Beginning in the seventh grade, I became fascinated with age—specifically how our bodies’ functional capacities decrease with the passage of time. When I once shared this perception with my 98-year-old grandmother, she said, “Just wait until you’re 80.” I’m still far from 80, so I can only imagine how difficult it will be then […]
I hear a lot in the fitness industry about the importance of clean eating. Indeed, most fitness professionals quote that physical appearance is 80% due to nutrition and 20% due to your workouts. I don’t know where those numbers come from, but those percentages are unknowable. If we are to assign a […]
When I was a kid, I loved watching the TV sitcom, I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball was one in a million. There was a famous episode during which Lucy and her friend Ethel work at an assembly line, where they were assigned to wrap pieces of chocolate as they came down the conveyor belt. […]
A fraction of a second. That’s the time it takes to cause damage to our bodies. Whether a car accident, a cat scratch, or a surgeon’s incision, it takes less than one second to cause bodily damage. Weeks to months. That’s the time it takes to heal the damage. Whether a car accident, a cat […]
I just got back from FitnessFest in Mesa, Arizona, where one of my presentations was on weight loss. It’s a hot topic, of course, given that nearly 70% of the U.S. population is overweight or obese. Once you lose weight, you want to keep it off. There is little point to going through the […]
The human body is truly remarkable. Within a few days following my hernia surgery last week, I started to have discomfort/pain on the underside of my shoulder, which is starting now to dissipate. When we have trauma to one part of our body, pain is often referred to another part, perhaps as a safety mechanism […]
1. Pace The best way to run your fastest possible race is by starting out at the pace you can maintain the entire race. So run the first mile at the pace you expect to average for the whole marathon. You can’t put running time in the bank. You will end up losing more […]
When I wrote The Inner Runner, one of the things I wanted to address is how running changes us on the inside. Exercise doesn’t just affect the heart and muscles; it also affects the brain. It’s an interesting field of science called neuroplasticity—the ability of the brain to change. Running causes morphological and neurochemical adaptations […]
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about insulin. Perhaps that’s because my 19-year-old cat, Boomerang, who has been my companion for 14 years, was recently diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes, which is the most common metabolic disease in the world, is an ironic disease—you have all this fuel (glucose) sitting in your blood, but your muscles […]
This piece first appeared in Track Coach magazine in Spring, 2005. It remains one of my favorite articles. Feel free to share with your colleagues and friends. It all started with an innocent race once around the track in sixth grade. Midway through the final curve, I felt something, something that would change my […]