During today's workout I focused on my upper body, including pull ups.
Afterwards I got my semi-monthly B12 injection.
Vitamin B12 is essential to maintaining a healthy brain and nervous system. Mine went kaput a couple of years ago. At that time the doctors thought I was suffering from an infection and treated me with antibiotics. The symptoms were awful -- weakness, shortness of breath, difficulty walking let alone running, tingling in your feet, and an almost complete loss of balance. Then a friend asked me if I had ever had my B12 tested. He said that B12 deficiency is common among long distance runners. I went right in for the test and the results came back positive. I no longer had any B12 in my system. My intrinsic factor had stopped working completely. I simply cannot absorb B12 from the foods I eat. Thankfully I was able to start on B12 injections immediately. I had an injection daily for three weeks, and then we changed that to every other day. Eventually I was going in for a shot once a week. Now it's once every two weeks. My B12 levels are back to normal and I feel great. I am on B12 injections for life. But I am so grateful that this treatment is available to me. B12 deficiency is easily treatable. I'm thankful I'm able to be physically active even though I still have a bit of neuropathy in my feet.
Are there risks in running? In exercising, period? Absolutely. But that's true of anything in life. As you know, I love to run marathons. Are there dangers in running 26.2 miles? Of course there are. But your odds of dying while running a marathon are 260,000 to 1. I'll take that any day over the risk of dying from sitting on the sofa all day eating junk food and watching TV. Here's my opinion, for what it's worth. Running marathons and mountain climbing and doing triathlons etc. is a lifestyle. These and other activities encourage a number of good things like healthy eating, moving your body, getting outdoors, and stress relief. People always worry that I will get bad knees because I run so much. Well, by the grace of God, my knees are fine. But I'd rather have sore knees from time to time than to be overweight and unhealthy. I CHOOSE to be outdoors, enjoying God's creation and taking it all in. I'll take my chances with running. I know what the risks are and I choose to run anyway. Life is a terminal illness, so either way you're going to lose the battle. We can either be passive and take pills to treat all of our ailments, or else we can be strategic in the battle by being active and healthy if the Lord should grant us that ability (and for most people, he does). Running has done even more for me mentally and emotionally than physically, and that is saying a lot. Looking back to my very first marathon in Cincinnati 6 years ago, the training and dedication and work in preparation for that race were some of the most rewarding days of my life. You have to take risks in life if you really want to live. Right now my doctor says it's fine for me to run marathons, so that's that. Always ask your doctor before training for an endurance event. That's just common sense. Overall, however, fit men are 50 percent less likely to die from heart disease than your classic couch potato.
At any rate, I'm not looking for a debate on this topic. Bottom line for me? The risks associated with exercise are far smaller than the risks associated with not exercising. The biggest risk with running is doing too much. In that case, take a week or two off. But as long as my body allows me to enjoy running in a healthy way, I see no reason to give it up.