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4A – Daily News – Monday, May 24, 2010 Vitality & health BY LESLIE BARKER GARCIA The Dallas Morning News What made Larry Brown's addiction accept- able was that it was, at least on the surface, good for him. He was in his early 40s and running an impressive 50 miles a week. So what if it consumed him, if he thought about it even when his feet weren't methodical- ly hitting the pavement or carrying him across a finish line; if he became angry when the weather, or some- thing else he couldn't con- trol, kept him from his workout? "My PR (personal record) in a 10K was 33:16," says Brown, now 63. "I was good enough to where it caught me, and I was blinded by that." Even when he developed prostate cancer, and was sit- ting in his doctor's office looking at an MRI of a bone tumor in his leg, he was still focused on running. "That was my first ques- tion," says Brown, a Dallas insurance broker. "Not whether I could still work, or whether I'd be able to walk. It was, 'Can I keep running?'" At a time when two- thirds of the U.S. population is overweight, and barely half of us exercise at least three times a week, Brown seems an anomaly. Yet experts say he is far from alone. Look around the gym, or on your favorite trail. Chances are at least several people were there yesterday and — no matter what else is going on in their lives — will be there tomor- row. Officially, this is known as Overtraining Syndrome. Because of the volume of workouts, it occurs primari- ly among professional ath- letes, or those training for a long event such as a marathon or triathlon. Yet most anyone who works out can exercise too much; a workout's duration and intensity can matter as much as a compunction and com- pulsion to do it. Yet there is an irony to this, says Sue Beckham, associate director of educa- tion at the Cooper Institute: Instead of leading to faster times and better health, too much exercise can be detri- mental. "Like anything, too much can be bad," Beck- ham says. "The way the body works is that we over- load it, and by giving it recovery, it adapts. The problem comes when we don't have balance between overload and recovery." Overexercising often leads to such physical signs as loss of appetite, insomnia, fatigue and an inability to maintain what used to be a normal workout. Some peo- ple experience depression, mood changes and loss of self-esteem. Those symp- toms could be related to exhaustion, or to chemical changes in the body, or by a decline in performance. No one really knows, Beckham says. GRADUATION 2010 A special page featuring this year’s graduates! From kindergarten to college. Congratulate your special graduate! THIS WILL APPEAR IN THE D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY Saturday, June 5th Deadline: Friday, May 28th $18 2 or more $ your graduates photo Congratulations To our favorite Graduate of 2010 Have a wonderful future. Jane Doe Best Wishes RED BLUFF TOTAL COST ea. 12 ea. INCLUDES PHOTO Even if someone doesn't have these signs, overexer- cising might be taking time from other areas of their lives, such as family. As a former Ironman competitor, Beckham, who has a doctor- ate in physiology, knows firsthand how exercise can overtake someone's life. "When I was training, because of the nature of such a long event, most of the time I was doing two training sessions a day. It creates stress because it encroaches on other things you do. It's hard to find that balance." Brown usually did his training runs while his wife and daughter were sleeping. He assumed that his long miles and time away didn't affect them. "Since I was in that kind of shape, I didn't sense my tiredness," Brown says. "I didn't know I wasn't all that easy to live with. I probably wasn't covering my bases very well." His family didn't talk to him about easing up, but his friends did. "I'd say to them, 'You're not disciplined,'" says Brown. "I'd rationalize. It was willful blindness. I don't think at that particular time in my life they could con- vince me to do otherwise." He knows now that his obsession was a matter of control. "It's one thing in your life, if you stay relatively uninjured, you can control," he says. "It was kind of a false sense of control, though, because you were one injury away from not being able to control it." Or in his case, prostate cancer and a bone tumor — which was benign, but altered his running regimen. He eventually sought the help of a counselor, which he calls "the best thing I did." People who overexercise usually know they're work- ing out too much, says Kirk Burgess, senior physical director at the Town North Family YMCA in Dallas; yet, they justify their actions. He knows because 10 years ago, that's exactly what he did. He ran the same 7.7-mile course every day without fail and couldn't seem to stop himself. "Not only did I feel guilty if I didn't," he says, "but I was playing mind games. I thought I was falling behind the norm if I didn't run, that I wouldn't be ready for race day, that I felt inferior, that I wasn't on top fitness How much exercise is too much of a good thing? MCT photo Larry Brown is addicted to running. of my game." Eventually, the bone in his lower left foot "com- pletely broke down." He had to have a bone graft. For six months, he couldn't run. Though he's back to it and is training for his 24th marathon, losing the bone is "what it took," he says. "I was just like an alco- holic. It took hitting rock bottom to realize, you might want to slow it down a bit. You only have one body." He keeps an eye out for overexercisers, like those who use the cardio and the weight machines every day. Or those who spend hours of each day on one piece of equipment. Though he rarely would tell someone what they probably already know, he might ask about their exercise program, and then talk about balance and about rest. "The American College of Sports Medicine says rest days are as important as workout days," Burgess says. Brown, who had his last cancer treatment 15 years ago, now has a rest day — Monday. He runs about 20 miles a week and takes two spin and two yoga classes a week. It's still time-consum- ing, but it just feels different, he says: "I feel like there's more joy and less intensity." Sometimes he worries he'll revert to his old ways. "I hope not, but I still wonder," says Brown, who records every workout in a notebook. "It's the old con- trolling nature. Will you revert back to your old self when things get a little stressful in business or in relationships? You wonder if it's your nature built into it." He does have one more goal: To run 50,000 miles by the time he's 65. As of right now, he still has 1,000 to go — and until Aug. 3, 2011, to accomplish it. BOX SHOWN IS ACTUAL SIZE (1 COL. 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