =)

fascinating though...thanks for the explanation.

i stand by what i recommended. more and more research is showing that the old way of plodding along at a medium pace might not be the best at either increasing cardio capacity OR fat burning... in your case, intervals i'd say are the way to go. doesn't hurt to change things up though. it's all about adaptation.

good luck!

[ewallace]

I was playing football...pickup game with no pads.

[CD Lee]

ewallace:

To answer your question, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO????

Our answer depends on what you are trying to acomplish. If you are just trying to burn calories and not hurt yourself, then anything slow will be the answer.

In running, intervals are strictly for performance. They will increase your ability to run faster over a given distance, over a given time. This is a proven fact.

For weight control, distance is the key, as the speed does not matter for burning calories.

To answer your question, you have to tell us what your objective is. This will help a lot.

An example is this question:

Should I drive a car that goes 250 mph, or 30 mph?

[Paul]

For weight control, distance is the key, as the speed does not matter for burning calories.

Actually heart rate and time spent running (not distance) are the important factors. If I remember correctly from my time spent doing endurance sports 70-75% of max heart rate is the target. It's good to mix in interval training also. Even marathon runners do intervals and hard runs every now and then.

as someone else mentioned medium paced stuff is generally considered to not be such a good thing. It kind of puts you in a no-man's land between an aerobic and anaerobic workout. Either go slow and long duration or short and fast.

[ewallace]

I am trying to get my shed some pounds and increase my speed/endurance.

[CD Lee]

Actually heart rate and time spent running (not distance) are the important factors. If I remember correctly from my time spent doing endurance sports 70-75% of max heart rate is the target.


Important factors for what? :) The formula you mention above is a great formula to train with because it works at building consitently more oxygen carrying capilaries over time, to increase endurance and strength without over loading the body.

Many people have walked 40 pound off their bodies and strengthened their legs in the process. Distance does have a bearing on calories and energy spent. You won't squat 300 lbs, or run a 5 minutes mile that way, but you will burn calories.

What I was refferring to was that one mile walked, burns approxamately the same number of calories as one mile running. What is the difference? Time, and oxygen depletions. One way gets you in better shape for running and building aerobic capacity, and one works your legs slower, with less oxygen needs.

Performance runners do slow days, medium days, fast days, interval days, and hill days. They mix it up to strike a balance so they can improve, but not kill their bodies. They are usually after performance, not just health.

The reason marathon runners do intervals, is to build speed over distance. Granted they run 26 miles, but those that run intervals in the marathon world are doing so to increase performance, not distance. They also are not slow. They run times such as 2:10, and are running miles in the 4:58 range on average. Ever ran a 4:58 mile? That is moving pretty fast, especially 26 of them. :D

The good marathoners also train to use inefficient strategies as tactical advantages in racing, such as the popular Kenyan 'surges', which do not produce the best times, but cause others you are racing to slow down or lose mental focus. Pretty cool stuff.

[CD Lee]

I am trying to get my shed some pounds and increase my speed/endurance.


Good things to work for. How many pounds, and how overweight are you currently? It is easier to lose if you are more overweight.

Idealy, you want good balance. I would recommend forgetting the sprints, unless you have been running a good while, as your tendons also have to become conditioned to the stresses of running at a high level. If you are overwieght, it is much more stressfull on your tendons and muscles still.

Why don't you try running a mile on a softer surface, like a cinder track, or asphalt? Cement is the worst surface for you body when running. Grass is good to, parks are great for grass running for distance. Slowly add speed to your workouts ever so often, but don't try to just have a speed workout only.

If you are willing to change some of your eating habits, this type of program will shed a multitude of pounds from your body in six months or less. Keep eating, but start to move away from foods that are dense in calories, such as fried food (oil), chips (fried), sweets (friggin loaded), mayonaise, and other oily foods.

Eat them if you wish, but just take it easy, thats all. And that is balance, and balance is the only way to make it last. Also, start slowly, slowly lowering your portions of food, and your body and stomach will also reset the level at which you feel full. Once the weight starts coming off, it will keep coming off for a while. Lose no more than 7 pounds in one month if possible, or your body will react and try to slow matabolism to absorb more from your food, because it is seeking, you guessed it, BALANCE.

[Paul]

Ever ran a 4:58 mile? That is moving pretty fast, especially 26 of them.

Probably could have managed 1 mile at that pace, I used to be able to run 3 miles at 5:30 a mile on a hilly course. My marathon pace wasn't quite that fast though unfortunately. :(

Besides being long winded :), you sound like you know what you are talking about.

[CD Lee]

Long winded...heheheh

I hate to admit it, but I am anoyingly long winded. But hey, I could be out drinking, so this is better. :)

Hey, 5:30 miles are fast man! That is a rockin' 5K time.

I used to be a running fanatic. Can't help it. I read a lot of books, from other fanatics, :) and was pretty obsessed by it all for a few years. There are lot of formulas, and ways to do certain things, weight, speed, and otherwise. It is incredibly interesting really. Did all the running, racing, injuries, and podiatrists (can you say MONEY?). Kind of glad not to be into it that much anymore, but I still run a little.

The thing on running that is good: There has been a ton of research done on it. So it is easier to get an answer to questions about it.

[ewallace]

Well, I'm exactly 6ft tall. I weigh about 215. I don't care as much about losing actual weight as I do about losing body fat. I'd like to be somewhere around 185. I actually do not like to run since my injury occured. It really is a pain in the ass for me to do. But I feel that since I don't like it, I should do it...good for discipline.

[ewallace]

As for grub, I eat a lot of chicken. Almost always baked. I eat tons of rice. I rarely drink soda anymore, almost always water and sometimes skim milk. I have been eating a lot more fruit and I snack on carrots at work. I do eat Chick-fil-A once a week. That is not negotiable!! These are changes I have made over the last month or so. Nothing too abrupt.

[CD Lee]

ewallace:

First things first. If you do not like to run, then don't force yourself to run as a staple of excercise. There are lots of ways to add discipline in your life. But if you are going to excersice, then enjoy it. Swim, cycle, martial arts, boxing, aerobics, tennis, soccer, you name it, there are lots of things you can do to keep your hear rate up and take off weight.

However, once you get in shape, you might like running more than you think.

As far as eating, sounds like you are eating pretty healthy. Just remember this little formula and you can eat anything you want.

It takes on average 15 calories (decent nutrition) to maintain one pound of body weight. ON AVERAGE. Everybody is different, but not by much.

Pick your target weight, 185 you say, and multiply by 15. You need to consume no more calories per day than 2775, ON AVERAGE. You should start to naturally lose weight and gain muscle if you are doing exercise with this. Plus, any excercise you do, you figure how many calories it burns (1 mile = 100 calories, etc) and add it to the 2775. This is to maintain 185. If you are above it, you will start to move towards it, if below, same thing.

You can calculate exactly how long it takes to get to your targe weight if you want to. It takes on average, 3500 calories to make up a pound of weight. To lose one pound, you have to have a deficit over time of 3500 calories below what it takes to maintain your current weight. Then you lose one pound of body mass, not water.

You want to lose 30 pounds? You need over time, and deficit of 105,000 calories. You currently at 215 need around 3200 calories to maintain weight. If you eat only the amount needed at 185, you have a deficit of 450 per day. Divide that into your target, and you need 233 days to lose that 30 pounds. Yes, you have to adjust as you lose to keep on target as your numbers change as you lose weight.

Too much information I am sure, but this method works. A lot of Olympic atheletes use this method to determine dates for certain weights.

[ewallace]

Not too much info. It all makes sense to me. Thanks for your input.

It's not that I hate to run. Running as fast as I can thru the grass takes me back to being a kid again. I actually really like it when I don't have to worry about rolling my ankle or the strange feeling I get sometimes where the bone used to be. It's kinda wierd that when a pressure front blows in I can always tell in my leg and shoulder. Hopefully with time this feeling will go away.