Running Calms President, Helped Him Quit Drinking
What's President Bush's secret for staying calm under pressure? The same activity that helped him quit drinking in his earlier years -- running.
In an interview with the magazine Runner's World, conducted right after finishing the three-mile President's Fitness Challenge in June, Bush said his running times became faster after the war began, and since then, he's been running with more intensity.
"You tend to forget everything that's going on in your mind, and just concentrate on the time, distance or the sweat," he said of his running. "It helps me clear my mind."
Bush says he tries to run six days a week. In a physical earlier this month, the 6-foot, 189-pound president had a resting heart rate of 44 beats per minute, which puts him in the range of elite marathoners.