Like Wine, Life Improves with Age

I ran across an interesting article this week about a very important aspect of fitness: mental fitness.
Despite widespread belief about mid-life crises and old-age depression, life does seem to get better with age. Good news for someone approaching his 52nd birthday in September!
A Gallup poll of 340,000 adults from 18-85 came up with these results: feelings of well-being were fairly high in college-age respondents; fell sharply at 25 and stayed around that level to 35; dropped even lower from 35-50; and then kept improving right up until 85.
Interestingly, the pattern of responses weren't affected much by factors like unemployment, marital status, children living at home, or gender, although men scored a bit higher than women throughout the lifespan.
Breaking it down further, "stress and anger" were highest in the younger age groups, "worry" increased steadily until middle age and then dropped, and "sadness" (a component of those clinically or chronically depressed) was fairly steady through adulthood.
On the other side of life's seesaw, "enjoyment" and "happiness" dropped slightly from the youngest respondents to the mid 50's, then rose to previous highs around 70 before staying steady.
The study was conducted by Stony Brook University in New York and published originally by the National Academy of Sciences.
The conclusions drawn were that older people gain "increased wisdom and emotional intelligence, and are more effective at regulating their emotions than younger people."
I find as I age, I am increasingly reflective, and probably a bit more philosophical about the natural ups and downs of life. Put another way, when you're young, your driving in the fast lane:
which is more exhilerating, but also involves increased braking and the occasional full-scale wreck. I'm riding in the middle lane now, silently cursing out those speeding by me, but content not to race them - lengthening the life of my brake pads as they become more worn down!

Exercise and Alzheimer's Prevention

Probably the scariest disease is Alzheimer's. First the short-term memory goes, and you're forgetting phone numbers and where you put your keys. Eventually, family members become unrecognizable, you lose control of your bodily functions, and your mind just totally fails you. A nightmarish end for anyone.

A book by Harvard University psychiatrist John Ratey titled "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain states that "exercise, even begun in middle age, can push back the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's by 10 to 15 years."

Ratey cites research that indicates the regions of the brain associated with cognitive functioning improved with exercise, particularly the hippocampus, which is associated with memory and learning.

Other researchers back up Ratey's thesis, although many believe that any activity that involves functioning of the brain, like crossword puzzles or interesting books, will have similar effects. Social interactions like clubs or religious services also were mentioned. Social isolation and depression, along with alcohol, are certainly factors that can speed up the onset of Alzheimer's.

Logically, when I'm on a run, particularly outside, my mind opens up, and I know I am thinking much more clearly. Inside runs on the treadmill don't have quite the same effect, although I feel great mentally after either one. Innately, I know I am helping my mind as well as my body. Most science seems to back this up!

Aging and Muscle

In a recent "Dear Dr. Donahue" column in the Star-Ledger, the letter-writer was a 65-year-old man in good health. He described himself as 5-10, 145 pounds, with a trim build. The writer's complaint was a lack of muscle tone. He described his flesh as "wobbly like a bunch of marshmallows." He also said his skin was like"crepe paper on his legs." He wondered what he was going to look like if "he managed to live another 10 or 15 years."

Dr. Donohue's advice was realistic and sound. He explained that you can't expect to have the same muscle tone and size that you had as a younger man. The body enters a cataboloic state as we age, shrinking muscle, but not fat (depressing, I know!). From 30 to 40 years on (depending on your body's unique make-up) there is a diminished level of testosterone being produced.

Muscle training can slow the process, or if you've previously been sedentary, even reverse it. As great as cardiovascular training is (and I swear by it), you have to incorporate some resistance (push-ups, pull-ups, bands) or weight-lifting exercise into your program to delay the slowdown in testosterone production.

Dr. Donohue recommends getting a physical and Doctor's approval before starting a strength-training program, and to vary the exercises (the muscle confusion concept). I agree!

Avoiding Shinsplints

I've been very lucky to avoid injuries through my 35-plus years of running. Aside from unrelated eye surgery, there have been only a couple of things that have sidelined me from running for longer than a week.

One of those was a nasty case of shinsplints that occured in my first season of track & field in college. I was real enthusiastic about increasing my training miles after my first marathon (back in 1977) and, sure enough, developed sharp shooting pains down the front of my lower legs that sidelined me for over a month.

Medically known as medial tibial stress syndrome, shinsplints are a dull, aching pain along the inside of the shin. The most common cause is a sudden increase in training miles or intensity, frequent at the start of a cross-country or track season, or when someone is prepping for a half or full marathon. Basketball players, volleyballers and gymnasts also can easily pick up shinsplints, and even walkers who may be wearing very worn shoes, or who over-pronate (foot rolls inside) when they land. Poor running form, in general, certainly can be a factor, and muscle tightness (which leads to imbalanced strides).

Total rest probably would heal shinsplints the fastest, but if you developed them in the first place, you are obviously someone engaging in physical activity, and you don't want to stop.

Try lower impact activities like rowing, cycling, or swimming, and you won't lose cardiovascular fitness.

When you get back to running, build back up slowly, with no more than 10% increase in mileage per week. Keep the cross-training in the your repertoire, and buy new shoes. Try to stay on softer surfaces like a high-school track or boardwalk.

If you feel the symptoms coming back, listen to the signals your body is sending. If the shinsplints develop further, the condition can turn into a stress fracture, and totally ruin whatever you were training for in the first-place. Listen to someone who's been through it.

Firecracker 4-Miler

Every Fourth of July, the Cranford Jaycees host the Four-Mile Firecracker run, through Nomahegan Park and the surrounding thoroughfares. It draws a large (1200 this year) and competitive field, with many top college runners making it ones of their summer tune-ups.
I'm happy to say, I won the 50-54 age division this year in 25:36 (6:24 mile average). Up until the last mile, I was happy with my pace: 6:25 at the crowded first-mile mark; 12:28 at two, and
19:02 at three, when the race enters the final stretch through the park. I lost it a little mentally in the last mile. I knew I couldn't go sub-6:00, to break 25:00, and I "settled" into a little slower pace (and noticed I was losing my form) as a few people passed me between the three and three-and-a-half mile marks.
Once the finish came into sight, I restored my pride and got it back together, with no one else
out-kicking me over the last half-mile. Lucky I did, too, because the second-place finisher in my age group was only about three seconds in back of me.
I was happy to win and have my name called for the medal and nice technical T-shirt they gave away. I mentioned to my wife later, though, that I'm rarely totally satisfied with my race
effort, this one included. If I didn't "lose it" in the last mile, I probably would have knocked another 10 to 15 seconds off and not been passed by the first woman (and others) in the park.
The million dollar question: Is that quest for perfection the thing that drives me to achieve these minor victories? If you're content with your effort, can you push yourself as hard?

"ReRun" Mile at Monmouth Park

My son, Max, and I participated in an unusual, but fun and rewarding, race on June 27th. Called the "ReRun Mile" at Monmouth Park in West Long Branch, it was a one-mile race along the outside perimeter of the track at the "Shore's Greatest Stretch."

I placed third in a small field in the pedestrian time of 6:47, while Max took an age-group award in the 13-19 division with 8:24. The surface was interesting: not quite sand, but much looser and softer than the dirt on a baseball infield. Easy on your legs, but nearly imposssible to get much spring!

The race benefits charities for thoroughbred adoption, a very worthy cause, in my book. The hosptitality and amenities were first class, and runners and their families can spend the rest of the day at the track, which we did. In its second year, I would expect the race to pick up greater numbers every year. It's one I would look forward to doing again!

President's Cup 5-K

On the the third Monday of every June, the Sneaker Factory store in Millburn hosts the President's Cup 5-K. It's held at 8 p.m., through the downtown, and attracts some of the best runners in the state. Maybe the free Sam Adams drafts have something to do with that!

I traditionally have run it with my son, Max. He's 13 and has run occasional 5-k's with me since age seven. I planned to accompany him again this year, but he decided to run with his good friend, Kyle, instead. Max would be running his first race on his own, and I would be "free" to do my own pace.

It's been a long time since I had been less confident for a race. My last two competitive outings had been somewaht disappointing, time-wise, and I was beginning to accept that, nearing 52, I was just slowing down. My left leg was also feeling very heavy, probably from favoring it over the past two months after tweaking my right hamstring in the Rutgers Unity Half-Marathon. Planning to run this race "easy," I ran a hilly eight-miles the day before, at a pace (again) slower than I would have liked. I also jumped in our community pool for a mile swim (felt good), and did a 10-mile bike ride with Max later that afternoon. My own Father's Day Triathlon! Basically, I felt an injury coming on, and the resulting self-flagellation for doing something I wouldn't recommend to others.

As these scenarios always go, I ended up running one of my better races in a while; a crisp 19:30 at an even 6:18 pace. Why? I think, because my expectations were low, I was more mentally relaxed than in races where I put too much pressure on myself. I also focused on just running a respectable first mile, and then took it from there, breaking the race down to small increments (traffic light to traffic light, even!). Once I got past two miles in 12:39, I knew just one more decent mile (holding it together for six-plus minutes), would bring me back to where I wanted to be in these mysterious tests against oneself.

At the finish, I met up with my wife, and waited, somewhat anxiously, for a few minutes, to see Max and Kyle finishing up under 27 minutes. We skipped the Sam Adams, but celebrated with

some pizza at La Strada's, and headed home full and content.