Myrl Jeffcoat wrote:
>
> > It was bad enough to hear about people screwing up their shins and their
> > knees from running, or those older joggers who drop dead of heart
> > attacks while out running for fitness. This morning 28 year old Ryan
> > Shay died 5 1/2 miles into a 26.2 mile qualifying race for the Beijing
> > Olympics.
>
> I just saw that on the news. . .Unbelievable! I'm into fitness, but
> I'm not a runner. Instead I swim a couple of miles, 4 - 5 times a
> week. Much easier on the joints and knees.
>
> It will be interesting to see what caused this 28 year old top notch
> runner to die, 5 1/2 miles into the race.

It's a damned shame. Runners obviously work hard to keep in shape. Last
year I was doing a lot of swimming, usually 5 days a week, 1500 m three
times a week and 1000 m in between. I had a couple of problems with
swimming. First of all, it's boring as hell. The other problem was having
to share the lanes in the pool at the local Y with imbeciles who think they
deserve to be in the fast lane. I would rate myself as medium speed, though
I am usually the fastest there. Then there is the time limitations for
lane swimming. So I started walking on the track instead and then working
on the wight machines. As soon as the weather warmed up in the spring I
started bicycling, which was a lot less boring. I was cycling 10-15 miles
per day. It was a much better way to lose weight, and I needed to lose
weight for the sake of the horses I ride, since my primary fitness activity
is equestrian jumping.