Made To Do This

[ladysprite]

I've always worked under the assumption that different types of exercise are just right for different people - that some people and some bodies are just made for yoga, for instance, and others do better with endurance work, or speed. It just seemed to make sense to me, though I'll admit I was working with an extremely limited amount of data.

The more I practice running, the more I believe that this is true. I took on the challenge of running a 5K mostly just to see if I could - to see if I could get over my asthmatic fat-kid past and do something that intimidated the heck out of me. And I was torn between equally strong and conflicting beliefs, both that I was in darn good shape and could probably do it easily, and that running was Holy Cow Scary Bad Hard and that there was no way in heck that I could ever do something like that.

I'm halfway through the training program now; I've been taking it slowly both because of occasional illnesses leading to backsliding and because I've learned that slow progress is better than pushing, injuring, and backsliding. And I've realized that neither one of my beliefs were quite right.

Running is harder than any exercise I've ever done before. I can do it, but it just seems... not quite alien, but not natural to my body. It's tiring and it leaves me worn out and short of breath and it pushes me to the edge of my ability and endurance more than anything else I've ever done. And that's an odd feeling, because on the one hand it feels good to challenge myself, but on the other hand it's frustrating as heck to feel that years of consistent working out have done nothing to improve my actual condition, and that something this simple should be this hard.

I'm going to stick with it, mostly because I'm stubborn and I refuse to give up, and because the Run For Your Life still sounds like crazy fun. But I'm pretty sure that, when it's done, I'll be happy to sit content in my knowledge that I did it once, and go back to yoga and circuit-training, and never run again....

Comments

[umbran.livejournal.com]

...it's frustrating as heck to feel that years of consistent working out have done nothing to improve my actual condition

Well, that's not entirely true. "Condition" is not a single, easily measured thing. Condition is task-dependent. As a demonstrative example - the conditioning one needs to run a fast sprint is not much like the conditioning needed to run a marathon.

You worked out for years - you conditioned your body for activity that's like those workouts you did. You did see improvement in muscle strength and cardiovascular health. I'd say you saw a decrease in the incidence and severity of upper respiratory infections.

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

When I used to run I'd find that whenever I'd been away from it, the first two weeks would suck, regardless of my conditioning. The thing that sucked was the feeling of the impact. That jarring sensation felt so wrong. And then at some point my body would get used to it and it would stop sucking, and I'd start to enjoy running again.

It's definitely true that every body has exercise that feels more natural to it. I love the sensation of my body in water, but swimming with my head in the water is really hard on me, the breathing is hard and my body doesn't like pools or water pressure much in many different ways.

Weight lifting with free weights makes me want to crawl out of my skin. I know it's the stabilizer muscles that need the strengthening that are the reason for my discomfort, but I hate it so much, I have a hard time pressing on.

Where as dancing... I can dance for hours without getting bored. Sure I get exhausted but my body needs to bend and stretch and move in ways that are so varied that dance seems to be my ideal venue (and/or martial arts).

Anyway, I hear ya, and I think it's totally awesome that you are doing Run for Your Life. It sounds really awesome.

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

Running is something evolution has only fitted us for doing in very short bursts when something is trying to eat us. Doing it under any other conditions is unnatural and should feel that way. That's what sets us apart from the other animals - the others wouldn't bother pushing through that for a more abstract goal. :)

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

There is good evidence that evolution favored folks who could run far but not necessarily fast. See for example
http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/Nature2004_EnduranceRunningandtheEvolutionofHomo.pdf

[ninjarat.livejournal.com]

Like Umbran says, "condition" isn't an absolute state. I'm good as far as short-distance (0.5 to 1.5 mile) walking. I do it every day -- I've *done* it every day for the past two years, and on-and-off for the previous 20 -- with 15-20lbs of pack on my back. I go bowling and I'm sore for most of the week.

I ran track in high school. I did short-distance sprints and hurdles. One meet, the coach put me in the 2 mile because our #2 2-miler was absent that day and the other team had only one runner and I was otherwise finished for the afternoon. It was an easy 3rd place. For certain values of "easy". It was the hardest thing I'd done running track.

Quick check: are your shoes wearing out faster at the heels or the balls? If they're wearing faster at the heels then your stride is contributing to the feeling of wrongness because it is wrong. Let me know if this is the case. I have some suggestions if it is, and if not then you already know what I'd tell you. :)

[mindways]

FWIW, the one time I really actively tried to get better at running[*], some of the improvements kind of stuck - not that I'd magically stay in good running shape, but that that sort of endurance became easier to pick up, like my body learned, "oh, that's the direction I have to go to get my cardiovascular system up to snuff" or something.

So taking on that challenge can have lasting benefits! :)

[*] = In high school and undergrad, I couldn't run a quarter mile. I worked up to running about 1.5 - 2 miles.

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

Another note in favor of the "conditioning is relative" idea: The Ironman Triathlon. I vaguely remember a story about a runner who decided to enter the Ironman, and his observation that bicycling was a different set of motions from running. As I recall, his first few months of working up bicycling were months of "I thought I was in condition," aspirin, and collapsing after cool-down.

I'd suggest that you add running to your exercise, but only once or twice a week. Of course, this is coming from a person who is perpetually out of shape, so what do I know?

[leanne-opaskar.livejournal.com]

Conditioning is, I agree, relative.

I can play roller hockey for two hours at a stretch easily, three if the other players are not too challenging, or if I want to really push myself. I goaltend. I get no rest. I get occasional water breaks -- and by occasional, I mean "the puck is in the other net, I can get a drink now". Two hours. No problem.

If you ask me to skate out instead of goaltend? That's exhausting! It's a totally different way of movement and set of muscles that you use. Goalies do a lot of forward/back telescoping motions with tight, low-to-the-rink foot control. Skaters "sprint" on skates, with a lot more sweeping movement, and much different ways of handling their sticks and the puck.

Run? BAHAHA. I used to be in slightly better running condition, when I was doing it as part of my EA Sports Active routine, but run for extended times and distances? Ah no. (I should maybe get back to that, but it's brutal on my knees ... and I goaltend. Speaking of brutal on the knees. {: )

Am I in good shape? I'd like to think so. Can I *run*? Not so much. It really all depends on what you're doing and what you want to do. (:

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

Well, let me give you some perspective about running, heart-strength, and "natural-ness". When I was 18, I could *run*. Not just jog, but *run*. So I know I can run. Maybe I don't have *the* runner's body - my inseam is 29-30 inches and I'm 6' tall, and I know that means I have kinda-short legs. (Um - not engaging in understatement there - not really short, just, you know, kinda short.)

Over the course of 9 months, I've gone from huffing and puffing after 30, then 60, seconds of not-very-fast running for interval training, to just barely being able to do a 3 minute interval at 5.8 miles an hour, with a 90 second rest, and do that 7-8 times in a row. I can jog at 5.3 miles per hour for 25-30 minutes, but that's slow. They used to say you're just jogging until you hit a mile in 8 minutes, and I'm not even at a mile in 11 minutes at that pace!

So, running for endurance is *hard*. Really hard. If you're having a hard time getting there, that's normal and natural.

One thing that can help is making sure you're not over-training; if you push your heart to the limit, you can feel *awful* for a day or so until your heart recovers. I've been doing that - so I know how stupid it can be. I also know how I can keep doing it, while realizing it's stupid :-).