thanks to CBC and yourself for the constant encouragement of this blog..., this straw man is inspired by your daily work online that makes me think more of the iron men and the iron I once had in my own nature ...

Having just returned from a 32K run (not yet ready for a nap) I felt I just had to comment.

With my first marathon just over a month away, I'm into the long distances and harder workouts. This is just part of the normal training for a marathon.

But when I tell my friends about what I'm doing, how I eat, how I have to adjust my schedule, etc I might seem hardcore or "addicted" but compared with my runner friends, I'm taking things fairly conservatively. I know I'm doing things right and not being excessive. Unfortunately, my non-runner friends don't understand the difference because they have zero knowledge of running or training.

I don't mind people who actually know something about sports medicine or coaching defining what's pathological. But everybody else should make sure they know what they're talking about (i.e., how much training is too much for any particular goal) before misapplying label of "addiction." I'm saying this because I've reached my limit of hearing non-runners opine about how bad running is based on zero experience, knowledge or engagement with running or sports medicine.

Though I've certainly met some runners who appear to be pathological about their sport, I've also come to recognise that different goals require different levels of commitment. Is somebody who is trying to qualify for Boston "insane" because they're out more times a week than I am? At one time, I would have thought so. Now I'm educated about the sport and varying levels of commitment from amateur to elite.

I find it interesting how it's runners who are responding and confirming what everyone is saying. Training for a marathon is great, I have done it myself. But one must question his or her habits when you're having trouble doing basic physical things, like going down stairs... The biggest problem with "hardcore" trainers is that they tend to move that fine line between themselves and the addicted.

You are not a spring chicken based on your photo. If you are not careful, you will break.

Collagen starts losing its resiliency after 25 years of age. While older people may have strength and endurance, recovery time from an injury is longer than a 20 year old. Older people need to manage their physical activities and challenges to maximize the benefits while minimizing the injury risks.

A fine fuzzy line separates commitment and obsession/addiction. Obsession appears to be very strong in runners who will 'train' through injuries or physical setbacks. Going for that 'runner's high' while enduring pain and injury is counter-productive and indeed is self-destructive.

That chat with your doctor about wanting to run right after that procedure is a wake-up call. You are not an Olympic level or professional athlete. The withdrawal symptoms that hyper exercisers display when deprived of their highs can point to other challenges in their lives that need mending.

No benefit comes from exercising through injury or pain, the body's early warning system that damage is happening. Your running mate who did that 34k run on an injured hamstring is setting herself up for a chronic injury she will never recover from. A cane could be her new running mate.

I used to run 9 miles a day in my early thirties until I woke up one morning barely able to walk. Six weeks of rest sorted the hip joints out, but I learned a valuable lesson. Too much of a good thing is worse than a little of any bad thing.

I do the odd 10 K and have balanced my fitness program to include strength, flexibility and cardio activities such as running and cycling. I throw in salsa dancing for fun as it can burn off 600 calories per hour. Oh yes, I'm in my early 50s. I want to enjoy these activities a generation from now when I'm in my 70s, so I'm taking care not to break my body.

If I hurt, I take that day or two off. I feel refreshed going back and performance blips up. Your gang should consider the same.

There are way to many people who read too much and understand too little. Every time a new study, book, or website promotes one point of view, people just love to lose their objectivity and jump aboard. If you read something you agree with, you should automatically try to disprove it. If you can't, that belief becomes stronger. Dont forget-people with many letters after their names claimed cigarette smoking was benificial for "nerves" back in the 50's.
The one expert you should always listen to is your own body! You might be surprised what it can tell you. I hate this new love affair we have with "extreme". It usually results in extreme problems. If you hurt when you exercise, there's a good chance you're doing something wrong. Injury, intensity, conditioning, or style can all cause this. Maybe you aren't as athletic as you think. Take a day off, slow down, ease up frequency. You might even have to diversify, and take up a new activity that will give overused muscles a break. Notice i didn't say stop? Addictions are a product of a weak mind-so dont forget to exercise it too.
I hope I don't stop running until my addiction to breathing is cured, but my body tells me how much to run, and some times a 15K run turns into a 10K trot, or a 5K jog. Sometimes it tells me to go take a 4 mile hike only stopping occasionally to hit a golfball.

Runners seem to be the workout fanatics most likely to go overboard! My friends who are runners will not change their routine (except to run longer, harder, faster) even after they have obviously plateaued. They also insist on running when injured or ill.

I circuit (strength) train with aerobic intervals that sometimes include running (but usually include skipping rope, the unsung hero of all aerobic exercise!). It's tough and it needs to be modified every 6 weeks. It can be addictive, but when I first started out, my trainer very earnestly told me that there was no use training while injured or sick; I would do more harm than good. She even advised me not to work out when excessively tired!

While strength training with a partner can push you further, most of the time, if you choose your partner wisely (and don't team up with the 'roidy, grunting dudes), s/he will be able to tell when you're getting tired or struggling and will stop things there. But it seems that runners rarely tell each other to slow down and be careful.

If you really look at it, it seems that runners really get addicted to the activity. How else would one explain their need to keep going even when under the weather?

Ryan...of course nothing takes the place of strength training but nothing you can say can ever convince me that anything can take the place of cardio. They work hand in hand and I can't imagine only exercising 24 minutes a week. That's absolutely ludicrous to consider that healthful living. God made us to move. We were designed to be active including taking stairs. Your opinion is simply your opinion and there are millions of other opinions that make sense. REgardless of the form of exercise we engage in, the object is we engage, enjoy it and have fun. Last time I checked we all end up dead whether we run, strength train, both or none.

"Cardio" is a mis-used word. When most people use the word, they are meaning conditioning. I need to improve my conditioning. If I run, it will make me a better runner. If I am a better runner, than I must have a healthier heart. Which is not true. Fitness vs. Health. A diseased heart is a diseased heart, influenced by genetics more than anything.

When I think of cardio, I think of improving the functions of my heart and vascular system. For this purpose, strength training more than adequately fits this role. From my 24 (to 40) minutes of strength training per week, I have lowered my BP, and my resting HR is down to 44 from low 60's. A number of my clients are finally off BP meds after 20 yrs from 40 min strength training per week. Cardio.
No type of exercise improves the function of the heart or lungs per se. Your heart does not beat any stronger, and your lung capacity does not significantly change. (I think only ~4% is trainable)
Exercise primarily conditions your muscles! Whether you run, skip, climb or strength train. This muscle conditioning leads to the hemodynamic changes that most will chalk up to "better cardio"

Furthermore, yes, we will all die. But ST retains functional capacity better than all other forms of activity.

Have all the fun and variety with movement that you want but ST so you can do it for longer at the end your days.

Sandra:

I didn't mean to offend you with my comment. There was no need to become defensive! I didn't make this up and I didn't "hear it from someone". This was totally from observation: I have several friends who are runners and have encouraged me to run with them. I don't join them anymore because they didn't believe in slowing down for injury or illness, nor did they seem to believe in personal limitations.

If they were sick, they'd pop an Advil and keep going. If they had an injury, they'd either "run through the pain" or take an aspirin. If someone was tired and couldn't do a full run (getting winded, whatever), they would taunt them and expect them to keep up.

It was not fun. And as someone with a bum ankle, it was not something I could deal with, so I stopped joining them.

They are very smug about the fact that they run and use it as some meter for fitness, one that I can never live up to on account that I can't run 1K without stopping to rest my ankle.

Sandy...i think you need new friends. No one I've ever run with has ever taunted me for speed or being winded or injury (and I've dealt with all 3). Yes sometimes our judgment gets clouded and we run through pain but we quickly learn what pain we can run through...and when we get destructive we usually have other runners who tell us to smarten up! Any running friends or people i know are super positive, encouraging and cheer just as loud for the person to cross first as they do for the person to cross last. I think your group is the anomolie, not the rule.

Time for L'agent de provocateur...Sandy-get new friends or learn how to enjoy running by yourself. Alone does not equate to lonely. Anyone who would taunt, tease, or in any way derise your effort based on their ability is one step below poking you with a pointy stick to make you go faster. Real friends applaud effort rather than gun times.
Mike B and Ryan-You make yourselves targets when you apply specific advice based on large population studies. I'd rather you infer a generality that may or may not apply than insist that numbers imply an eventuality. I'm sure that one-on-one your advice could be specific, but informally you're asking for arguments.
To all those who are vigilant about their health-the more we learn the more we should inquire-especially because we are a generation in flux. But always remember the one and only expert you should listen to in the end is your own body. It will inform you loud and clear of your limitations.

All:

Thanks for the info. I've already ditched my running friends and have switched to the rather solitary activity of resistance training. I actually have a good training buddy, but I've learned that only I can motivate myself. But, unfortunately, running by myself bores me to tears. My ankles also feel loads better now that I'm not running anymore, actually.