Recent Articles and My Comments 2 of 2

OK, now on to the get happy pills. 

"You can't fool mother nature", and it seems, every time we find something we all love and want to abuse, there's downsides. Dammit! I have been schizo on IBU for years. Sometimes I love it, then I read articles on how bad it is, and my stomach revolts because it's really tough on the lining.

There's increasing evidence that this may be a secretly nasty drug. It attacks stomachs and intestines, and it may DELAY recovery rather than enhance it. It surely can be convicted of being a masker of your real physical condition, and therefore, it could be argued, keep all of us from engendering a balanced approach to our training and racing. 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/for-athletes-risks-from-ibuprofen-use/

So for a while I have been in search of a substitute. Tramadol in low 50mg doses really makes me feel better on the pain/ soreness front. I occasionally take it ever since my partial knee replacement. This drug helps me avoid the IBU debate, but of course, opens up it's own can of worms. 

IF you are having issues with IBU, consider asking your doc about this as an alternative. I do not intend to offer any medical advice here, just discussing ideas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramadol

So lets talk themes here. These articles all bring into focus something we athletes all struggle with. The M word. 

MODERATION

My blog here is not to tell you how to live your life, or what to believe or not believe. I make controversial statements not to necessarily piss folks off, but hopefully to pass along info, a point of view, and share what has worked with me for this short time I am slogging around planet earth. 

Moderation can also keep us from falling into addictive behaviors, besides keeping us out of really bad trouble. My philo take on this is....

If it controls me, or forces me to NOT want to be open minded and it causes me to discard the scientific method to protect a belief or a dogma, there's prolly something wrong.

So if you get hooked and "need"  IBU, Tramadol, pot, booze, Vicodin or whatever; if you NEED to run or work out obsessively without clearly defined reasons as to WHY, and have trouble keeping things in perpective,  a little introspection my be a good thing.  :>)  We all fight our demons.

Now have a good day, and get a workout in.

Recent News Articles and My Comments 1 of 2

 Here are some recent articles I found interesting:

First, is a study on Olympic Athletes living longer:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/254034.php

Please remember, even if this study is properly adjusted, there could be embedded bias in the results. For instance, maybe athletes who end up Olympians are merely genetically superior with a predisposition to live longer. 

Next, is an article about a study indicating endurance athletes may not benefit, and even suffer deleterious effects, from working out too much, or too hard:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323330604578145462264024472.html?KEYWORDS=one+running+shoe

This is not the first study on this subject, and mortality rates of high performing athletes in old age may suffer bias, maybe not. For instance, it would be interesting to see a further breakout of PERSONALITY traits associated with mortality rates of athletes rather than just how fast you run miles. WHY? 

Consider that someone with a higher VO2 MAX may run miles easier generally than someone with a lower VO2 MAX. And adjust for AGE, and WEIGHT too.  I often address this issue in my blogs. My advice is to maximize performance with a minimal of training, and use HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) methods, rather than indulge obsessive behaviors. If you have read my previous blogs, you know I feel that most training schedules are counterproductive to achieving better performance efficiently while trying to decrease all sorts of risks.  

Add to this that there is a predisposition of endurance sports ATTRACTING obsessive compulsive behavior type folks, and ....you get the idea. The doctor in the article prolly is a bit OC to begin with. In the United States at least, the selection process of kids into medical schools greatly favors OC behaviors, IMO. I don't think this is necessarily a good thing, and if I start on this subject, I may rattle on for quite a while while alienating a whole new class of people I heretofore have not previously offended. Then this Doc in the article, in OC fashion, goes on to DOMINATE his races, while, we must all presume, run a practice and raise a family. Now THERE's a balanced approach! And now, in OC fashion, he's AGAINST what he did. Whew! No wonder world peace is so tough!

My thoughts are that you will lead a kinder, gentler life by keeping your exercise in perspective, and in fact the training regimens I recommend generally avoid OC behavior, or at least reign it in. As I have often stated, nobody will chisel your marathon time on your gravestone, and nobody really gives a crap about your time. But other athletes will care how you treated them on the course and in training runs. So the balance may be in approach, not performance, based on genetic gifts or detriments, and how you accept your gifts or limitations as you try and execute careers and be good parents. 

Ordinary people view everything as a blessing or a curse, warriors view everything as a challenge.

The upshot of all this is that we should consider SOME validity to these studies, and examine them in a scientific fashion, rather than fitting this information to what we want to believe. 

(Carl Sagan says it way mo betta than me)

Your Brain 12 of 12 Repositioning Running in your life

Ahh, it's been a long road to get to #12 of this series, and my apologies but I do get busy. So lets finish up my Using Your Brain Series with the single most important aspect of the entire series.
Using Your Brain 12 of 12 : Repositioning Running in your life.

Lets start with the big picture, your mortality. Ipod 'Dust in the Wind" and lets get perspective here. We are all here for a short visit. Some of you feel you will be running after you are dead. My observations are to the contrary, but if you have some information supporting your position, feel free to present it here as I can blog the subject further; just keep it factual. :>)
There's all sorts of reasons we run. Some run for ego, others for fitness, others spiritual ( I love running misty mornings through California oaks with friends at an easy pace, savoring every step), others for stress relief and on and on. Rather than blather on endlessly, let me share a few bullet points on my experiences:

1. With global warming nipping at our heels, careers, family issues, and loved ones suffering sickness, debilitation and death, IT's JUST A RUN!!! I have come close to being permanently taken off of the running rolls ( knee replacement), and what I wouldn't give to run while I was down! Have some empathy for those less fortunate, then go out and dedicate a run to one of them, and let them know it.
2. Whenever you get too tired to hold a schedule, or cranky with your spouse, the kids, work or your loving dog, you have gone OC (obsessive compulsive).  Take a few days off and reflect why that is happening. You may see an ugly side you'd prefer not to acknowledge.
3. EVERY single run and workout is really really special. Rent League of Their Own ( easily my fav baseball movie, even ahead of Pride of The Yankees), and fast forward to this dialogue:  Jimmy Dugan: I, I gave away five years at the end my career to drink. Five years. And now there isn't anything I wouldn't give to get back any one day of it...... Dottie Hinson: It just got too hard.
   Jimmy Dugan: It's supposed to be hard! If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great!                                          Be GREAT, just by doing!
4. Always give a little back. Say hi to a nervous newbie, share a goodie, sit back a mile with a slower runner, sweep a course, offer help in a race to the detriment of your clock time, offer encouragement or ohh and aah at someone's new PR. Organize a run! and so on.
   It's as spiritual as it gets. 
5.  Nobody really gives a rat's ass about your times. It's funner than crap to crow like a peacock, but just don't believe your own press clippings. YOUR PR MARATHON TIME WILL NOT BE CHISELED ON YOUR GRAVESTONE! But a few folks MIGHT speak of you kindly.
6. There's a BIG difference between being committed, and being OC. Learn the difference.
7. You will run your IDEAL race maybe 2 times out of ten. MAYBE. So stop making lame o excuses after the run or race. That's what you did today, under (x) conditions. OWN IT and be comfortable with it. It is YOU and the performance is you're very fabric. We all admire folks comfortable in their own skin.... this is one way to emulate them.
8. Running is something I do, but it does not define me. Others may think so, but not me.

The more you give, the more you get, especially with hard working, appreciative runners. Now go out and enjoy the day! Fe