Every 20 Minutes Makes a Difference

So yesterday at my local fitness center they began their annual Fall Fitness Challenge. Each time you go in to work out, they give you a sticker to put up next to your name, and when you have collected seven stickers, you get a prize. Somehow a little acknowledgement of our effort motivates many of us to work out more. I know when I have a goal, I am more motivated to put my running shoes on. I have read that for every mile a person walks they add 20 minutes to their life. So after a 3 mile run, I will add an additional hour to my life. I would need to go 72 miles to add a full day, 504 miles for a week, and 2160 miles to add a full month. I have often wondered how many miles do I actually run, walk, bike, and swim in a year. If I averaged 15 miles per week, after one year, I would have added 11 days to my 79.5 year life expectancy. I think I would like to add 15 days to my life during the next year. That would mean that I need to average 20.76 miles per week. I am sure that I exceed that amount during the summer, but the winter is much harder for me to stay motivated. So my goal is set, and a year from now my life expectancy will be up .041. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but when life is short, every second counts!