The last marathon I ran was about twenty years ago.

Running a marathon was on my “bucket list” and I did it, and paid for it, both in the pain and stress of training, and the pain and stress of stopping my training right after I ran that race.

I had seen a “running your first marathon” training schedule in a fitness magazine, and since I was aging and refused to buy into it, I decided to go for that crazy distance.

I have since read that there was good reason the original Greek warrior died of a heart attack after completing his running journey to Athens from Marathon to announce victory over the Persians.

It wasn’t just that trip. Several days before, the herald (a renowned professional long-distance runner) ran 132 miles (214 km) on rough, unpaved roads over very hilly terrain in two days from Athens to Sparta, then another 156 miles (252 km) back past Athens to the Marathon battle site, probably fought all day in the battle, and then ran the remaining 26 miles (42km) to Athens to report the victory.

No wonder he died. But he was a herald, and that was his job.

The run to Sparta has been documented, and we can assume the herald ran back, but the Spartans wanted to wait nine days to join the battle because of a religious festival. There is debate about the historical accuracy of the run to Athens and the heart attack.

The tradition of the Olympic Marathon was started in 1896 was set at 40km. The 1908 London Olympics added a lap inside the Olympic Stadium, setting the distance at 26 miles, 385 yards, to finish in front of the Royal family box so they could have a better view of the finish.

So much for the history. I was fascinated by the thought of running 26+ miles and decided to go for it..

Running a marathon is significant abuse to your body. In Detroit in 2009, three runners died during the marathon. It was reported as not statistically significant in a race with 19,000 entrants, except to the families of those who died.

“I think the overlying message has got to be marathon running is good for your health,” said Robert Sallis, chief of sports medicine at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana, California.

When asked about the 25-year old who died, he replied, “Even though he died while he was out for a run, it’s clear that the running was beneficial to him,” Sallis said. “He’s not an example of why marathon running is dangerous. It’s clear to me that the running probably prolonged his life.” OK….

My purpose here is not to trash marathons. A study on London Marathon runners over a 20 year period, in fact, found that with a rate of death of 1 in 67,414 (representing 1 in 2,000,000 miles run) marathon running was no more dangerous than many other daily activities.

As a side note, I am disconcerted at the clinical disconnecting of people’s death during and in the days following the marathon event. Even if the strain on their bodies caused terminal failure, they deny it was the marathon event that held any cause.

Twenty years ago, I was capable of running one-third the distance across New Jersey in a single effort at better than 10 minutes per mile. Today, I am unlikely to recapture that physical condition or body anytime soon.

What did I learn?

The only thing remaining vividly in my memory is the pain of training and the pain of becoming untrained. I was fine when I ran (and I looked good in the photos).

I actually finished later than I could have because I encountered another runner in the final miles of the race who had lapsed into unconsciousness, but was still running. At that point it was faster to get him help at the finish line, so I just pushed him around the curves to the gate.

Officials had to tackle him to stop him from running, and the last I saw of him was as he was loaded into an ambulance, wrapped in aluminum foil, with his marathon medal draped on his chest. The medic told me I had saved his life.

I didn’t realize until later that I had crossed marathons off my chart. I learned that day that I can live a vital life without enormous accomplishments that put my life in danger. For clarification, I still run (more slowly) and occasionally complete a half-marathon.

And I listen to my body telling me when to rest.

I still travel the distance of a marathon–just not all at once, and not faster than my body can handle.

Live a vital life.

The ideal body type today for men has become more muscular and bulked up.  The perfect man is seen with narrow waist, six-pack or washboard abs, muscular shoulders and bulging biceps.  This attention has been good for gym memberships and manufacturers of bodybuilding machines.  It has also been good for those of us who endure a generous waistline.

It has not been good for those who have dedicated themselves not only to develop muscles, but also obsess to obtain a perfect body, perhaps going on to unhealthy and dangerous behaviors including steroid and substance abuse. 

Low self-esteem has been found to be a more likely cause of bulk building than the pursuit of health.  The perceived reaction to the future perfect body drives that person to continuously work out, and the social isolation that results is a situation they are used to. 

The problem starts with being dissatisfied with their body image, and they see bulking up as a means of social acceptance.

What they do not see is that people relate to them through their confidence and personality.  What they do not see is there is no one ideal shape or size for all.

Getting in shape is a great goal.  Exercise and diet are still the only healthy way to fitness.

The world is filled with people of all shapes and sizes.  Relationships are built on compatibility between people.  How much time would we spend with a person who had a perfect body and no personality?

While confidence is a major aspect of personality, and toning our body through normal exercise and diet may increase our self-confidence, getting to the point of a healthy body should be the goal. 

Moderation is key.  We should learn when to stop as well as when to start. 

Command a vital life. Live free.

If we attended a lot of holiday parties, we feel sluggish from too much food, we have no energy, and it is a challenge to get out of that easy chair at home.  We just feel old.

We know this is a temporary condition.  It has happened before.  After the holidays we will just get out, walk it off and renew our gym membership. 

But this is the wrong time of year.  In many areas, it is cold – certainly too cold to go out and walk or go to the gym.

We’ll just stay in until spring, and then we’ll walk it off.  We’ll save our energy. 

We are as young as we feel or as old as we feel. 

When we are in our twenties, our energy seems boundless, and we can do anything.  In our thirties we start to slow down, but it is hidden by the nonstop activities of work and family.  We notice that we can’t eat endlessly any more and perhaps it shows in our growing clothing sizes.

When we pass forty and our lives aren’t really over, we are starting to get the message that maybe we should start taking care of ourselves.  We might join a gym or start running or take up a vigorous sport.  We’re going to have a body like those people on the magazine covers. 

But it hurts to exercise at first.  We used to be able to run like the wind, but now we are more like a wind gust – run, stop, and gasp. 

Now we see our lives as really over.  We see ourselves marching slowly toward the grave, practicing getting old by moving slower, taking our time, being careful about everything. 

We learn to think old thoughts and live in the past since our future is so limited.  After all, doesn’t society expect and encourage us to age gracefully and limit our activity?  Aren’t our same-age friends feeling the same way?  And if everyone thinks that way, isn’t it true? 

No. 

At any time on our life path, there are alternative ways less traveled. 

The main road we travel with others our age leads to weakening and decline in our bodies.  Hardly noticeable at first, we gradually find it harder to stand or walk for an hour, or get out of a low chair or up off the floor.    This is especially true if our work is sedentary and we are the same in the rest of our lives. 

Our far-flung ancestors developed a perfectly functioning and efficient body, which is why their descendents survived.  We only use roughly 100 calories to walk a mile, but few of us walk that far in a day. 

And so our neglected muscles fall into disuse and lose their full function.  We fulfill our own prophecy and slow down because our muscle power has deteriorated.  Ailments come and we associate it with ageing.

But new research shows exercise slows ageing by keeping the body functioning at its top level.  One of the best paths to long life is feeling good about ourselves, and looking good with lots of energy will do it. 

Olympic 14 gold-medal winner Michael Phelps consumes a staggering 12,000 calories per day and trains six hours a day six days per week, without fail.  When asked in an interview how he keeps so fit, he replied, “It’s the exercise.”

What type of exercise is best?  That’s up to the individual.  Although the majority of people don’t exercise enough or at all, it still remains a personal decision. 

If we pick activities we enjoy, we will stick with it longer. 

Make a list — anything we like that involves the components of fitness: motion, endurance, strength, balance and flexibility. 

Aerobic endurance will build heart and lungs and let us keep moving.  Muscular strength, flexibility and balance will help us get out of that chair gracefully.   

And we should keep our muscles guessing by changing activities every month or two. 

We all have a preference for sedentary activities and many of us feel out of place where everyone else seems fitter than we are. 

Aerobic exercise means getting our blood pumping and breathing hard.  It doesn’t mean killing ourselves.  It also doesn’t mean ‘doing it tomorrow.’

Warming up and cooling down are key components to avoiding aches that make us quit and postpone.  Starting at and stopping from full speed is never a good idea. 

Stretching our joints instead of our jeans keeps our muscles loose and improves our balance and flexibility. Mobility and freedom from pain gained from regular stretching is a reward that we feel every day.

What’s a good fitness level?  Forget the magazine covers. It is the level at which we feel good and can get around easily.  We don’t have to be muscle-bound as long as the core area around our trunk is strong. 

The Internet and bookstores are full of suggestions on stretching and exercises that can be performed privately. 

Set some achievable goals to keep, then keep them.

The best exercise is the activity we will enjoy regularly.

Live long and limber!

Command a vital life. Live free.

Here are some reasons to exercise in the morning:

1.      It increases your guarantee that you will do it.  We all know what happens during the day – schedules and events change, things move up the importance scale of “must do” and exercise, since it is not a life or income-threatening event, is jettisoned.  The only routine you are considering after a busy day is to collapse on the couch after dinner on the way to hitting the sack.

I admire the person who has such an orderly life that they can keep to a during-the-day or end-of -day schedule, but that isn’t my life, and I’ll bet it isn’t yours.  Even the President is dragged away by Secret Service people from his busy day to a scheduled daily session of exercise.  He thinks more clearly because of it, and so will you.

About ninety percent of people who exercise consistently perform their routine first thing in the morning.  Then they can go through the rest of their day without guilt.

The push-up is almost the perfect exercise, strengthening almost every muscle in your body.  It will not only get you going if it is the first exercise, it strengthens shoulders, arms and pectoral muscles, which mean different things for men and women.

Relax.  Push-ups don’t have to be done like a Marine in training.  Push-ups can be done at all levels of fitness.  Kneeling is good, but leaning against a railing can start a routine of push-ups.  The best results come from doing it slowly, about 5-10 seconds down and the same to push up.

Jack LaLanne maintains the best exercise for overall fitness is repeatedly getting down on the floor and getting up.  It uses virtually all the muscles as well.
 

2.      It helps you really wake up.  If you open your eyes, wash your face, throw some clothes on and shuffle out the door, are you awake?  Your body is still in sleep mode and your mind is foggy.  Do you forget things you wanted to bring with you today?  Enough said.

Exercise has residual benefits of raising your metabolism and burning a few extra calories after you finish as your body continues to burn oxygen.  The important benefit is that your mind and metabolism are awake and ready for the day.  And that mind-sharp feeling will last.
 

3.      It gives your brain what it really craves.  What your brain craves first thing in the morning is oxygen.  You have slept the night more or less perfectly still.  Now, you get up and move around and your brain quickly uses up its reserves.  Instead of oxygen, we tend to feed it caffeine and maybe a sugared snack a little later.

Science shows that exercise promotes oxygen intake, your brain increases its mental sharpness and keeps it sharp for from four to ten hours after you stop exercising.
 

4.      It enforces sufficient rest.  Many of us tread the line at the limit of necessary sleep.  We are inclined to push as much into our lives as possible, and that includes staying up later and getting less sleep than we should. 

We all have circadian rhythms, regulating our body and mind on a daily schedule.  Cheating on our ‘down’ time means our minds are making decisions slower and our bodies are conserving energy.

Conserving energy means we expend fewer calories that interfere with weight loss.  Time spent sleeping is a supporter of sufficient rest that leads to energy, sharpness and a positive outlook.

Do the daily math.  Make sure you have ample rest to prepare for your next busy day.  Give up that last TV show or anything that will interfere with your schedule. 

Since we are subject to our circadian rhythms, set a strict bedtime and keep to it.  Get up when the alarm rings.  Perform your exercise routine, even if only for a few minutes at first.  Your body will soon get used to the new schedule and you will wake without the alarm, feeling rested and looking forward to your routine.
 

5.      Science shows that exercising in the morning helps you sleep better at night.  Exercising in the evening stimulates your body and mind, making it more difficult to calm down and drift into restful sleep. 

Exercising stimulates your body and mind.  When you are trying to wind down to go to bed for some restful sleep is the wrong time to turn to exercise.  Stimulating your body and brain will prevent sleep, which will cause our bodies and brains to conserve energy, which will conserve calories.
 

Exercise is good for stimulating metabolism and keeping muscles firm, and for every pound of muscle you gain, you will burn an extra 50 calories per day.  It doesn’t seem like much, but a daily deficit of 500 calories will result in a one-pound loss every week. 

Make the best use of your time and have good morning.
Command a vital life. Live today.