Ahh, September..

the gateway to Fall. I love this transition month as heat yields to cold.

And, I love the September of my years, too, as Sinatra would say. Yes, it does come with advantages. ;)

I discovered a new advantage this morning, right after my what-seems-to-be-developing-into-a-daily-at-least-as-long-as-it's-dry-and-cool-in-the-morning run. And lest you think I've defected to the ranks of the athletic, I still hate running. Hate it! I only do it because it's good for me, and it keeps the sagging body from sagging any faster than it really needs to.

And while we're on the subject, have you ever watched runners run? Oh, I don't mean the competitive track and field people; I mean the regular people who do this a lot, either as a hobby or a discipline. I've never *once* seen one who smiles while they run. They all look like they're either in pain or resigned to the suffering that running brings. Nobody runs exultantly!

So what if running adds years to your life? Who wants to spend those extra years in the misery of running? I don't get it.

What's my excuse, then?

Oh.. just.. stop asking so many nosy questions!

Where was I now? Running doesn't help the brain work any better, apparently..

Oh! Yeah.. advantages to aging. And no, I don't mean getting the senior discount, smart-aleck. That's a loooong way off yet. :P

What I do get is the advantage of using (drum roll..) the age-adjusted fitness charts! Hey! This is a good thing.

Back in college (um.. that's the *first* time), there was a hot fitness book out called "The New Aerobics" by Dr. Kenneth Cooper. He studied a bunch of military (NASA) personnel, identified the fittest people through a variety of means, correlated that with their abilities to do certain exercise activities, and developed a simple way of assessing their overall fitness. It was this: how far can you run in 12 minutes?

He said that to be considered in "good" condition (one level below excellent, three levels above "call 911"..), a male under 30 needed to cover 1.5 miles in 12 minutes. Ha! That's nothin', you say. Yeah, right. Just go out there and try. It ain't nothin'.

(a woman under 30 would have to cover 1.35 miles in 12 minutes, by the way, to be considered in good physical condition, for those of you with an interest in such things.)

So during my college years, I worked and worked at that goal (yes, miserable the whole time).. lost a lot of weight in the process.. and got to that distance in 12 minutes for a brief period at age 19, and never since.

But for a guy who was the fattest kid in his high school, it was a milestone. I still remember freshman gym class where everybody, "Everybody!", coach said, had to run a quarter mile in under 2:00 or the whole class would get an F. I hated that man with all I had in me. The first day of the track unit, I was still 2/3 of the way around the track when the 2:00 whistle blew - the only boy who hadn't made it.

If it hadn't been for Roger Karl forgetting his jockstrap that day, and the vivid image of him running around the track with his.. (oh, man, it's still hilarious after all this time).. I think I would have been lynched that day. But they were too busy laughing at "big Rog", and giving him all sorts of novel nicknames. Well, after two weeks of being ridiculed, I finally made it in 1:59, and collapsed in a redfaced, gasping, sweaty blob on the track. The other guys shrugged and said "Finally!", and we all could move on to baseball. Creeps.

So where was I going with this? The mind is a slippery entity..

Oh! Yeah.. the charts. So, after that brief moral victory at 19, I've deteriorated since then, and thought I would never, never get back to the "good" category. But ha! Shows you what modern medicine can do .. better living through chemisty. :) Now I'm in the 50+ bracket and, woo! I only have to cover 1.25 miles in 12 minutes (or run 1.5 miles in under 15 minutes, either way), and I did both this week! Ha!

All of a sudden I kind of like running now. Or maybe, I don't hate it quite so much. :)