This Sporting Life-Hacker

Oct 28, 2009 12:46

Seeking to keep myself fit over the Winter, I signed up for a long run in February. The entry fee was cheaper than a month at the gym, and goes to one of my favourite charities ( Read more... )

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Comments 8

huskyteer October 28 2009, 14:00:40 UTC
Ah, Brighton seafront in February, I know it well. At least heatstroke won't be a danger.

(I have some German army-surplus thermal underclothes I could lend. But silk longjohns sound more appealing.)

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slightlyfoxed October 28 2009, 15:23:14 UTC
Freezing my tiny extremities off is certainly a real incentive to work on my speed.

(I used to wear army surplus underwear as pyjamas at college! I was well hard. And toasty warm.)

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huskyteer October 29 2009, 11:00:04 UTC
Mine arrived permeated with that special army smell of wet canvas, which several washes have failed to eradicate :(

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friend_of_tofu October 28 2009, 19:39:43 UTC
A lifetime of using what gifts I have to get out of work I don't fancy has left a grimy residue on me.

Goodness, but that feels familiar...

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drdoug October 28 2009, 21:52:13 UTC
Good luck!

most people think they are better at Y than most people

Ah - I'm exceptional. No, really. I am terrible at running, and almost everyone is better at it than me. As a P.E. teacher once memorably remarked of me, I'm built more for comfort than speed. And when I'm briskly walking any distance I can't help thinking how inefficient it is and how much better it would be to use the great gift of the bicycle. (I don't generally think on the occasions when I do run, because they are invariably the result of some impending and urgent crisis that occupies what little of my brain is not taken up with 'Ow'.)

I read something the other day about how humans might have evolved specifically to be good at long-distance running, and felt an unwelcome sense of being Australopithecine.

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as_alas_i_was October 29 2009, 10:55:20 UTC
I am with dr. doug. Body seems more well designed for lounging with my dogs in my bed under a duvet. (Where I am now...) And I've worked my adult life on perfecting that design!

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slightlyfoxed October 29 2009, 15:34:50 UTC
Oh, I'm getting in a lot of practice at lounging too. Also sprawling and lolling. Sometimes I wish I had less knobbly elbows, and maybe a better built-resting position for the head while reading (massively padded collarbones?), but you're right, the whole is designed awfully well.

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slightlyfoxed October 29 2009, 15:10:15 UTC
This is the snag - that although people think they're awesome, lots of people feel they're very bad at sport and singing. I'm wondering if I can trace that back to traumatic school experiences.

how inefficient it is and how much better it would be to use the great gift of the bicycle.

But striding around is really fun! Except if you've knackered your legs by failing to warm down from a run. Ow.

As a P.E. teacher once memorably remarked of me, I'm built more for comfort than speed.

Was your P.E. teacher Mae West? I suppose it's better than your career advisor telling you so. My P.E. report (age 11) said 'treats the subject with amused contempt'. I was mainly feeling fear and nausea, but I didn't quibble.

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