Running: A Fever

Well, I recently got an email from my employer about a discount membership to AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons. It's actually just AARP now. About a third of their members are not actually retired. We get employee discounts on a lot of things, and I get these emails on a regular basis. By the way, I've also been getting AARP invitations in the mail for years, probably since I turned 50. Although there is no minimum age for membership, they are "Dedicated to people over 50." Well I was offered a 43% discount, along with a free trunk organizer and a $10 Starbucks gift card. Wow! Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/411 Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-couple-with-happy-faces-7224933/  

We have spent hundreds of episodes on exercise, healthy food and dieting, various medical issues, and longevity. These are parts of my goal: long, healthy, happy,and  active. But I'm not sure we've ever done an episode about the happy part. If we have, I'm sure I can count them on the fingers of one hand. But that's what we're doing this week. Read the full post: http://RunningAFEVER.com/410  

Well, this is my triumphant return to Hobbs State Park in Arkansas. It's an Arkansas state park. I've just been to the visitor's center, which has changed quite a bit, I think, since the last time I was there. The only thing I remember about the last time is that I made a YouTube video during my last visit. It was probably six or seven years ago. I don't know the episode number, but I'm guessing it's in the 100 to 150 range. So check that out if you like. The last time I was here, the only thing I remember about the visitor's center is them having skins of dead animals stretched out and you had to guess, there was a game of guessing which skin belonged to which animal. So that was interesting. But this time, there are quite a lot of big museum-style displays. With various animals and plants, and some implements of things from the past, like the railroad, and native Americans and farming, I guess you'd say. There's whatever the thing you strap oxen to to pull something.  Read the full post at http://RunningAFE

Well, gotta be careful here because this is the entrance, the trail head said Benefield Trails, which I assume they are talking about as the north and south loop of the trail. And it said Bear Hollow trail as well. I gotta watch for the signs. Speaking of which, it took me quite a while to find this place. I thought it should be about the same distance from the Greenfield trail as the Greenfield trail is from my cabin. It turns out it was, and I wound up going way down the mountain before I turned around. There are not many places to turn around, as you can imagine. And there's a sign going down toward the picnic area on the right side, which is what I was driving on, that tells you where it is. But the glare was so much at that point from the sun on my windshield (which I need to clean on the inside) that I couldn't see it. And then, coming back the other way, the same sign was all they had; it was on the left side. And I missed it the first time around. Anyway, there was an overlook. I just happened to slow

Now you can see we are on the Turkey Springs trail at Mt. Magazine State Park in Arkansas. .3 miles. Level of difficulty not specified. So we'll see how it goes. This is supposed to be an old wagon road, as described. It does look a little wider than the Greenfield trail we did yesterday. And folks, it is cold out here. You can't tell, we've got the sun shining there. It is cold. Now, down in Paris, which is the nearest town, still about 20 miles away or something, it is 51 degrees. Up here on Mt. Magazine -- 37 degrees today. Not the coldest weather I've been walking in, but it's pretty cold. I don't know what the wind chill is, but the real feel down in Paris is 40 degrees, so I know it's colder up here, certainly, because of the wind.   http://RunningAFEVER.com/407  

It is about 7:30 in the morning here on November 19, 2024. It's 51 degrees, really lovely. A clear day, you can see the sun over there in case you want to get blinded. And we're on the Greenfield trail at Mt. Magazine, which is very wet. I'm starting my second full day here. They wouldn't let me check in the first night until 4 pm. And by that time, the place was covered in fog. You could not see very much in front of you. It was kind of like the last time I was here. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/406  

There is a windstorm outside. I wasn't planning to go out today because rain was forecast. It rained last night. It was raining when I came in, and it rained a lot harder during the night. And this windstorm developed. It's very windy out there. I've got some video I'll show you of some trees and how they move in the wind. It's actually a lot worse than what it looks like. The wind was literally howling all night long. I got up this morning, and it was still going strong. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/405  

The world is fascinated with long life. Perhaps because we wonder what we would do, individually, if we had an abundance of time, the world's most valuable resource. It's fun to think about it. And so the world is fascinated by Jeanne Calment, the human with the longest documented lifespan, 122 years, 164 days. In Episode 170 I gave an overview of her life and some details about her healthy and unhealthy habits in a 30-minute show. Now I will provide a broader review of her life with more detail. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/404  

Jeanne Calment, if you don't already know, is the person who lived the longest according to documented evidence. She lived to be 122. Some of you may be intrigued by the title of this episode. Jeanne Calment died on  August 4, 1997. What is there to update? As it turns out, quite a lot. My first episode on Jeanne was published on July 26, 2019. I  recorded it on an early morning walk, as I often do for the show. So it wasn't completely about Jeanne, and it was 28 minutes long. Not long ago, I noticed that that episode was by far the most popular video on my YouTube channel, which you can find at http://YouTube.com/@RunningAFEVER Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/403  

And right now, I'm on my way to the gym. I'm on my way to the gym for the first time in a really long time. I can't even remember the last time I went to the gym. However, I have been paying them every month for that whole time. I guess I just kind of put that out of my mind. I had a debit card that had worn out and I was getting rejections at the stores. I had to get it replaced and instead of just changing the code, they changed the whole number, so everywhere I had that number saved I had to go resave it. And one of the places I had to change it was the athletic club where I work out. I waited until a payment was rejected and then changed it. But the payment was key because when I saw what the payment was, I'm like, shouldn't I be using this if I'm paying so much for it. So that kind of spurred me to go back to the gym. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/402 Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-dumbbell-lot-260352/  

I'm out walking along Spring Creek here. Doing alright. Hydration report: somebody left a full bottle of Gatorade in my yard. It was unopened so I put it in the fridge. I've been drinking it and it tastes like Gatorade. But it's called Frost Glacier Freeze. But it's as cool as it is. It's not cooler because there is some formula in it that makes it cool. It's cool because you put it in the fridge. But I guess people like to hear that. Thirst-quenching glacier freeze. The colder the better. Put it on ice. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/401 Photo by Mica Asato: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-standing-beside-soccer-ball-on-soccer-field-2347870/  

400 episodes? Are you kidding me? What are the odds of that? More on that later. It's always a pleasure to know I am beating the odds, in whatever area of life I am involved in. But really, what are the odds of success, and how do we beat them? Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/400 Photo by @coldbeer: https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-in-uniforms-riding-horses-at-competition-14096925/  

It's a beautiful day today. I think it's slightly over 80 degrees. I decided to just go out for a walk. I didn't wear any sunscreen. But it looks there is some shade. We're on the other half of what we're calling the Spring Creek Trail, on the other side of the street. This is all new stuff, especially the part at the beginning with the blacktop and the yellow line in the middle. There seems to be quite a bit of shade, which is good because I didn't put on sunscreen today, and I didn't really hydrate well either. So I'm being hypocritical today. But I'm wrong, so there you go. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/399 Photo by Michael Davis

I think that may be Spring Creek actually. This is video, if you're listening to the podcast. I'm doing video because I'm on a new trail today. And I'm not sure what it's called, but for now I'm going to call it Spring Creek Trail, because it does go along Spring Creek. The only problem with that is that Spring Creek winds through the whole town. So this may not be the only trail that's beside the creek. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/398  

Well these are perhaps the most intense episodes I've ever done. There was a lot of technical info to sift through. And I hope I've made it more accessible to more people. It is exciting to know about the work that's being done in genetics and what it all may mean for our future, including how long that future may be for each of us as individuals. The goal of this episode is to try and summarize what we've been through and hit some of the highlights so they stick with us. This is important, especially with regard to the things we can do now to extend our lives. So let's get into it. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/397  

Do you really want a longer life? I always put those modifiers in—my conditions for living to a ripe age. And I think most of us would say that without some sense of enjoyment, some purpose for living, it might not be worth it. But there are other things we need to consider. What about the implications for broader society? Can we, as the human race, support this concept? I don't know if I'll answer those questions completely in this episode. However, I will explore the potential problems and benefits of having a population in which maturity takes on new meaning. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/396  

There is a range of temperatures where we're comfortable. Our bodies don't have to do any work to stay warm or cool off. When we're exposed to temperatures outside of that range, our heart rate changes, our breathing changes. We need more or less blood flow to the skin. These are the things we have to do to survive. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/394  

This episode we're going to cover exercise and its effect on aging. How different types of exercise can activate longevity genes and improve health. Now it doesn't take a genius to see that exercise can extend your life, it's common sense. But how does that work? What exactly is the process? We're going to dig deep into that and see what we come up with that might be helpful to us in understanding how exercise affects aging, and how we can optimize our activity to extend our lives. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/393  

In this series we're talking about how to stop or even reverse aging based on some scientific research in this specific field. Thus far we've explored the idea of treating aging as a disease. We have also gone into the information theory of aging, and we have studied several genes that are particularly important in the aging process, and more importantly, in the potential for reversing aging. Today is all about caloric restriction and fasting: we'll discuss the benefits of calorie restriction and intermittent fasting on longevity. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/392