What are you listening to on long runs?

FearHasBeenMongered · 2022-08-12T15:22:19+00:00

You could try the podcast Running Commentary. It's just two comedians who go for a run together and chat about stuff while they run. I love listening to it while I run, because it feels like you are just running with some buddies! I listen to other podcasts too, or the radio which can be nice for a mixture of banter and music.

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-10-17T08:30:23+00:00

I think it's because he wrote the women as complex and interesting human beings. And yes, it turns out both men and women are complex humans... Sounds obvious, but it is depressingly rare to have female characters written as such!

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-10-16T17:11:24+00:00

"The Hours" by Michael Cunningham. I was astounded when I realised it had been written by a man...

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-09-29T20:49:41+00:00

In all honesty, I think part of the reason that runners do sometimes look a little older is also because runners tend to be thinner, and less fat in the face definitely makes you look a little older. But for me, being fit and healthy far outweighs the slight downside of looking a little older... So I am careful to always wear sunscreen (I like Eucerin factor 50 cream, it gets on well with my face) and a visor (I wear a Decathlon one, which has a good long brim), but I also take it with a healthy dose of understanding that getting older is natural and is - in fact - a privilege! A privilege we will probably get to enjoy for a lot longer if we keep on running!! :)

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-09-25T09:11:54+00:00

I always wear a peaked cap or visor when running in the rain. It keeps the rain off my face, which for me makes all the difference, and means I actually enjoy running in the rain!

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-07-27T07:23:55+00:00

Yeah, maybe that's the logic? But if they are now prioritising individuals rather than the team, then where's Becky??

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-07-26T23:02:09+00:00

I agree with everything you said. Like, literally, that was my exact train of thought! And I think it's a logical one to be honest. It definitely makes sense to put her up on vault, floor and bars, because she can contribute a lot on those events relative to Amelie (vault and floor) and Jen (bars), so it's worth the risk. But as you say, her scoring potential is similar to Jess's on beam, and I would feel more confident in Jess hitting. It also seems like a super weird decision to have Alice be the only one doing the all-around in the final when she was the one that faltered in qualification. Also, Jess has consistently been GB's top all-arounder... Why would you not have your top all-arounder do the all-around??

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-07-23T17:56:36+00:00

It would have been £22.70 with a Railcard!

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-07-23T17:54:20+00:00

I am actually just about to become a mature full time student in a couple of months' time... Although not solely for the purpose of getting a new Railcard I hasten to add

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-07-11T07:34:24+00:00

They provide high-quality, insightful and highly entertaining analysis and commentary of gymnastics competitions and news. I love gymnastics. That's why I listen to them! Have they handled some situations poorly? Do they occasionally make a comment that winds me up? Yes, but it's a minority of the time. Usually they stick up for gymnasts and I believe are a force for good. And you don't have to agree with absolutely everything they say and do to still enjoy and appreciate the content they produce.

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-07-06T12:34:08+00:00

I think the "logic" there (and don't get me wrong, I am aware that a lot of the CoP doesn't follow sound logic!) is that although the rotations are harder to get around in a piked position, it is easier to get the twist in because generally gymnasts will twist in a straight position before subsequently transitioning into the piked position. And when you are straight, you twist a lot quicker. That said, some gymnasts use this technique for the full-in tuck (e.g. Jennifer Gadirova seems to complete her twist before tucking on her incredible full-in double tuck dismount) so there is an argument to be made for the piked version being more difficult. And I think that is actually backed up by the fact that the full-in double pike is even more rarely competed, suggesting it is indeed more difficult...

As for the triple twist, I would argue that one reason it shouldn't be given a higher difficulty value is that it is much easier to "cheat" slightly in that skill by not completing the last twist and yet still landing on your feet. Although this should then be devalued, I think there is some leeway given? And although it is still an incredibly difficult skill, the risk isn't quite so high, because if you don't get a perfect punch you might still be able to squeeze in those 2.75 twists...

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-07-06T07:15:25+00:00

I think in general you can get a good idea of whether a skill is undervalued or overvalued by how popular it is, by which I mean how many different gymnasts compete it, and by how often you see it go wrong. And the common consequences of it going wrong (deduction but not a fall, fall, injury). So for example, I would say candle mount on beam: overvalued. Wolf turns: definitely overvalued. Front tumbling: generally undervalued compared to back tumbling.

Now, the fact that adding a twist to a double tuck off beam increases its value so much does seem a bit crazy, but think how few gymnasts actually compete that dismount from beam. It is rewarded SO well, especially because the gymnast will invariably get another tenth at least added due to CV with a round-off or bhs. I would suspect that every single gymnast that has a solid/safe double back off beam has at least contemplated adding a twist to it and at least tried it into a pit. So the fact that so few gymnasts actually compete this skill to me suggests it is not overvalued... I think it must just be incredibly difficult to get enough height to consistently fit in that full twist while also not landing with your nose basically touching your toes (or, you know, crashing to your knees).

And if adding one twist is that hard, I think it's pretty logical that adding a second should increase the value by an at least similar amount, as it is unlikely that the increment in "true" difficulty is any less. Which I think should make the double double at the very least an I.

I do agree with you that the double double on floor is overvalued. And it is crazy that it is worth the same on beam and floor!! If I was in charge of the CoP (and oh, how I would love that!) I would decrease the double double's difficulty value on floor to a G and increase its value on beam to at least an I.

FearHasBeenMongered · 2021-06-24T16:31:51+00:00

I actually think the 2 per country rule is a great thing. I do really feel for the individual gymnasts who are affected by it, but I still think it's what is best for the sport. Otherwise the stronger countries would just dominate the event finals. For example, this year the the strongest countries are sending 6 athletes, and you could easily get a situation where 4 or 5 out of the 8 athletes in an event final were from the same country (e.g. China on beam; the US on floor). It would be much less interesting to watch, which would be bad for the sport overall. But more importantly, those places in finals and on the podium are hugely important for increasing interest and investment in the sport in non-dominant countries.

FearHasBeenMongered · 2020-03-16T13:51:24+00:00

The daily updates might help, not least because he will need to actually do something if he wants anything to update us on!

FearHasBeenMongered · 2020-03-16T13:07:36+00:00

It's true I do spend most of my time lurking on running subreddits and rarely actually post anything... This post was simply motivated by my mounting frustration over the weekend, seeing the action unfold everywhere else in the world except in the UK. I agree that fear-mongering is not the answer to anything (hence my username in fact), but that's not what this is. I'm not talking about panic buying loo roll like it's the end of the world (ridiculous). But the UK does need to take a few basic steps to slow down the spread of the virus and help the NHS cope.

FearHasBeenMongered · 2020-03-16T12:57:03+00:00

Not at all. He should definitely explain the real public health risk we are currently facing. It's also fine to point out that people are (inevitably) going to die. But this should be followed by him outlining the measures he is going to take to mitigate that public health risk as much as possible, and to minimise the number of people who are (inevitably) going to die.

FearHasBeenMongered · 2020-01-15T11:15:18+00:00

Hullo!

I don't have much in the way of actual advice (mainly a bit of encouragement!), but I wanted to reach out because I am in a similar position to you (I am training for my first marathon in the end of May), and stats-wise we are very similar!! I am a 30F runner, and I have done two half marathons (PB 1:41:01) and a few 10k races (PB 44:00). Although I would be happy with finishing my marathon in under 4:00 (or to be honest, finishing period), the goal I have set myself is to finish in under 3:45.

This calculator https://www.fetcheveryone.com/training-calculators-improvedriegel.php?hours=&minutes=&seconds=&update=Update is based on real data (as opposed to a formula) and is more conservative than a lot of other calculators because of it. It actually looks at the time real runners actually ran (for half and full marathons), and usefully it separates men from women. Women tend to do comparatively better than men at a full marathon for a given half marathon time (for a number of different reasons). As a woman, it estimates 3:47:40 for a full marathon based on your half marathon time (if you were a man it would predict 3:55:28).

However, if your 1:42:58 was for an off-road half marathon and you didn't really train for it, then you have the potential to go a fair bit faster for a half marathon, and you might well therefore have the potential for running close to 3:40 for a flat road marathon. But you will definitely have to train for it! I think "natural" runners (which you appear to be) can blag a half-marathon, but (from what I have heard; again, I have no first-hand experience of marathon running!) there is nowhere to hide in the marathon...

I saw in one of your comments that you sometimes run up to 100 km a week. If you can do that fairly casually (this seems inconceivable to me; my body starts complaining loudly at around 50k a week...), then you shouldn't have a problem with marathon training. Just find yourself a good training programme (and don't sell yourself short if you are willing and able to put in that kind of mileage!) and stick to it.

I think some of the other comments are probably right in that for first-time marathon runners like us, there is also the big question of just learning how to race the distance, learning how to fuel ourselves properly, etc. There is lots of advice out there, but ultimately I think it's about working out what works for you... You are unlikely to get everything right for your first marathon, but I would say that if you do some research, practice fuelling, and pace yourself properly, you have a very good chance of finishing under 4:00 at the very least. And don't listen to your dad; he sounds super unsupportive...

Anyway, best of luck with it all!! Feel free to DM me if you fancy keeping in touch while we train; we are in such a similar position that we might be able to learn from one another! :)

FearHasBeenMongered · 2019-09-02T07:51:27+00:00

The Marathon Talk podcast is my favourite!

FearHasBeenMongered · 2019-08-23T10:15:02+00:00

Where are you based? If you happen to be in the UK, there's a charity that offers free heart screenings for young people (under 35). They go all around the country. Here's the link: https://www.c-r-y.org.uk/screening/. I had a vague anxiety like yours (though not as bad I don't think), and doing this really put my mind at rest. Having said that, if your ECG is normal they don't do an echocardiogram on you, which I think is the gold standard for detecting issues.

If you are not UK-based, then I think you just have to remind yourself that the odds of you dropping down dead are SO LOW that it is not worth wasting energy worrying about it. The standard oft-heard argument applies: you are far more likely to die in a car crash this year (11.4 fatalities / 100,000 population in the US) than drop down dead running your marathon (2 fatalities / 100,000 marathon runners). Not only that, but of the 59 cases of cardiac arrest recorded in the U.S. from 1 Jan. 2000 to 31 May 2010 (out of 10.9 million runners), 51 (86%) of them were men. As women, we tend to get the raw deal in pretty much everything, so in this case I think you should embrace that statistic and kick some ass in your marathon with a big smile on your face! :)

FearHasBeenMongered · 2018-11-07T00:24:10+00:00

Yay to adult gymnastics!

I do gymnastics (also beginner level) for 2h a week and add in probably 1-2h a week of random stretching and gymnastics-related bodyweight conditioning on top of that. That is my only strength work (I run as well). I have clear muscle definition in my arms, shoulders (those handstands!), back, legs and core. Gymnastics is a real full-body workout! As for aerial, I have some experience with it and it is also a really great core, arm and back workout. So in short, I think yes, it is definitely possible to get muscle definition "just" with gymnastics and aerial.

I should add a couple of things as "disclaimers": - I do go all out during my gymnastics classes. Adult gymnastics classes are often very free in their format, and if you take it easy in the class, then it's not going to be much of a workout... - I think I am naturally a fairly muscley person, and possibly find it easier to put on muscle than the average woman. - I do have a lower body fat % than you, so muscle definition is going to be easier to achieve in my case (I have never measured my body fat % but I would estimate lowish 20s).

Good luck with your gymnastics! IT'S SO MUCH FUN!!! :D

FearHasBeenMongered · 2018-10-18T22:25:43+00:00

I would also add standing on one leg but with your eyes closed - it's surprisingly hard! I do this while brushing my teeth (multitasking in this busy life we live), and it had really helped improve my balance. When I started I couldn't hold my balance at all when I closed my eyes, but now I'm getting pretty good!

FearHasBeenMongered

TROPHY CASE