Midlife running

As we get older, we usually cut back on physical activity to avoid injuries and accidents. But fitness and medical experts say that we should stay active after 50 to keep our minds sharp, our muscles and bones strong and more importantly, add a few more years to our lives if done regularly.

It is recommended that we do at least 150 minutes of weekly moderate activity, translated to 30 minutes daily for five days. Running, which is more strenuous, 75 minutes per week is recommended, which is 15 minutes daily for five days.

If we’re new to the activity, we must consult first with our doctors and let them know of any medical issues and let them decide if it’s safe for us to start. Only then can we begin at a moderate pace.

Alternating running and walking challenge our older adult bodies as it gets our heart rates up. Regular cardio improves blood flow thus delivering the needed oxygen to our brain, organs and muscles, relieving fatigue and shortness of breath that could limit our daily activities. Cardio gives us the endurance and stamina to run up several flights of stairs, leaving behind the chase group.

As we age, we naturally gain weight and slow down. Midlife running, or whatever physical activity we choose to do regularly, may let us celebrate more birthdays. It lessens our chances of getting serious health issues because it will boost our metabolism and control our weight.

Since we’re past our prime, we must know our limits because if we push too hard, that is when injuries happen. Like stumbling while running up the stairs and showing to the world “may galos ako”.

I speak for myself. I had breached six decades a few years ago and although I did gain a few pounds during our vacation, regular physical activity had controlled my diabetes and hypertension.

- o0o-

With a script more pathetic than a boring TV drama, a cry baby hiding behind a tough guy façade had seek refuge in a law-making institution following a miraculous appearance after missing for six months, which turned the tide for another chapter in our nation’s political zarzuela.

In another scene involving a former beau and the present husband of a faded megastar, the former cried foul for being reprimanded by being out of order during an interpellation that was going nowhere. Which leads us to a stanza of the song, “Send in the Clowns”.

“Don’t you love farce? My fault, I fear.I thought that you’d want what I want, sorry my dear. But where are the clowns? Quick, send in the clowns. Don’t bother they’re here.”

And we still ask what’s happening to our country when we pick these calloused clowns to govern us, whose only concern is political survival and dozens of money-filled luggage, never mind if majority of the population are in dire need of basic services.