You Can Make Anything Boring If You Try Hard Enough But With Water Running You Don’t Have To Try

Water Running Enhances Running Stamina

Without Risk Of Running-Induced Injuries 

What a beautiful picture of a tomato, which everyone by now knows to be a fruit not a vegetable.

What a beautiful picture of a tomato, which everyone by now knows to be a fruit not a vegetable.

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Water running is so boring (and effective) that it reminds me of learning all about fruits and seeds in Biology class, at age 14. Bad choice of subject matter, by the teacher. Most of the class dropped Biology, as a result – not me, fortunately.

I was already hooked on the study of the nature of life.

I had fried tomato with my two-egg breakfast today (I wasn’t vegan at the time!).

I really like tomatoes, I must admit. Most people know that tomatoes are classified as fruit, and the nutritionists are always telling us to eat our fruits and vegetables. I still have serious doubts about the opinions of experts, having been one myself for a while, and realizing how little I really new about that particular subject, which took me around the world giving lectures for at least a decade. So what is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?

I found a nice discussion of the issue on the Biology Reference site.

A fruit is the matured ovary of a flower, containing the seed. After fertilization takes place and the embryo (plantlet) has begun to develop, the surrounding ovule becomes the fruit. Yum. I won’t go on about the four types of fruit–simple, aggregate, multiple and accessory–which explain things like berries and pineapples.

A mixture of fruits, seeds and vegetables, known as produce, at Johnny's Gone Fishing in Carrboro, NC, USA

A mixture of fruits, seeds and vegetables, known as produce, at Johnny’s Gone Fishing in Carrboro, NC, USA

A vegetable is considered to be edible roots, tubers, stems, leaves, fruits, seeds, flower clusters, and other softer plant parts. In common usage, however, there is no exact distinction between a vegetable and a fruit. The usual example is the tomato, which is a fruit, but is eaten as a vegetable, as are cucumbers, peppers, melons, and squashes. The classification of plants as vegetables is largely determined by custom, culture, and usage.

When it comes to seeds and nuts, the whole thing becomes very interesting, but not to most teenage boys. Why should I care about that? Well, the answer is that as a teenager attending an English Grammar School, in the fourth form I entered a Biology class with about 10 other boys. All by choice! The teacher was very nice, but he decided that one of the most interesting things in the universe was the classification of fruits and seeds.

Classification of fruits is interesting to many, but not teenage boys as a general rule.

Classification of fruits is interesting to many, but not teenage boys as a general rule.

Where vegetables came in for him I am not quiet sure, but this subject was dry and boring to everyone, including myself. Everyone else left the class one-by-one, but I remained being an avid biologist since the age of 11 and there was no way fruits and seeds were going to drive me away from my true love. This led to my being the sole Biology student in the sixth form, in fact in that school ever, to complete Botany and Zoology at both A and S levels, probably due to the ‘fruits and seeds filter’ – non-English readers will have to watch the Harry Potter movies to understand this schooling system. In these movies, which I enjoyed (except for the teenage angst one, with all the sighing and pouting) almost as much as tomatoes, fruits and seeds turned out to be very interesting indeed. In our Biology class there wasn’t any magic (guess we were just Muggles), it was all like that table opposite for hour after hour, drawing each one in turn. I don’t ascribe my persistence in this class to some kind of brilliance on my part, but to a useful (and sometimes destructive) streak of stubbornness inherited from my mother. In the case of endurance training, and especially water running, this feature of my personality really pays dividends.

Earl Fee's Great book on running and the use of water runningWater running? A while ago I referred to the book by Earl Fee, in which the author describes the advantages of incorporating water running into your training routine. These ideas are excellent, and I certainly follow them when I can, but you have to accept one thing – water running is one of the most boring exercises imaginable. You might think that this is a major disadvantage, but for the endurance athlete that is not the case, it is an advantage. You get to kill two birds with one stone, as they say (though I don’t like to kill birds), you exercise your body and your mind, both of which are critical for endurance sports.

Don’t try this approach with your high school track team, however, because they’ll just go off and play basket ball instead.

FitOldDog

Today’s workouts:

Easy swim with Rick to feel the water again, and…

Workout PLAN Coach: Chris Hauth
 Bike
Duration: 02:00:00
Description:
include 1×30′ at Z3 watts in this Z2 ride

Comments

  1. I agree, water running is boring boring boring!!!

  2. What is a budgie smuggler. No, don’t tell me, I think I worked it out. -kevin

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Disclaimer: As a veterinarian, I do not provide medical advice for human animals. If you undertake or modify an exercise program, consult your medical advisors before doing so. Undertaking activities pursued by the author does not mean that he endorses your undertaking such activities, which is clearly your decision and responsibility. Be careful and sensible, please.