A “benefit” of two weeks in Paris in August … a chance to resume jogging. Outside.

I haven’t jogged — or done any out-of-doors cardio — in Abu Dhabi since April. Just way too hot. For most of us regular folks, it’s just not an option. Running when it’s 110 degrees, that’s a death wish except for a handful of people.

But in France, unless it is having a heat wave, I get to go knock myself out, outside, because temperatures here have been in the mid-70s. No excuses for skulking indoors.

But how much of a benefit is jogging? And who can answer that question for me? Well, nobody.

I am pretty sure about this: Exercise is good for you … right up to the moment it kills you.

I know we’re not supposed to think thoughts like that, but isn’t that how it really is?

Even the guys who put in huge numbers of miles can’t quite be sure they won’t drop dead the next day.

The patron saint of arrogant runners is, of course, Jim Fixx, who did much to popularize the notion of lots of cardio as a health benefit — and who keeled over after completing his daily run in 1984 and died of a heart attack at the age of 52. He was younger than I am now, and unquestionably in vastly better shape. Aside from the severe coronary blockages that brought on his heart attack which, perhaps, I do not yet have.

Fixx famously said/wrote that anyone who could complete a marathon couldn’t possibly die of heart failure. Well, yes … yes, you can.

So why am I out there doing 40 minutes on Boulevard Richard Lenoir? Because doing nothing seems to be even more dangerous, I guess. Because we all need to suffer, physically, at least a few times a week. Maybe to appreciate the rest of the time.

Right this moment, I feel particularly mortal because of the reality of exercising indoors in Abu Dhabi for four months has softened me, I’m sure.

I bought a weird little machine that is both an exercise bike and a sort of cross between a cross-country ski machine and an elliptical. I bought it because it takes up very little space and because the decent treadmills were too expensive; I certainly will leave the machine behind when I leave Abu Dhabi, whenever that might be, so why spend $3,000? And why join a health club if you don’t have a car?

I’ve been using the little inside machine for 40 minutes three times a week, and I knew it wasn’t as hard as jogging outside because 1) I didn’t suffer as much and 2) I recovered quite a bit faster.

So, I’ve been outside twice now here, and parts of my legs that have been spared the pounding of actual jogging are aching now. And I’m doing those 40 minutes with a pulse rate about 15-20 beats higher than when I’m on my silly machine, which is also about 10-15 beats a minute more than the Doctor Who I’ve Seen Once recommended. (We won’t even get into the risk of being run over by a car while crossing streets, or knocked over by cyclists while jogging on the edge of the bike lane.)

Anyway, I have never, ever gotten a straight answer from anyone on the topics of “how much … how fast … how hard when you’re how old?” Because every case is different, isn’t it.

I must concede this: It usually makes me feel better to do my 40 minutes. (OK, more like 60 minutes with cool down and stretching.) I may loathe it ahead of time, and one of the first thoughts through my mind whenever I wake is “do I have to exercise today?” But once I have cooled off, I do feel better. If I had felt sluggish or morose before exercising, that’s almost always gone afterward. Perhaps from the delight of knowing that, when I finish, I’ve got 48 hours before I have to do it again.

So, anyway, how long can you do this before you kill yourself? A few senior citizens are out there jogging regularly, but most are not. Did they quit because injuries stopped them? Or did they have a legit cardio scare and that got them down to the occasional walk?

Who knows? I don’t. And I don’t believe anyone else knows what is best for me, either. They may not even know what’s best for themselves. But for some reason I force myself to do this three days a week. I do think it’s good for me, in terms of mental health, physical health and appearance. I assume it will continue to be good for me … right up until it is my cause of death.