6 ms·

nice work! i ran my first half-marathon last spring. it was awesome!! anyone reasonably athletic can train in a couple months to run a half-marathon no problem.

by diN0bot 17y ago

nice work! i ran my first half-marathon last spring. it was awesome!! anyone reasonably athletic can train in a couple months to run a half-marathon no problem. long running is totally awesome and zen. i've been meaning to get back into it but wacky swim sports have taken over my evenings.

kingkongrevenge 17y ago
Top ten reasons not to run marathons: http://www.arthurdevany.com/2005/08/top_ten_reasons.html http://www.arthurdevany.com/2005/08/top_ten_reasons.html
- diN0bot 17y ago
  sure. i don't plan to run a marathon for similar concerns about health. i still believe that a half marathon is totally different than a marathon. here's why: "athletic" folks in my mind are those who play running sports such as frisbee, soccer or bball. Even just pickup, which is low stress and to some extent low motivation, require stamina of 1-2 hrs. Athletic folks are comfortable going on half hour runs a few times a week. Quadrupling that running time to 2 hrs is a small matter of stamina and psychology. Assuming you're not running a half marathon to win, there's no need for physical destruction. i'll happily play frisbee for 2 hrs (with water breaks, hard sprints and down time on the line), but get bored running. training for a half-marathon was a great experience mostly because of the mental zen aspect. you get into a zone...it's wonderful. i'd come home, lie down for a bit, eat a great breakfast, and do some excellent coding. running in the half-marathon was exhilerating. there are so many people, and there's such a great sense of accomplishment afterward. having the goal of running a race--however long--is excellent motivation, too. (the link you provided contains so many questionable methodologies and conclusions that i can't take it seriously)
- rdouble 17y ago
  The first thing mentioned on this list, raised liver enzyme markers (ALT and AST) also occurs if you measure them shortly after doing the strenuous weight lifting exercises deVany prescribes.
- xiaoma 17y ago
  We've already been over this ground more than once: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=733166 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=733166 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=783074 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=783074 Summary: 100,000+ person study found that men who ran two or more marathons per year were 41 percent less likely to suffer from high blood pressure, 32 percent less likely to have high cholesterol, and 87 percent less likely to be diabetic than non-marathoners. Those who ran only one marathon every two to five years also had significantly lower risk for these conditions than non-marathoners. Other studies link long-distance cardio with neurogenesis, increased life expectancy, and more.
  - kingkongrevenge 17y ago
    > 41 percent less likely to suffer from high blood pressure Compared to whom? Serious racquet sport competitors? Power lifters? No, compared to couch potatoes with lousy diets. Well no shit. That's not the point.
    - xiaoma 17y ago
      Endurance athletes fare significantly better than basketball, soccer and sprinting athletes, who fare better than power athletes, who fare better than couch potatoes. In terms of life expectancy, endurance athletes such as marathoners and cross-country skiers live about 2 years longer than sprinters, 4 years longer than power lifters and 6 years longer than the general populace. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/citation/body/163630869-2/jorg=journal&source=MI&sp=2355041&sid=0/N/2355041/1.html?issn= http://www.mdconsult.com/das/citation/body/163630869-2/jorg=...
      - kingkongrevenge 17y ago
        The link is worthless. Some researchers say runners live long ... because their model says runners live long. Tautology. Why didn't they just look at dead olympic athletes? That would be an interesting and potentially worthwhile study. Actually, I know why: that study would have been hard work whereas for this garbage all they had to do was plug a canned data set into some silly unverified pharma model they tweaked for their own agenda. http://www.theheart.org/article/243897.do http://www.theheart.org/article/243897.do Endurance sports can mess up your heart rhythm. Here's the first google result for "runners die young": http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/ehn273v1.pdf http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/ehn273v1.pdf "The current report demonstrates a high prevalence of advanced coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial scar formation in see- mingly healthy marathon runners aged >50 years."

by diN0bot 17y ago

kingkongrevenge 17y ago

Top ten reasons not to run marathons: http://www.arthurdevany.com/2005/08/top_ten_reasons.html http://www.arthurdevany.com/2005/08/top_ten_reasons.html

diN0bot 17y ago
sure. i don't plan to run a marathon for similar concerns about health. i still believe that a half marathon is totally different than a marathon. here's why: "athletic" folks in my mind are those who play running sports such as frisbee, soccer or bball. Even just pickup, which is low stress and to some extent low motivation, require stamina of 1-2 hrs. Athletic folks are comfortable going on half hour runs a few times a week. Quadrupling that running time to 2 hrs is a small matter of stamina and psychology. Assuming you're not running a half marathon to win, there's no need for physical destruction. i'll happily play frisbee for 2 hrs (with water breaks, hard sprints and down time on the line), but get bored running. training for a half-marathon was a great experience mostly because of the mental zen aspect. you get into a zone...it's wonderful. i'd come home, lie down for a bit, eat a great breakfast, and do some excellent coding. running in the half-marathon was exhilerating. there are so many people, and there's such a great sense of accomplishment afterward. having the goal of running a race--however long--is excellent motivation, too. (the link you provided contains so many questionable methodologies and conclusions that i can't take it seriously)
rdouble 17y ago
The first thing mentioned on this list, raised liver enzyme markers (ALT and AST) also occurs if you measure them shortly after doing the strenuous weight lifting exercises deVany prescribes.
xiaoma 17y ago
We've already been over this ground more than once: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=733166 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=733166 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=783074 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=783074 Summary: 100,000+ person study found that men who ran two or more marathons per year were 41 percent less likely to suffer from high blood pressure, 32 percent less likely to have high cholesterol, and 87 percent less likely to be diabetic than non-marathoners. Those who ran only one marathon every two to five years also had significantly lower risk for these conditions than non-marathoners. Other studies link long-distance cardio with neurogenesis, increased life expectancy, and more.
- kingkongrevenge 17y ago
  > 41 percent less likely to suffer from high blood pressure Compared to whom? Serious racquet sport competitors? Power lifters? No, compared to couch potatoes with lousy diets. Well no shit. That's not the point.
  - xiaoma 17y ago
    Endurance athletes fare significantly better than basketball, soccer and sprinting athletes, who fare better than power athletes, who fare better than couch potatoes. In terms of life expectancy, endurance athletes such as marathoners and cross-country skiers live about 2 years longer than sprinters, 4 years longer than power lifters and 6 years longer than the general populace. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/citation/body/163630869-2/jorg=journal&source=MI&sp=2355041&sid=0/N/2355041/1.html?issn= http://www.mdconsult.com/das/citation/body/163630869-2/jorg=...
    - kingkongrevenge 17y ago
      The link is worthless. Some researchers say runners live long ... because their model says runners live long. Tautology. Why didn't they just look at dead olympic athletes? That would be an interesting and potentially worthwhile study. Actually, I know why: that study would have been hard work whereas for this garbage all they had to do was plug a canned data set into some silly unverified pharma model they tweaked for their own agenda. http://www.theheart.org/article/243897.do http://www.theheart.org/article/243897.do Endurance sports can mess up your heart rhythm. Here's the first google result for "runners die young": http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/ehn273v1.pdf http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/ehn273v1.pdf "The current report demonstrates a high prevalence of advanced coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial scar formation in see- mingly healthy marathon runners aged >50 years."