Very Important Subjects

[littlebittybobby]

Okay----Some alarming news on my f-book feed. One a the local; bike shops had an obit; the first of several by various biking enthusiasts. I did not know the gentleman, personally, but the guy apparently was well-known. Well, I always like to find out about these things. He was an avid cyclist, age 62, who went out for a ride, and died suddenly for medical reasons, as near as I can tell. Not in a collision or crash, from the sound of it. No hard facts given, but several of the jesus-freak religionist cyclers were commenting stuff like: "now he's biking with the lord" or some such crud. Apparently, superstition and magical thinking are the only thing permissible in polite conversation. But yeah---I looked on Strava, and wow! The guy has piled up a bunch of miles! Something like 6600 miles, this year; nearly 100,000 total since he got on Strava. . Lately, it's been breezy & cold--but he still got his miles in, every day.. I looked at his photo and the guy was VERY lean, and his leg muscles very developed. You could tell HE didn't go on any drive-n-eat excursions in I-wah! I don't know his medical history, either. Such as whether he'd had some underlying condition that he began cycling to overcome, either physical or psychological. But, it's my understanding that as you age, you require more recovery time after strenuous exercise; that you may be more impacted by cold weather hypothermia AND dehydration and electrolyte depletion. Something which may've caused him a cardiac episode, and maybe he did not get help, soon enough. That's my theory. I suppose people on the inside track will discuss the actual cause in hushed tones among themselves, but as one of the non-elites, I will have to settle for the mawkish platitudes and "the lord-called-him-home" type of stuff. Yup.

[catherine]

So sorry about the biking gentleman, bobby. People seem to become flummoxed when someone dies young while actively choosing a very healthy lifestyle. I remember when Jim Fixx, author of The Complete Book of Running, dropped dead at 52... while running. The cognitive dissonance of, "If you eat well and exercise like a beast, you'll live forever," and then someone comes along to break that "rule"--it makes us all want to go out and bring home a pizza and gallon of ice cream and channel surf in commemoration.

I think In Jim Fixx's case, people breathed a sigh of relief and went back to running after it was determined he had a congenital heart condition that caused his untimely death.

[iris lilies]

So sorry about the biking gentleman, bobby. People seem to become flummoxed when someone dies young while actively choosing a very healthy lifestyle. I remember when Jim Fixx, author of The Complete Book of Running, dropped dead at 52... while running. The cognitive dissonance of, "If you eat well and exercise like a beast, you'll live forever," and then someone comes along to break that "rule"--it makes us all want to go out and bring home a pizza and gallon of ice cream and channel surf in commemoration.

I think In Jim Fixx's case, people breathed a sigh of relief and went back to running after it was determined he had a congenital heart condition that caused his untimely death.

If Jim Fixx had done less running, more sitting around not stressing his heart ( but not eating hot dogs!) would he have lived longer? Just musing here.

[catherine]

If Jim Fixx had done less running, more sitting around not stressing his heart ( but not eating hot dogs!) would he have lived longer? Just musing here.

Yeah, it seems that the congenital factor was just one piece of the puzzle. According to Wikipedia:

Fixx died on July 20, 1984, at age 52 of a heart attack, during his daily run on Vermont Route 15 in Hardwick.[1] The autopsy, conducted by Vermont's chief medical examiner, Dr. Eleanor McQuillen, revealed that atherosclerosis had blocked one coronary artery 95%, a second 85%, and a third 70%.[4][5]

In 1986 exercise physiologist Kenneth Cooper published an inventory of the risk factors that might have contributed to Fixx's death.[6] Granted access to his medical records and autopsy, and after interviewing his friends and family, Cooper concluded that Fixx was genetically predisposed—his father died of a heart attack at 43 after a previous one at 35,[7] and Fixx himself had a congenitally enlarged heart—and had an unhealthy life: Fixx was a heavy smoker before beginning running at age 36, had a stressful occupation, had undergone a second divorce, and gained weight up to 214 pounds (97 kg).[8] Medical opinion continues to uphold the link between moderate exercise and longevity.[9]

[littlebittybobby]

Okay---obsessive overtraining, what I call "junk miles", is what I've mentioned here before. Like the super-thin mid-50's Lady of Perpetual Cycling Miles here, who had some quick down time last winter to have "one knee done", and will have "the other knee done" this winter. They are beyond achieving optimum fitness, for sure. That is why I previously mentioned "psychological" as an underlying condition. See? But yeah---some reactionary people will intercept the Jim Fixx Ball, and gleefully take it and run the other way. Quote: "Whyyy, by god, if he'da got together with his FAMBLY and drove ta the 'Chine Shed fer all ya can eat, steada riding around all the time on a kids' toy, whyyyy, he'd still be alive and well, by god!". Yup. Anyway, the moral to the story is, all things in moderation. Yup. Hope that helps you some. Thankk mee.

[littlebittybobby]

Okay---just to take your mind offa the controversies I've caused---here's a gift for you kids. It's from the 1950's of some 4H Members. Farm Kids. Yup. Don't bad-mouth 'em, if you're on a keto diet, by god! Yup.2022-11-21 (3).jpg

[littlebittybobby]

Okay---Today is the Anniversary of that dreadful day in downtown Dallas---November the 22nd, 1963. For littlebittymee, I was in the 6th grade & getting ready to walk home for lunch. Prolly 1/2-mile one-way. But yeah---that was all there was on Tee-Vee that weekend, including the murder of the suspect in the basement of the city jail. Yup. The headline in the paper was in red ink. I kept our copy for several years, but it was thrown away by our household tyrant, in the interest of neatness and order. Yup.2022-11-22 (6).jpg

[catherine]

Okay---Today is the Anniversary of that dreadful day in downtown Dallas---November the 22nd, 1963. For littlebittymee, I was in the 6th grade & getting ready to walk home for lunch. Prolly 1/2-mile one-way. But yeah---that was all there was on Tee-Vee that weekend, including the murder of the suspect in the basement of the city jail. Yup. The headline in the paper was in red ink. I kept our copy for several years, but it was thrown away by our household tyrant, in the interest of neatness and order. Yup.2022-11-22 (6).jpg

I was also in 6th grade, bobby. I was in Sister Perpetua's class when Mother Ellen Marie came into our classroom and told us the news that the President had been shot. Donna O'Brien put her head on the desk and started crying. The rest of us were just speechless.

I happened to be in Dallas on business on November 22 several years ago, and I mentioned something about, wow, I'm in Dallas on this momentous day to the young market research attendant. She didn't know what I meant.

[jp1]

So sorry about the biking gentleman, bobby. People seem to become flummoxed when someone dies young while actively choosing a very healthy lifestyle. I remember when Jim Fixx, author of The Complete Book of Running, dropped dead at 52... while running. The cognitive dissonance of, "If you eat well and exercise like a beast, you'll live forever," and then someone comes along to break that "rule"--it makes us all want to go out and bring home a pizza and gallon of ice cream and channel surf in commemoration.

I think In Jim Fixx's case, people breathed a sigh of relief and went back to running after it was determined he had a congenital heart condition that caused his untimely death.

Hadn’t he also been a heavy smoker early in his life? I seem to remember at the time people saying ‘well, the damage had been done…’

[catherine]

Hadn’t he also been a heavy smoker early in his life? I seem to remember at the time people saying ‘well, the damage had been done…’

Yes, from the quote I referenced above, "Fixx was a heavy smoker before beginning running at age 36, had a stressful occupation, had undergone a second divorce, and gained weight up to 214 pounds (97 kg).[8] "