If you’ve read the journey this far then you know that twice daily exercise consists of running about a mile while stretching the definition of running.

Run. Jog. Trot. Shuffle.

I settled on shuffle but call it run. People are impressed that an old guy can run, lose weight, exercise properly, and have a diet that loses weight.

Fortunately, most of those impressed with my running ability never actually saw me run.

Parallel.

That’s right. Walking and running is done perpendicular to the ground. The ground is flat. We walk and run upright; perpendicular to the ground. I start my run that way but the last few minutes of a 15 minute jog are done mostly parallel to the ground.

My legs are bent, running forward, but nearly upright while my back is bent forward but parallel to the ground. It has a decidedly old man look to it and to passers by it might seem as if I’m about to fall on my face.

The unknown ALS has affected my posture and given it a decidedly kyphosis-like curve, but after a few minutes of running my back becomes so weak it cannot hold me upright, and I become bent over, as if a victim of acute osteoporosis.

I ain’t pretty but heart rate gets up to nearly 100-percent of maximum for my age, and two minutes of recovery at the end of the run gets me a heart rate drop of sometimes 50 points or more.

Heart is good. Back is not.