Inspiration...

So I was reading posts that came up on my reader and found one that I thought I should share that tells me I am a youngster with respect to running. Rosario Iglesias has recently passed away at the age of 98. That alone is quite an achievement, but she defied the odds and at age 80 took up running. Not only did she begin running, but started setting records as well. This all started when she took up a paper delivery route covering 6 to 7 miles a day and someone suggested she try a race.

I would have probably thought they were nuts. I only hope that I am half that agile when I get to be that age. This makes getting up in the morning to go running seem like a non-decision.

Running your healthy life...

If you have any plans for the distant future you may want to consider your options. A recent article purports the benefits of Running...err...exercise on lasting health and longevity. Stanford researchers used runners to study the effects of cardiovascular exercise on the aging adult. In a 19 year study, they followed healthy runners and healthy non-exercisers. Their findings showed evidence that even though both sets were healthy the runners were less disabled further into their life and lived a longer life as well.

Not only did they show longer healthier lives, but they noted another nail in the coffin for a long held theory among non-runners; running hurts your knees and expedites disability. In there study "the slew of predicted orthopedic injuries never materialized." Not only did injuries not rise with the runners, but "the health gap between runners and non-runners only increased with time," meaning, the longer a person runs/exercises in their life the more benefit there is in the long term.

This idea somewhat bleeds into the way I interact with people. When I am around people who talk about there exercise I am almost always interested. I work with one such person who has lost just under 200 pounds in 10 months and will be doing his first 5k this weekend. At least 2 or 3 times a week he comes to my desk to discuss what he is currently doing, how he is progressing, and how excited he is to be losing weight the hard way. Recently, with the inception of his running training regimen I have been able to impart my meager knowledge of the sport. When I look back at where he once was I am really proud of how far he has come, and I know he has added years to his life because of the choices he has made.

Ending thoughts: Get started; Keep it up; Improve your life.

An old dog...can learn to juggle...

According to this article if you want to learn to juggle when you get to the age of 50 or 60 it shouldn't be a problem...for most. Amazingly this article claims you can still learn things when you near retirement age. I would have never guessed that there wasn't a certain age, most likely coinciding with retirement, that a person just goes stupid.

Obviously, I jest, but in my opinion this study doesn't tell anyone anything they did not already know about aging. They do state that it takes longer to learn things with age, but that most of the neural changes that occur in younger people also occur in older people. Basically, if you have the mental fortitude to stick with it you will prevail in your task given enough time. Unfortunately, as a person ages the less time they have. I know some day I will be there, but I hope I am able to approach things humbly and humorously, the way I hope people are taking this post.