Exercise and Our Memory

Exercise and our Memory This past February I blew out 62 candles (metaphorically speaking), and with each passing year I get a little more over reactive with forgetting wear I left my keys or some other simple thing. While simple memory lapse is not a reason to panic, the thought of it cannot help but have me thinking about aging related health issues, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. As much as none of us want to believe we will end up with these outcomes, the reality is a large percentage of society will suffer one if not both. Sorry to sound bleak or to be an alarmist, but currently the number of reported dementia cases is 514,000 and is projected to double by 2060. The current number of Alzheimer's is around 4.5 million and is expected to grow to 13 million by the year 2050. Those are real and substantial numbers. Without a doubt, both dementia and Alzheimer's are at the top of the research list, and we all hope there will be some successful drugs to combat them.

Unique Running Goals

Hey there, I am a little late sitting down to chat, but I am ready! This week has been interesting in many ways, but mostly in a unique new addition to our No Finish Line Fitness clients. I will get to him in a bit, but I first would like to chat about the past few years and a couple of new and unique clients. We have been in the coaching business for 15 years now and we have coached various runners, ranging from beginners to marathoners (to include getting people qualified for Boston). However, last year we took on two new clients who presented different goals than we had in our previous 15 years. Richard, reached out in early 2024 through our No Finish Line Fitness website (https://www.nofinishlinerunning.com/index.html), asking for help with his 2024 goal, which was to run 2,024 miles for that year. I understood the significance of his goal but was skeptical.

Capability and Enlightenment

Hello and Happy Friday, These past 12 months have been a monumental battle in my fitness. During the previous 24 months I was solely focused on my wife’s cancer treatment and ultimately her final days. Obviously, I have no regrets setting aside my life for my wife and her battle, but after she went home to Heaven, I eventually had to face a much less fit Mike. The scale number was considerably higher, and my cardiovascular system was lacking. In conversation with my physician, she talked about my elevated cortisol levels from the stress and how it impacted my weight gain and other health factors. While she may have been accurate, if I am honest, I would say poor eating habits and sporadic exercising played a large role. For sure, I am not second guessing a difficult time, but I needed to improve. The journey back has been difficult and enlightening. Difficult in that my motivation has been lacking in daily consistency and enlightening as to the changes in my cardiovascular fitness.