101-Year-Old Man To Run London Marathon

101-year-old marathoner

Buster Martin, a smoking, drinking, 101-year-old English man, is preparing to run the London Marathon on April 13.

Buster has 17 children and still works part time as a plumber. He recently completed a half marathon in 5 hours, 13 minutes. His first words upon crossing the finish line were, "Where's my beer?"

If Buster completes this race he will become the oldest person to ever finish the London Marathon.

You Might Be a Runner If…

• 10. You're not embarrassed to show someone where your hamstring *really* hurts.
• 9. You could watch a whole marathon and not be bored.
• 8. You can use endorphins in a sentence.
• 7. You check out the running stores for the new styles.
• 6. You get excited when you hear that there is a new Gatorade flavor.
• 5. You keep track of your shoes' mileage.
• 4. You get up earlier on weekends to run than you do on weekdays for school/work.
• 3. You think of distances in terms of mile repeats.
• 2. You always consider chafing while dressing yourself.
• 1. Your friends know to never call you after 8:30pm.

Also check out 10 Signs You Might Be a Runner.

Things I Always Do That Drive Me Crazy

As a runner, there are some things that I constantly do that drive myself crazy. Some of them are so simple and stupid, yet I never seem to learn.

• Always wearing too many layers: It doesn't matter what the temperature I wear too many clothes. I hate being cold at the beginning so I always come home with a jacket wrapped around my waist.
• Forget to charge the Garmin: I do it a few times every week. I run early in the morning so I am always in a hurry and just throw the watch on the table and forget to turn it off. Next day as I head out the door, beep beep no juice, no Garmin.
• Take to long to get going and end up late: I get up in plenty of time to run or meet my friends but I need a little time to wake up. So I read my email, grab some water and now I'm either running late or I have to cut my run short because I was goofing around.
• Whiplash with my shoelaces. I tie them plenty tight but sure enough there's one strand that comes undone and whips the opposite leg for 5 miles because I don't want to stop and redo it.
• Forget to wear my wind briefs: I should know that when it's under 5 degrees, the part of my body that leads my way that is going to freeze. It's one of the most painful things I go through and yet I always forget.
• Being to lazy to journal: Writing down runs is not for everyone but I am a data freak. Yes I have much of them in my Garmin but I don't always wear my watch. I wish I would take the extra 2 minutes and write down my times and heart rate. I think it would be useful to track.
• Sneak in junk food on long run days: I realize there has to be reward for a good run. I am probably the only person in the world that can be even calories after a 15 mile run. That run seems to give me an excuse to eat everything in the kitchen. It's fine for the 2 months of the year that I can barely keep my weight up, but for the other 10 months I could lose the unneeded weight if I would stay out of the fridge.
• Leaving some extra miles behind: At the time I just don't feel up to it but a few hours later I always regret not doing them. For some reason I forget how satisfying it feels after a good run as quickly as I forget how painful a marathon can be.

Me and My High Resting Heart Rate

I have decided to take my training "to the next level" as they say and start using my heart to gauge my training. I am an avid Garmin user but have heard great things about the Polar watches for heart training so I picked up the Polar RS200. I have always known that my standing heart rate (STR) was a bit higher than most athletes. Despite the fact that I ran two marathons this fall, one under 3:30 and finished a 95 degree Chicago at 3:50, my standing heart rate is still 70 beats per minute. Most of my training partners are in 40-50 range. With this knowledge I decided to try the Polar and see what's up. Here are the details of what I've found:

1. My RHR is very high for a high mileage runner. A few things may contribute to this: One, I am on Synthroid to speed up my metabolism because my thyroid is slow. Two, I am 25 pounds over my peak weight. I do this every year. I put on the weight in the winter, despite my continued training, and then lose it right back.
2. My heart rate barely changes between running a 8:30 pace and 7:30 pace. It is abnormally high at 8:30 pace at 150 but doesn't get any higher until I start to push the pace under 7:00. My lungs and legs certainly feel the difference but my heart stays steady.
3. My maximum heart rate (at an all out sprint) seems to be 180 which is completely normal. I was doing 6 X 800m interval speed workouts at 3:15 and I was at 170 bpm but really not very tired. The last one I sprinted got me into the high 170's but again there was more in the tank (the track was snow covered and not safe to push harder).
4. That is the data I got from my first heart work out. Again, I am out of shape for me, but compared to most people I am in great shape. If there are any "experts" in this area, feel free to comment. I look forward to seeing what my improvement will be.

P.S. As I sit here and type my heart rate is still 83 but I did just work out an hour ago.

Up and Down, Round and Round, the Weight Changes of a Marathon Runner

I am pretty sure I'm not the only one that goes through this. Every winter as my mileage drops down due to weather conditions and lack of motivation, my weight does the opposite. The problem with runners such as myself is that we are always eating to keep the calories up. On many days I will run 10 miles before work and then walk another 10 at work because I have a job that requires me to be on my feet. Here lies the problem. During the winter I only average 4-5 miles and I sit all day at work. Of course my food intake doesn't change and thus the 20-25 pound weight gain every year. It is an amazing transformation.

There is not much I can do about it, other than heavy dieting. I never cross that 25 pound gain limit because if I do I put myself on a mini-diet. In about 2 weeks I start the transformation because the weather will start to warm up and work has started to get busier (I own a nursery/garden center). The guys I run with certainly put on a few pounds but nothing like I do. Some would say that this isn't healthy but I've done it for 20 years now. The difference is in the three years I've been running the weight is from 195 to 170 each time (I'm 6'0), with each year the upper and lower limits dropping by 2 or 3 pounds. This year I will probably get down under 170.

Before running, I would go from 225 to 200. My health has been great and I have only been sick once in 16 years so the weight doesn't seem to effect the immunity at all. The other organs I don't know but I feel great. Especially at the 170 range. It also makes me feel so much faster. Imagine dropping a 25 pound weight off your back and then running. That's what I feel like in the summer. Of course the winter feels like the complete opposite. I feel slow and heavy but in the back of my mind I know what's ahead. Anyone else go through this each year?