YAHOO! headlines this morning had this to say about yesterday's winner:
Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai ran the fastest marathon ever on Monday, finishing the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds. Despite the blistering time, Mutai's mark isn't being recognized as a world record.
Why not?Even though it's considered one of the most challenging marathon courses in the world, the Boston Marathon is run on a net downhill, making it ineligible for world records. USA Track and Field only recognizes courses that meet specific criteria about elevation changes as record-eligible. Those courses must drop less than one meter per kilometer to fit the standard. For a 26.2-mile race, that's about 137 feet.
The Boston Marathon begins at 475 feet above sea level and drops all the way to 16 feet by the end. The total drop of 459 feet is well past the record-eligible specifications. That means Haile Gebrselassie's time of 2:03:59, set in Berlin in 2008, will remain the world record.
I feel bad for the guy! I understand the reasoning...but even so, a 2:03 finish time is amazing!
So yesterday I logged 5 miles on the TM...and then eagerly caught up on as many Boston Marathon recaps as possible!
I got to thinking about training...and how these marathoners are marathoners by trade. They work 40+ hours a week, training for their "job".
On average, how many days a week do you workout? How many hours?
Which leads me to my next question...when do you prefer to workout - morning, afternoon, or evening?
Before I was married, I worked out in the early mornings. I was at the gym by 5am, and then to work by 6:30am (Remember, I don't care what I look like at work - I did re-apply the deodorant though. Considerate, huh?) I loved working out early in the morning. I prefer working out on an empty stomach, and this allowed me to do that. There's still a lot of controversy about working out on an empty stomach versus eating first...so I'm not saying that one way is better than the other. I firmly believe it's dependent on the individual & what they're body can handle. I also liked that my workout was done for the day - I didn't have to worry about having to skip a workout due to plans for the evening.
Presently, I workout in the evenings. I'm at work by 6am, I have a 30 to 40 minute commute pending traffic, and I live with a man that is not an early riser. Ultimately, it's that last fact that prevents me from early morning workouts. It's unbelievably hard to get up in the morning when someone is laying next to you out cold. Plus he's a night owl...and in order to get in some quality time, I stay up later with him. (Before we were married, I was waking up around 4:30am, and going to bed by 8pm). I'm lucky if I make it to bed by 10pm.
For me, I feel like morning workouts are so much more productive for my day. Evening workouts sometimes interfere with our social calendar...and some days, I'm totally un-motivated to do anything once I leave work - including working out.
What are your thoughts???
8 comments:
I'm not that much of a morning person, but I love to have my workouts done in the morning. I feel so much better and lively the rest of the day.
Mornings, Mornings, Mornings!!! I used to work out in the a.m. pretty consistently, until I got married. Even now, I have to have someone waiting for me at the gym to actually get motivated to crawl out of bed. I feel like my metabolism is higher when I work out in the morning as well. I like getting it over with so I can chill with Clay in the evenings. I swear, Matt and Clay are cut from a very similar mold. I have to be at work by 7:30 so I would have to be at the gym by 5:00/5:30... I agree with the empty stomach thing for running. If I am just weight training, I can go either way. Great post girlie; let's run soon. xoxo
I work out in the evening too. Mostly because I go to bed so late it's too hard to get up in the morning. I try to get in one morning workout every week or so just so I can have that "thank God my workout is over for the day" feeling every now and then.
My energy is gone in the morning, so the evening usually works better for me.
I typically work out at night but I'm working on moving some workouts to the morning. I am sort of a night owl too and love to sleep til the very last minute..But if I had my choice my ideal day would be to get up around 7am..get a run in and weights/ab work and then head to work around 9 or 10am...but of course that will never happen with my current job (paralegal 8:30-5:30 every day) lol
I try to work out for 1 hour a day for 4-5 days a week, sometimes 6 days if I have the chance.
I definitely prefer morning workouts! I run probably 5 days a week, 6 hours total. And then maybe 3-4 hours of strength training, cross-training, etc. Depends on the week, of course!
Considering the hills in Boston I really think he should be able to claim the world record. After all, the Boston course is consistently slower than other marathons!
:)
I am too lazy to work out in the mornings and way too busy to get it down at night. I ended up buying a gym membership close to work and go on my lunch break. Works out that I get an hour of running in, and a bit of energy to head back to work.
I have to work out in the mornings, otherwise I won't do it- although I am adding in evening yoga classes!
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I prefer to get up and get my cardio done with. If I leave it til the evening it's probably not going to happen... BUT for lifting weights I much prefer the evenings when I'm not in a half sleepy trance lol
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