Running
In my late forties my left knee swelled after running. It had been a problem off and on since some injury in high school. I saw an orthopedic doctor who said "Dont' run".
Two or three years ago I tried running again and my left knee swelled, became stif and was a little painful. Two months later the swelling subsided. I tried a year later. Same results.
Some months ago Julie wanted to start running. I decided to try running with her. I haven't had a problem. I think returning to the gym and engaging in weight training for a few months prior made the difference. But, perhaps it was the stationary bicycles and elliptical machines. Or, perhaps the combination. Regardless, my knee is fine.
I've heard the assertion that running is hard on knees. The latest research that I've read has confirmed the opposite. People who have run for years have healthier knees.
I also read some surprising news. Everyone seems to carry a water bottle which I never do. Over the last thirty years or so no one in a marathon has died from dehydration but several have died from drinking too much water -- water intoxication or hyponatremia.
Curiosity caused me to conduct a simple experiment. Last week I weighed myself, ran two miles and weighed myself again. I lost exactly one pound. Today I repeated the experiment. After running for 30 minutes I was 1.4 pounds lighter. No danger of dehydration.
I've timed myself for specific distances and entered the results into a calculator to determine my level of fitness as compared to other 65 year old males. I generally fall somewhere just short of the 80th percentile.
Julie is a different story. I did the same calculations for her and she's just shy of the 99th percentile. I couldn't believe it. I checked the results multiple times. She has better aerobic fitness than 75% of women twenty years younger than her!
We considered buying a treadmill before winter. That consideration ended fairly quickly. The better units have a motor of 3 or 3.5 horsepower. That's a problem. Wattage would be some where in the neighbourhood of 3000 watts with a start up surge of 9000 watts. Our inverter is rated for 1800 watts continuous use. I could install a circuit from the generator that bypasses the inverter and start the generator but that is borderline. The generator is rated at 8000 watts so it would start charging the batteries and supplying the needs of the house (refrigerator, etc) and then try to respond to the surge of the treadmill being turned on.
I think we'll run outside in good weather and use the university gym in bad weather. Both of us are committed to continue. Running is becoming addictive
Two or three years ago I tried running again and my left knee swelled, became stif and was a little painful. Two months later the swelling subsided. I tried a year later. Same results.
Some months ago Julie wanted to start running. I decided to try running with her. I haven't had a problem. I think returning to the gym and engaging in weight training for a few months prior made the difference. But, perhaps it was the stationary bicycles and elliptical machines. Or, perhaps the combination. Regardless, my knee is fine.
I've heard the assertion that running is hard on knees. The latest research that I've read has confirmed the opposite. People who have run for years have healthier knees.
I also read some surprising news. Everyone seems to carry a water bottle which I never do. Over the last thirty years or so no one in a marathon has died from dehydration but several have died from drinking too much water -- water intoxication or hyponatremia.
Curiosity caused me to conduct a simple experiment. Last week I weighed myself, ran two miles and weighed myself again. I lost exactly one pound. Today I repeated the experiment. After running for 30 minutes I was 1.4 pounds lighter. No danger of dehydration.
I've timed myself for specific distances and entered the results into a calculator to determine my level of fitness as compared to other 65 year old males. I generally fall somewhere just short of the 80th percentile.
Julie is a different story. I did the same calculations for her and she's just shy of the 99th percentile. I couldn't believe it. I checked the results multiple times. She has better aerobic fitness than 75% of women twenty years younger than her!
We considered buying a treadmill before winter. That consideration ended fairly quickly. The better units have a motor of 3 or 3.5 horsepower. That's a problem. Wattage would be some where in the neighbourhood of 3000 watts with a start up surge of 9000 watts. Our inverter is rated for 1800 watts continuous use. I could install a circuit from the generator that bypasses the inverter and start the generator but that is borderline. The generator is rated at 8000 watts so it would start charging the batteries and supplying the needs of the house (refrigerator, etc) and then try to respond to the surge of the treadmill being turned on.
I think we'll run outside in good weather and use the university gym in bad weather. Both of us are committed to continue. Running is becoming addictive
posted by Paul at 8:40 PM
2 Comments:
23In case you're wondering, I'm glad you're posting again. You have been missed.
Interesting that you are talking about knees. Trista thinks weak knees might run in the family. Mom had the knee replacement. My knees swelled for no reason for almost a year and every once and a while they do now. And Trista has trouble with her knees, although she still runs. As I said, interesting.
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