Around the time our daughter was born, we had blood pressure
screening one day at church and mine was surprisingly high. I had been very fit
as a youngster and played a lot of sports. But in my mid 30s, I had gained weight
and was not exercising. I was working too much, sleeping too little, and
generally not being very healthy. The juxtaposition of the birth of our second
child and the high blood pressure reading made me consider my responsibilities
and resolve to do something about it. So I took up running.
It has been said that if exercise were a medication, it
would be the most-prescribed drug of all because it is good for almost
everything. Regular exercise decreases the risk of heart disease, high blood
pressure, diabetes, some types of cancer, strokes, and arthritis. It increases
bone strength, elevates mood, and improves energy levels and sleep. So I started running, a little at first, then more. I eventually ran some 5Ks, then 10Ks, and then 10 milers. I lost weight, my blood pressure returned to normal, and I felt great. This progressed to a few half marathons and then some marathons (PR 3:16:04 for the runners out there). My training often required getting up in the wee hours of the morning to run or running with a head lamp at night. When I was on call, I would sometimes run laps around the hospital at night because I had to be able to get there within minutes if there was an emergency. In the process, I started getting more tired again, and then my leg started hurting. An MRI revealed a stress reaction in my tibia, the main bone in the lower leg.
What had started as an attempt to get healthy by exercising resulted in me exercising so much I harmed myself. My leg healed with rest and I
started running again, now in smaller amounts. There is nothing wrong with
running marathons, but in my particular situation, running had led to a
different kind of unhealthy. I haven’t raced since that injury but try to run a
few times a week. My blood pressure remains fine (110/74 earlier this week) and
I think I am in pretty good shape for a guy my age (though I certainly can't keep up with my teenage children). Sometimes my exercise for the day is simply
walking the mile to and from our mailbox to get the mail. Even that little bit
makes me feel better. Or if I have had a stressful day, a quick five mile run is
the best way to burn that stress away.
You don’t have to be an athlete or compete in things to
benefit from exercise. Find something you enjoy – walking, hiking, riding bike,
working in the garden, playing basketball or soccer, kayaking, chopping wood, etc.
and do it regularly. Or better yet, do some combination of several different
activities. You will feel better and decrease your risk of a variety of health
problems.
