Talkin' 'bout my generation

"Hope I die before I get old."  So goes a line from The Who's "My Generation."  I thought of this immediately after reading this article.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-20/men-over-40-should-think-twice-before-running-triathlons.html

I am a MAMIL.  What is this?  "Middle-aged man in lycra."  Apparently, I'm exercising too hard for my own good.  If you read the article, the recommendation is to run no more than 7 miles/hour and no more than 20 miles/week if I know what's good for me.  This is according to a study that was put out by Ochsner as cited in the article.  Well, that's not exactly what the study says, and I'm going to need to look at the original study.  What it appears the study says is that once you exceed 5-7 miles/hour, 20 miles/week, or more than 5 days/week, you don't decrease your risk of mortality any lower.  So, if you are doing more than that, you are exercising for more than the health benefits.  Well, what do you know?  It has long been known that exercising more or harder doesn't necessarily make you any healthier.  That's why for overall health benefits, brisk walking is as effective, for the most part, as running.  But I don't swim, bike, and run entirely for health benefits.  I do them, because I (okay, now is when I admit it) truly enjoy racing triathlons.  My training, while it helps with my health, is designed to get me to the finish line as fast as I can during a race.  When I'm training, especially training hard, I can't say that I'm enjoying the moment.  But I do savor how I feel and definitely like the feeling of accomplishment after my workout has been completed.

Tracy says that I'm addicted to exercise.  I definitely feel better when I've had a chance to exercise during the day.  And I plan to keep exercising for the rest of my life, much longer than I will be a MAMIL.  If you have to choose an addiction, exercise ain't the worst one to have.  And Tracy's fine with my exercise addiction.  If I exhaust myself, I'm a lot less likely to get into trouble.  And she's also fine with my spending money on bikes and such, because it's a reasonably healthy way to spend money. 

So, clearly I don't agree with the article.  I guess I'm a bit frustrated that drivel like this continue to get published.  And I'm equally frustrated that I wasted 5-10 minutes of life reading it.  So, if you did click on the link and read the article, I'm sorry for wasting 5-10 minutes of your life as well.