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While I did not reread the article, I read it initially when it first came out. Some of the responses on this forum are somewhat sophomoric. Yes, we know that they make you run in the Army. Plodding along for five miles at ten minute mile pace is not what the article is referring to. In addition, do you continue to do this for a lifetime? How many years are you in the Army and required to do this? And for the person who said they cannot lose weight unless they do "fairly intense cardio"...I hate to tell you, but if you are in the position to have to constantly lose weight, your strategy is not working. Perhaps you want to look into a new eating plan to MAINTAIN your desired weight. This article does not conclude that you will drop dead eventually if you run/train long distances over the course of time. What it says is it may shorten your lifespan because it wears your body. Running LONG distances, as in marathoning, and repeatedly running MARATHON distance is not good for your heart. We are not meant to run 26 miles, and do it over and over again for years and years. Just look at someone in their forties that runs marathons on a REGULAR basis...in all honesty, they do not look healthy!
I do not worry at all about the diminishing returns, wear & tear or any other ill effects of "too much running", whatever anyone's definition of that is. It's a moot point because I fully expect to die of some form of cancer (breast or GI related), and probably sometime in my 50s or 60s, based on family history, hard living in my 20s, and I guess living in NJ doesn't help.
But now that I've smugly declared my death fate, I will probably get hit by a bus instead, right now in my 30s. Maybe today, as I am headed out the door in a few minutes for my Saturday funday runday. (I'm procrastinating here right now while my bladder is still producing a last batch of morning pee for home toilet deposit before I venture out.)
If you don't hear from me again, I probably got hit by a bus today. Or by a texting SUV-driving cool mom en route to Whole Foods, who was applying mascara and drinking a caramel soy macchiato with the one not-yet-mascara-ed eye on the GPS screen.
I do not worry at all about the diminishing returns, wear & tear or any other ill effects of "too much running", whatever anyone's definition of that is. It's a moot point because I fully expect to die of some form of cancer (breast or GI related), and probably sometime in my 50s or 60s, based on family history, hard living in my 20s, and I guess living in NJ doesn't help.
But now that I've smugly declared my death fate, I will probably get hit by a bus instead, right now in my 30s. Maybe today, as I am headed out the door in a few minutes for my Saturday funday runday. (I'm procrastinating here right now while my bladder is still producing a last batch of morning pee for home toilet deposit before I venture out.)
If you don't hear from me again, I probably got hit by a bus today. Or by a texting SUV-driving cool mom en route to Whole Foods, who was applying mascara and drinking a caramel soy macchiato with the one not-yet-mascara-ed eye on the GPS screen.
A lot of people think just doing a lot of exercise will make them healthy.
Truth is, you have to have your body in good condition to run a lot or exercise a lot.
Half of this is through diet. Exercise and burning calories is no justification to eat a crap junk food diet even if it stops you gaining weight.
You'll be running one day and "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh" heart attack..... boom.... dead.
Your body will give out on you in spectacular fashion.
Forcing yourself to run and be fit with 80% clogged arteries due to a crap diet is just asking for trouble. No wonder your heart will blow up.
If you want to be healthy, be holistic about it.... your entire lifestyle must be healthy not one or two things. No compensating for one bad habit with a "good habit" thinking it will counter-act it. It does not.
You'll be running one day and "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh" heart attack..... boom.... dead.
Actually, I saw that happen. Twice. Both times it was with healthy, fit people, so go figure. One was a family friend, an avid runner, who ate very well but had an inherited heart disease and dropped dead in the middle of a jog one day. The other was a stranger who ran past me in Golden Gate park, looking very fit and experienced, and when I saw him again a ways down the path, he was being hauled away by paramedics in a body bag. My guess is that he also had some sort of inherited condition, like heart defect or something. I wouldn't blame the running in either case but I also wouldn't say that dying in the middle of exercise only happens to un-fit people.
Actually, I saw that happen. Twice. Both times it was with healthy, fit people, so go figure. One was a family friend, an avid runner, who ate very well but had an inherited heart disease and dropped dead in the middle of a jog one day. The other was a stranger who ran past me in Golden Gate park, looking very fit and experienced, and when I saw him again a ways down the path, he was being hauled away by paramedics in a body bag. My guess is that he also had some sort of inherited condition, like heart defect or something. I wouldn't blame the running in either case but I also wouldn't say that dying in the middle of exercise only happens to un-fit people.
James Fuller "Jim" Fixx (April 23, 1932 – July 20, 1984) was the author of the 1977 best-selling book, The Complete Book of Running. He is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution, popularizing the sport of running and demonstrating the health benefits of regular jogging. Fixx died in 1984 at the age of 52.
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