School track at 5:00 AM every morning. There were others there as well. We would spend a mile warming up beginning with a walk and then a light jog. After that it was 3-miles at what became a race pace. We would cover
the 3-miles in about 14-minutes on average. My pulse rate dropped to 42 beats per minute. (I also supplemented the morning runs with occasional evening runs wearing ankle and body weights!) It’s incredible what serious aerobic exercise can do for your stamina!
I maintained my aerobic health by running for decades more until some allergy related problems cropped-up. After that, it became long, brisk walking (often with one or more of my dogs). I still lift weights (in my home gym) and walk about 20 miles per week (primarily on hills) year around. I can run with my dogs or with my grandchildren. I don’t get winded or tired doing it. My early investment has paid great dividends.
Diet.
I became concerned with diet beginning in the early 1970’s. It began with reading about what was in animal flesh because of the way food animals are raised using artificial means to increase the yield per animal such as antibiotics. Then there were the studies that focused on animal fat in our diets contributing to heart disease. If you went
back to that period you would see recommendations of reducing red meat and replacing it with poultry. What those popular articles didn’t state was that there was nearly as much fat in poultry as in beef. The recommendation was badly flawed.
I gradually reduced the amount of animal products in my diet. That included meat, poultry, and dairy products, especially ice cream and cheese. (I’m “allergic” to milk, so I never drank that. I began drinking (canned) soy milk in the 1950’s.) I became concerned with the morality of how food animals are treated; it did not pass the muster of rabbinic teaching. I became vegetarian in the 1990’s.
Becoming vegetarian wasn’t the end, but a beginning. The only difference in my diet between vegetarian and vegan was yogurt and cheese. I decided to do without them. I still do although I take a piece of cheese at some social gatherings a few times a year. Incidentally, really good vegan ice cream is available!
An important part of your diet is getting the vitamins and minerals that we need. I had taken daily dietary
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"I also supplemented the morning runs ---- wearing ankle and body weights!"