STRESSFUL LIVING

            My line of work is very stressful. Just being at work is stressful. Even the thought of work increases my stress level. No wonder I always feel so fatigued at the end of the day. But late in the afternoon comes my daily run. After a mile or two, the cares of the workday seem to fade away or at least assume their proper proportions. Being outdoors in the fresh air, with the rhythmic pounding of the feet and the deep breathing always seems to induce a state of mellow contentment. On some days an hour of running seems to last only about 10 minutes. Five miles, eight miles, 10 miles - it seems so effortless and relaxing.

            Then on the way home, I pick up the evening newspaper. It's really depressing, but it helps to bring me back down from the workout high. Besides, here and there among the stories of murder, mayhem, lying, cheating, stealing, death and destruction are a few interesting tidbits on nutrition, health and fitness.

            For example, it says that smoking continues to decline. Now only 23 percent of the population smokes, and that's down from 27 percent five years ago. Well, the trend is right, but it's not nearly steep enough. That reminds me; I spotted a smoker at the Rock 'n' Roll 10K. He was near the starting line about 10 minutes before the start. He stood there in his running outfit and bib number, dragging deeply on a cigarette and exhaling great billowing clouds of noxious gasses. What an incongruent image! A visual oxymoron. In my 11 years of racing, this was only my sixth sighting of a smoking participant.

            Did you know that 23 percent of Americans are overweight or above the guidelines provided by the authorities? It was in the paper! I would have guessed the percentage to be higher, but I'm used to always being around runners. Many runners consider themselves to be overweight if they are within the guidelines.

            No doubt as a runner, you've had to endure remarks about being skinny, gaunt, sickly or something to that effect. Have you ever been called a wimp? Well, runners are really quite lean and apparently real men and women are supposed to be more fully padded. When I first started attending runs it took a while to adjust to the appearance of the participants. Now I really like the look. Just try comparing the appearance of a running crowd with the population you see at a major shopping center. Which group would you prefer?

            Here's another one: it says in the paper that 59 percent of the American population admits to getting no exercise. Nil. Nada. Zip. Can you imagine that? A very heavy fellow once remarked that even the thought of exercise made him want to sit down and rest. I replied that he'd probably feel differently after his first bypass. The remark had no visible impact on him.

            Of course, if you pulled that "exercise" category apart, you'd find a host of different activities. Are bowling or sailing exercise? Well, they're probably better than nothing. And in getting into any discussion of the relative merits of different types of exercise, you will always come up against those who don't particularly care for running. Inevitably, you'll hear the one about how you shouldn't run for more than 20 minutes at a time and then only every other day. Where does that one come from? I hear it so often. Then, of course, if you admit to putting in a modest 35 miles per week, be prepared to see the looks of consternation and the rolling of the eyes up into the head. You have now been placed in the "lunatic fringe" of exercisers. You are a person with a running problem!Ý Gosh, I know people who double or triple that mileage. They're very interesting. I'd like to be more like them, but my limbs just won't seem to hold up. That's my running problem.

            Ah, yes, the lunatic fringe. I love it! It gives me great pride! But, let's face it, the real lunatics are the highly stressed, overweight smokers who don't get any exercise, and they're far too abundant to be a fringe. If someone asked what an ideal population of people should look like, I'd send that person to a big competitive run.

April 1992

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