kodi
Well-known member
A friend sent this URL to me. Interest article but it's not going to stop me from running marathons.
http://www.sbsun.com/search/ci_5013931
http://www.sbsun.com/search/ci_5013931
Is marathon running too dangerous
- Thread starter kodi
- Start date
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SumoRunner
Well-known member
Rubbish. I've seen this same sort of scare story every year for 30 years.
PJmomrunner
Well-known member
Don't know what the article said because when I tried to access it, it said, "Thank you for visiting San Bernardino County Sun. We are sorry the article that you requested is no longer available. Please search for this article in our archive search."
Wanna give us the gist?
Wanna give us the gist?
S
Stan925
I too could not get to the article.
I am a runner and I do just fine although I am not very good at it. I do watch my heart rate carefully when I run just to be safe. I use a Polar heart rate monitor to do this and plot my heart rate afterwards on my PC. This may be overkill but I do it because I have a high heart rate when I run.
I also get a regular stress echo test to get an OK from my cardiologist and he endorses my running.
Good luck,
Stan
I am a runner and I do just fine although I am not very good at it. I do watch my heart rate carefully when I run just to be safe. I use a Polar heart rate monitor to do this and plot my heart rate afterwards on my PC. This may be overkill but I do it because I have a high heart rate when I run.
I also get a regular stress echo test to get an OK from my cardiologist and he endorses my running.
Good luck,
Stan
Are marathons dangerous? Presumably yes, at least to some extent. The original marathoner died from his exertions immediately after delivering his message.
However, as far as "scare" articles...
I was at the dentist's today for a cleaning. I was told people on warfarin couldn't have their teeth cleaned unless they went off of it for several days because they would bleed out. (Yep...Right there in the chair, I guess.)
The tech had also read that there was a 2% chance of a heart valve or artificial knee/hip infection if the patient didn't take premedication before having their teeth cleaned. (Patients must have been dropping like flies....)
Of course, both of those statements are complete balderdash. But the tech is not an idiot. The tech read these "facts" in guidelines that were published for dental assistants.
It just points out that there is no guarantee that an article is true because it was written by an "expert." You should gauge the things you read by your own experience, understanding, common sense, and just a little bit of openness to something or some point of view that you may not have seen or understood before.
I couldn't read the article either, but I wouldn't look upon it as a final resolution to the matter, even sight unseen. For every success story, there's another story about someone's cousin who had a friend who died from the very same thing.
Best wishes,
However, as far as "scare" articles...
I was at the dentist's today for a cleaning. I was told people on warfarin couldn't have their teeth cleaned unless they went off of it for several days because they would bleed out. (Yep...Right there in the chair, I guess.)
The tech had also read that there was a 2% chance of a heart valve or artificial knee/hip infection if the patient didn't take premedication before having their teeth cleaned. (Patients must have been dropping like flies....)
Of course, both of those statements are complete balderdash. But the tech is not an idiot. The tech read these "facts" in guidelines that were published for dental assistants.
It just points out that there is no guarantee that an article is true because it was written by an "expert." You should gauge the things you read by your own experience, understanding, common sense, and just a little bit of openness to something or some point of view that you may not have seen or understood before.
I couldn't read the article either, but I wouldn't look upon it as a final resolution to the matter, even sight unseen. For every success story, there's another story about someone's cousin who had a friend who died from the very same thing.
Best wishes,
kodi
Well-known member
I tried to search their archives and couldn't even find it there. The gist is it overtaxes the body and heart, etc, etc, etc.
I agree with SumoRunner that it is rubbish but some people like to read things like that. There was nothing new that hasn't been printed before about it.
I agree with SumoRunner that it is rubbish but some people like to read things like that. There was nothing new that hasn't been printed before about it.
LUVMyBirman
Well-known member
I mentioned in another thread about a loss of a friend with MVP with reguirg. He was told by one MD to have surgery within 6 months. Second opinion....told him he really did not neeed it then. To come back in 6 months. In the meantime....he was running on his treadmill (which he was given full clearance to do so by MD #2) He collapsed and died. Age 35. Can't be too careful.
If you have a repaired or replaced valve with no other abnomalities....there should not be a limitation. Using myself as an example. Card told me I should be able to do what the rest of the population does. No marathon runner here. I do enjoy my treadmill, skiing, hiking, etc.
If you have a repaired or replaced valve with no other abnomalities....there should not be a limitation. Using myself as an example. Card told me I should be able to do what the rest of the population does. No marathon runner here. I do enjoy my treadmill, skiing, hiking, etc.
Christina L
Well-known member
I think people should do what
I think people should do what
they want to do - but count me out for any marathons!
If the troponin is high, that means that the heart has been stressed. Hello!!! Don't ya think that is pretty telling?!
Anyway...it is like being a rock climber or a mountain climber....I don't understand why people do it, but they do, and more power to em - if it makes them happy, then I'm all for it. Life is short and if they want to possibly make their lives shorter, well, that is their decision.
But it ain't for me. Moderate exercise is enough for this old gal.
Christina L
I think people should do what
they want to do - but count me out for any marathons!
If the troponin is high, that means that the heart has been stressed. Hello!!! Don't ya think that is pretty telling?!Anyway...it is like being a rock climber or a mountain climber....I don't understand why people do it, but they do, and more power to em - if it makes them happy, then I'm all for it. Life is short and if they want to possibly make their lives shorter, well, that is their decision.
But it ain't for me. Moderate exercise is enough for this old gal.
Christina L
One thing this article had mentioned was the increase in the number of people doing marathons. I would imagine as people make the move from couch potato to running marathons that they may be pushing to hard to soon and not doing enough base training, this would have the potential of causing more deaths. You always hear "consult with a doctor before begining an exercise program" how many really do. I would also like to find out what the cause of death was.
Marathons
Marathons
As a finsiher of a dozen or so marathons, I can only say how great it is to plan, train, and accomplish this goal. I am offering to be the test case of one...when I run my first marathon after AVR surgery! Disneyworld is having a special medal next Januray for the 15th anniversary of the WDW marathon!
Marathons
As a finsiher of a dozen or so marathons, I can only say how great it is to plan, train, and accomplish this goal. I am offering to be the test case of one...when I run my first marathon after AVR surgery! Disneyworld is having a special medal next Januray for the 15th anniversary of the WDW marathon!
kodi
Well-known member
tprice54 said:
Gee I might have to change my marathon goal date from 2/16/2008 to 1??/2008. I've always wanted to do WDW but never made the trip.
kodi
Well-known member
mntbiker said:
I really agree with you about so many not being properly trained or in the best condition. I used to run with Team in Training and they would take essentially non-runners and over a period of about 4-6 months they would run a marathon. True they were slow but I think that's way to short a time. I ran 4 years before I ever did my first one.
Another thing the article did mention was that training more than 35 miles a week would cause less problems. (I can't remember the exact wording, but you get the gist of it).
MikeHeim
Well-known member
I would absolutely caution anyone who makes the assumption that the only people who die while running marathons are fat idiots who didn't train properly. In the half marathon I ran a little less than two weeks ago (Orange County, CA) there was a man who was 41 who ran the entire marathon, collapsed at the finish line, and died on his way to the hospital. The newspaper story related that the man had completed several marathons in the past, and ran 13 miles with a running group every weekend for several weeks prior to running the race. He had no history of heart problems and looked like he probably weighs less than me (I'm 6'2" and 200lbs.).
I got into a discussion at work with several people who had run marathons as well about how such a thing could happen. In what could be considered by many to be a show of poor taste, we decided to look up the guy's photos online. (For anyone who doesn't run - there are photographers set up at several points along most race courses who attempt to take pictures of everyone as they pass. You can then look up someone's pictures if you know their race number, or in this case, their last name.) For some reason, I couldn't stop looking at one of the pictures that was taken only a couple miles before the finish line. The guy was smiling and looked at least 20X better than I have EVER looked after running 20+ miles. It certainly won't stop me from running in the future, but it may make me consider slowing down when my body is screaming to stop and my legs begin to get wobbly.
I got into a discussion at work with several people who had run marathons as well about how such a thing could happen. In what could be considered by many to be a show of poor taste, we decided to look up the guy's photos online. (For anyone who doesn't run - there are photographers set up at several points along most race courses who attempt to take pictures of everyone as they pass. You can then look up someone's pictures if you know their race number, or in this case, their last name.) For some reason, I couldn't stop looking at one of the pictures that was taken only a couple miles before the finish line. The guy was smiling and looked at least 20X better than I have EVER looked after running 20+ miles. It certainly won't stop me from running in the future, but it may make me consider slowing down when my body is screaming to stop and my legs begin to get wobbly.
Mark Wagner
Well-known member
Well, I have run 5 post op marathons now. ... But am I really writing this ... or ... oh my golly ... am I dead, but just think I am writing this! Oh man, I am freaking out now!!!! Did I die during my first marathon, but wait minute ... if I am dead, why do I see this print. Oh the hell with it, I am going for jog right now and I hope I am alive to talk about it when I am done ... but how can I talk about if I am dead .... and what if ....
Mtnbiker has a point about increased participation and possible decreased caution. Are the new runners cutting corners? Hope not.
My two marathons were post AVR - several years after. I'm one of those couch to marathon guys (53 weeks by the way). I was an overweight middle-aged novice runner with a "heart history". I checked with my cardiologist. He gave me the green light. He ran marathons in college (I guess before med school ). He now calls me his hero!
BTW, when I say "novice", I had run about 25 miles when I discovered VR.com (Mark, Les and others) and caught the marathon bug. It was about 25 more miles farther, and a month later, when I checked in with my cardio. M1 was about 8 months after that (no cracks about gestation ) M@ was 6 months after that.
My cardio also said that my heart function was normal. Talk about a paradigm shift! "Normal" changes everything. That's why I refer to having a "heart history" rather than a "heart condition" or "heart disease". Sure, there's some denial here, but to me the point of having the surgery was to get fixed, and not look back, and to not hold back. Not everyone has that positive outcome, and I think of those (you) every time I run.
I recall two things in my early reading about marathon training.
1. Don't consider a marathon until you have been running about 25 miles per week for about 6 months. Okay, I broke that rule by a few months.
2. Respect the distance. You can't cram for this test. Ya gotsta put in the miles.
Running that distance requires learning ..... about shoes, clothing, hydration, nutrition, and time management. And it takes a while to build up the mental toughness. Mental toughness is still a short suit for me - probably why I haven't run a third.
Still, having said all that, its hard to deny that marathoning is riskier than crossing the street. But Oh! (added for dramatic effect), the reward of the finish line is huge! I don't think that the last time I crossed the street, that I hugged my wife, kneeled down, said a prayer, kissed the ground and glowed for months! I'm not knocking those that don't run, but risks are balanced by rewards.
And when times aren't quite so rosy, I pull out the memory and shed a happy tear for being able to live life as I choose, and cashing in as well.
My two marathons were post AVR - several years after. I'm one of those couch to marathon guys (53 weeks by the way). I was an overweight middle-aged novice runner with a "heart history". I checked with my cardiologist. He gave me the green light. He ran marathons in college (I guess before med school
). He now calls me his hero!BTW, when I say "novice", I had run about 25 miles when I discovered VR.com (Mark, Les and others) and caught the marathon bug. It was about 25 more miles farther, and a month later, when I checked in with my cardio. M1 was about 8 months after that (no cracks about gestation
) M@ was 6 months after that.My cardio also said that my heart function was normal. Talk about a paradigm shift! "Normal" changes everything. That's why I refer to having a "heart history" rather than a "heart condition" or "heart disease". Sure, there's some denial here, but to me the point of having the surgery was to get fixed, and not look back, and to not hold back. Not everyone has that positive outcome, and I think of those (you) every time I run.
I recall two things in my early reading about marathon training.
1. Don't consider a marathon until you have been running about 25 miles per week for about 6 months. Okay, I broke that rule by a few months.
2. Respect the distance. You can't cram for this test. Ya gotsta put in the miles.
Running that distance requires learning ..... about shoes, clothing, hydration, nutrition, and time management. And it takes a while to build up the mental toughness. Mental toughness is still a short suit for me - probably why I haven't run a third.
Still, having said all that, its hard to deny that marathoning is riskier than crossing the street. But Oh! (added for dramatic effect), the reward of the finish line is huge! I don't think that the last time I crossed the street, that I hugged my wife, kneeled down, said a prayer, kissed the ground and glowed for months! I'm not knocking those that don't run, but risks are balanced by rewards.
And when times aren't quite so rosy, I pull out the memory and shed a happy tear for being able to live life as I choose, and cashing in as well.
Mark Wagner
Well-known member
I think the key is a good running base for several months, followed by a good marathon plan, of which there are many to choose from.
My last marathon was my slowest; due to injury; and very hit and miss pre marathon training due to time constraints. I did not follow my own advice ... "you cannot cheat a marathon."
Personally I would not attempt a marathon unless I had been running 4 miles every other day for a minimum of 4 months. You have to have that base, or your asking for injury. Once you have the base, then you go into a good 16 week marathon training plan. Most important; a good 'physical' and approval by your physician and cardiologist prior to the attempt. My doctors were a couple of my biggest supporters, and that in itself was a huge motivator.
One of the biggest killers of marathons is people consuming to much water during the race. Runners World magazine and their web site has excellent articles with running plans, information on hydration, and nutrition, etc. When I run and train I stick to sports drinks.
When I first started running after surgery, it really was scary. I started out on a run walk program for short period ( I got out of the beginners section on the runners world web site.) and then moved up a mile every couple of weeks until I had that 4 to 6 miles base. Every time I moved up a mile, it scared the daylights out of me ... 'is my heart going to fail and can it take it' ... but I did just fine, and after each run more confidence came with it. I ran my first marathon 9 months later. Like my cardiologist and doctor have both said, "Listen to your body."
Mark
My last marathon was my slowest; due to injury; and very hit and miss pre marathon training due to time constraints. I did not follow my own advice ... "you cannot cheat a marathon."
Personally I would not attempt a marathon unless I had been running 4 miles every other day for a minimum of 4 months. You have to have that base, or your asking for injury. Once you have the base, then you go into a good 16 week marathon training plan. Most important; a good 'physical' and approval by your physician and cardiologist prior to the attempt. My doctors were a couple of my biggest supporters, and that in itself was a huge motivator.
One of the biggest killers of marathons is people consuming to much water during the race. Runners World magazine and their web site has excellent articles with running plans, information on hydration, and nutrition, etc. When I run and train I stick to sports drinks.
When I first started running after surgery, it really was scary. I started out on a run walk program for short period ( I got out of the beginners section on the runners world web site.) and then moved up a mile every couple of weeks until I had that 4 to 6 miles base. Every time I moved up a mile, it scared the daylights out of me ... 'is my heart going to fail and can it take it' ... but I did just fine, and after each run more confidence came with it. I ran my first marathon 9 months later. Like my cardiologist and doctor have both said, "Listen to your body."
Mark
kodi
Well-known member
Mark,
I like hearing your history on returning to running. You were certainly a lot more conserative than this hard head here. Since my surgery and when I started jogging some in my daily walks I tried different approaches to see what worked best for me. I listened to my body as I have for the 28 years I've been running. What I really liked a lot about your post is how soon you ran a marathon post-surgery. My original plan, and for now my present plan, is to run my next marathon on the weekend of Feb 16 or whatever is close to that date. It is my 70th birthday. However I would really like to run my favorite marathon and the one I've done most in St. George UT. This year it will be one year and one day post surgery and what a way to celebrate an anniversary. I'm now 16 weeks post-surgery and have run over six miles without walking breaks and am finally feeling much more comfortable with my stride and breathing. I'm still slower than pre-surgery but that is also coming along better than I expected. I've been doing a variety of distances about 3 or 4 times a week, but never run less than 3.5 miles on any of them. I workout on my bike trainer at least 2 times a week from 45-60 minutes and yesterday returned to swimming. As a little side, I was really sceptical about going back to swimming and thought if I could swim 2 or 3 laps without stopping I'd do great. Swimming has been easier than either running or biking and I'm a lousy swimmer. Both yesterday and today I swam a total of 1500 meters with about a one minute break after every 500. My upper arms are the only things that are aching and my breathing and HR while swimming is really good.
Well enough rambling. Guess I should never get started on a subject that is important to me.
I like hearing your history on returning to running. You were certainly a lot more conserative than this hard head here. Since my surgery and when I started jogging some in my daily walks I tried different approaches to see what worked best for me. I listened to my body as I have for the 28 years I've been running. What I really liked a lot about your post is how soon you ran a marathon post-surgery. My original plan, and for now my present plan, is to run my next marathon on the weekend of Feb 16 or whatever is close to that date. It is my 70th birthday. However I would really like to run my favorite marathon and the one I've done most in St. George UT. This year it will be one year and one day post surgery and what a way to celebrate an anniversary. I'm now 16 weeks post-surgery and have run over six miles without walking breaks and am finally feeling much more comfortable with my stride and breathing. I'm still slower than pre-surgery but that is also coming along better than I expected. I've been doing a variety of distances about 3 or 4 times a week, but never run less than 3.5 miles on any of them. I workout on my bike trainer at least 2 times a week from 45-60 minutes and yesterday returned to swimming. As a little side, I was really sceptical about going back to swimming and thought if I could swim 2 or 3 laps without stopping I'd do great. Swimming has been easier than either running or biking and I'm a lousy swimmer. Both yesterday and today I swam a total of 1500 meters with about a one minute break after every 500. My upper arms are the only things that are aching and my breathing and HR while swimming is really good.
Well enough rambling. Guess I should never get started on a subject that is important to me.
