3 Vital Assets to Help Ben Run & The Fear of Death

This week Ben decided to start jogging, a pass-time that he hasn't attempted for about 15 years. Even when he was gym obsessed, it was never cardiovascular. He did try swimming at one point last year, but he took that to the extreme and started tying his arms or his legs to make it more difficult, even though doing a few extra lengths would have had the same results, without the chance of drowning. 

Before he set off, he gave himself a few hours, to talk the idea over and prepare himself mentally. As soon as he realised I wasn't listening, he rang his brother, who has a lot of experience in this sort of training. He advised Ben to give it a go, to set a distance and do it, even if some of it is walked. 

Ben ignored this advice, pushed himself to his limits and realised 3 vital things. 

1. To run on the road, you need trainers. Decent trainers, that have no holes in, and have more uses than 'those shoes you don't mind ruining while doing household DIY projects'. 
2. You need lungs. Lungs that have not been abused for years through smoking. Lungs that aren't affected by asthma attacks, set off by the sudden and dramatic change in exercise routine. 
3. You need a heart. A heart which has not had to cope with the strains of modern living, poor diet, lack of exercise and chain smoking. 

These three things can, of course, be adjusted.

He bought the shoes the next day...

Now, anyone who has heard the recent, shocking story, about a local jogger who was attacked by a naked man in brightly coloured trainers, would probably agree, that to buy brightly, coloured, trainers and take up jogging in the same area, just a few days after the police appeal is released, is probably not the wisest idea. Thankfully, he always goes out clothed and couldn't catch other joggers, so, hopefully, he won't be jumped by an angry mob, due to mistaken identity. 

So, with the best of intentions to go for a run, he prepared his new trainers and did his yoga routine as a warm up. I was busy baking 86 cupcakes and having the fridge fixed...again, when Ben started complaining of chest pains. 

He asked me if there was anything to worry about, and I told him to enjoy his run.

He sat with me for a while, waiting for the cramp to ease. He asked me again if I was worried. I told him if he thought he was really ill, to go to A & E and offered to take him...as soon as the cupcakes had risen...because I didn't want to take them out, just before they were properly cooked...you know...they do that dippy thing, and feel a bit soggy. 

So I sat him on a chair watching some programme near me, and made sure my phone was charged...in case he needed me to phone anyone... he looked ok. 

By the time I was almost finished topping each cupcake with butter-cream icing, he was having palpitations and getting pins and needles in his arm and hand. He had started to sweat a fair bit, so I told him to google it. Google suggested he was having a heart attack or that he had been electrocuted. I told him to have a sleep. 

Today, the Dr checked his heart to give him peace of mind, and all if fine. He seems to be suffering from stress or anxiety, and the amount of coffee and red bull cannot be helping matters either. What is to be anxious about anyway...it's not like he is about to attempt to complete Tough Mudder with next to no training, having just quit smoking, with severe asthma and the ability to run almost a mile before collapsing in a heap...oh wait...