Core Commit to Health & Fitness 2017, 2nd Round: March-May

[Rupert]

My kid just hit 185lbs. on her deadlift.

good girl!  Send my congrats!

[ergophobe]

Ergophobe, that's pretty fast!  I'm curious, what did you do in your teens & twenties?

I rarely ran for time. I always ran for some other purpose. But we had a 5K course across the street from my house in high school and on a good day I would break 18 minutes. That course ended with almost the last mile uphill (though total elevation gain wasn't that great). So I guess I ran just under 6, probably a bit faster on the flats.

At about 30 (probably 28-29 actually) in grad school, I often ran the same 4.5-mile course (actually someone had measured it at 4.52). I always tried to run that in 31:30 (roughly 7 minute pace), but more commonly at a 7:30 pace. It had a few hills, but the killers was four street crossings with traffic lights. I struggled to break 31:30.

One day I was out running and feeling good, hit the first two traffic lights right and felt I was on pace for a PR and this guy comes in from a side street about 150 feet ahead of me and looks fast, but not crazy fast. I decide if I can hang with him until the turnaround point, I'll finally break 30:00 which was this elusive goal that I had missed by less than ten seconds numerous times. So I struggle to hang with him. He hits my turnaround and shoots through the park gate for the 6-mile version and I think "Thank God!" I know if I just turn around and go my usual pace, I'll break 30:00

Then I get to the gate and he comes shooting out - he had just gone for a drink. He's super friendly and starts chatting.

I'm completely dying and answering with one-word answers that are halfway between words and gasps.

"Hey I saw you behind me. You're pretty fast. Do you race?" (chipper as can be).
"nnnnoooo" which comes out as whoosh of air with a little bit of word.

"Are you a student?"
"yyyyyeaahhhhhhh"

"Oh cool, what to you study?"
"hhhiiisssttoooooorrrrryyyy"

"Grad or undergrad?"
"Ggggggrraaaaaaaaddddddd"

"Oh yeah, what's your dissertation topic?"

At which point I just thought "I am totally fffffuuuuuuccccckkkkkkeddddd". Totally dying, I give him the capsule summary of my dissertation. He is clearly just tooling along at his cruising pace. Probably a sub-3:00 marathoner.

We reach the point where our routes split and he says so long and I should join this race that's coming up soon. At that point I pushed as hard as I could to keep my pace, caught both lights again and touched the gym door in 28:40, which is a 6:37 mile.

I have never in the 25 years since come anywhere close to running that fast again.

[littleman]

Great story.

[Rupert]

You can do it again, just start the clock later

[ergophobe]

Side note:  My kid just hit 185lbs. on her deadlift.

That.is.awesome. Wasn't she at 125 when you first posted and 150 just a couple of months ago?

[littleman]

Yeah, her legs are freakishly strong and keep getting stronger.

[littleman]

Just to log my progress I did about 8m 40s yesterday.  For me (maybe everyone) running is weird -- it isn't so much about maximum effort but how much tolerance I to being uncomfortable.

[ergophobe]

tolerance I to being uncomfortable.

There is actually a whole field of research around this led by Tim Noakes. The idea of a governor. And it's common in the literature of running to say that running is fundamentally a sport of pain, which differentiates it from golf, but even boxing where the pain comes in spurts. One of the things they find about the tribe in Ethiopia that turns out so many good runners is they have an extremely high pain tolerance.

[Rupert]

I did about 8m 40s yesterday.

Good effort LM.   min was back up to 9.22  Just a jog.   I left my ability to manage pain behind

[littleman]

I did my usual 4/4 weight training sessions.  On leg days I am only running a fast (for me) 1/4 mile at the end of the workout.  On non-leg days I've been running a mile.

[Rupert]

Well done.  2 runs and a fun cycle off road with Lucy.  not a hard push, but fun.

so 3/4

[ergophobe]

>>my usual 4/4 weight training sessions

Hat's off! That makes me want to go lift some weights (I did 1/2 of my weight workouts and that was just lifting some rocks in the woods behind work during my lunch). Please keep reporting in with weeks like that!

I did have the first decent week of activity since my bout with low-grade pneumonia - 4/4 - a short run, lifting rocks, alpine touring, and 2.5 hours of the hardest skate skiing of the year (mashed potatoes snow).

Alpine touring: https://goo.gl/photos/5uJPYxdRN6nu3vxj9

[littleman]

>so 3/4

Pretty good!

>fun cycle off road with Lucy

Is that your bike or your SO?

Ergophobe, that is a lot of activity for someone for someone recovering from pneumonia.

[Travoli]

3/3 weight training.

[Rupert]

>>>Lucy...   sorry... daughter.