Skip to main content

NOVA Marathon Challenge

Update:

I just finished watching the program described below. I thought it was a very inspiring piece, though it made marathoning seem scarier than it usually is. My favorite part was one of the team member's (Steve) statement that he went for the challenge because it was so ridiculous that it's "intriguing."

The segment featured 12 people who rarely exercised and put them on a 9-month (yikes!) training program to run the Boston Marathon. Many of them had other issues besides being sedentary, such as stress fractures, previous heart attack, obesity (common), and even a guy with HIV. Obviously, they had their struggles. I thought it was cool how they talked about some of the physiological aspects of running, such as VO2-MAX, glycogen, and other muscle and bone issues. It didn't make it sound very alluring, to be honest.

Watching those novices cross the finish line reminded me how good it will feel in Los Angeles in March. I gotta start training my huge muscular butt harder (inside joke).

P.S. I made it home from my Advanced Stats midterm about halfway through the program, but thanks to the person who recorded the first half for me!

------

Original Post:

Nova, a popular PBS show, is airing the results of a study of the physiological effects of going from inexperienced exerciser to marathoner on Tuesday, October 30th.

This is good timing, as the unofficial start date of my marathon training is October 29. I have class the night this is supposed to air, but hopefully I can catch it on another PBS station or have someone record this for me.

Being someone who swings between utter idleness and running for hours, I'd like to know what I'm doing to myself -- the good and bad.

------

Link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/marathon/about.html

Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing this - looks interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, thanks for alerting me about this show. It was pretty interesting. That butt comment is funny. It keeps us from tipping forward too much..haha. Glad you caught the show almost real time. Yeah, that show kinda inspired me.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Giveaway Winner! -- Sony W Series MP3 Player (Update)

Updated Post: 3/20/11 As promised, here are the Sony W Series giveaway winners: -- both have been contacted and prizes sent -- Please e-mail me at (Gmail) Nobel4Lit2 with your addresses, and I'll ship out the units soon! Thanks to everyone who entered.  Stay tuned for another giveaway soon (maybe later this week)! (Note: I ended up putting everyone's retweets starting after the comments when it came to numbering the entries.) Original Post: 3/10/11 Sunday, March 20 2011, the day I will run LA Marathon for the 4th time (and embark on my 8th 26.2 journey overall), will also be very special because it will mark the 5th year since I did my FIRST training run with the intention of running a marathon.  (Check out that life-changing post HERE ). Yep, on March 20, 2006, I went to the track and ran my first 3.25 miles with the dreams of marathon glory (or even half-marathon glory). I think it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  I was a sprint/track

Sharkies Prize Pack (giveaway)

It's giveaway time! On a long run recently, I took a couple packs of Sharkies Organic Sports Chews  with me to keep me going on a hot day.  I got through those 15 miles  eating these, versus normal gels.  I've been opting to eat chews over gels in my running nowadays because I just find them more palatable and easier on my stomach for some reason.  Plus, they do pack a few more calories, which is a good thing in this case. I normally associate cute little chews with candy, but these actually contain natural electrolytes.  Plus, they were light to carry and very tasty, too!  Each pack is about 140 calories.  The only downside I found to the sport chews is that they stuck to my teeth a tiny bit more than my normal choices, and the packaging gave me a fight at times.  This could easily be solved by conslidating them into a baggie pre-run, or eating them BEFORE running would be much easier than during. Want to win the prize pack below?  It comes with these Sport Chews, a neat

Rebecca Michaels Performance Clothing (Giveaway)

UPDATE: 6/21/12 -- This giveaway is closed, and the winner is #43, Jacqueline!!  I will contact you, but if you miss it, please e-mail me! ------ I'd like to credit in advance "The Ukrainian" who helped me stage some photos for this post. =) Perhaps because I don't dress well when working out, I was offered the opportunity to try some fun pieces from the Rebecca Michaels summer collection. Since I complained about my issues with headbands staying on my head, I also got to try their Violet Love headbands.  "The Ukrainian" didn't hesitate in throwing one on, and I think he said he looks like Rambo in it. Anyway, I'll start with my experience with the headbands .  They are very soft and actually look SUPER cute on!  They also cover a large portion of the top of your head, so those little fly-aways don't come drooping down.  Or is that just me?  My hair is normally cut in layers, so I do experience this quite a bit. Unfortun