Fear & age?

[Crankin]

ShootingStar, I meant that I have friends who are excitedly bragging about joining AARP, complaining about their aches and pains, living for the day they can become snowbirds and spend half the year in FL, and saying things like "at our age..."
I agree, you do need balance for your mental health. I dread the day when I can't ride, but that's when I'll be walking outside or doing chair aerobics! (sigh, we used to make fun of instructors who taught that when I worked at gyms). I just don't want to get old. There's longevity in my family, with fairly good quality of life, so I expect to have to adapt my exercise habits as I'll be around for awhile.

[lph]

I don't mind getting older (at least not much), I mind not being able to do the things I love. As long as those things require a certain level of physical fitness, I'm going to strive to keep fit. But I would be naive if I expected myself to be as fast or as strong or as fearless now as when I was 20 years younger. I do know however that stamina "ages well", it just takes consistent training and not too many injuries. And general good health is of course something that everyone can work at and benefit from, at every age.

At some point my priorities may change. I don't mean that that I will ever happily accept poor health, but maybe keeping fit just might not seem so important, maybe because the effort overshadows the rewards, maybe because I've gained other interests in life. I don't know. I think that's what I think of in the term "aging gracefully" - not trying to be as fit or feel as "young" as possible, but making active choices about how to keep yourself capable of doing the things you enjoy doing.

[rebeccaC]

I think that's what I think of in the term "aging gracefully" - not trying to be as fit or feel as "young" as possible, but making active choices about how to keep yourself capable of doing the things you enjoy doing.

well put and that's hopefully how I'll look at it!!!!

[PamNY]

ShootingStar, I meant that I have friends who are excitedly bragging about joining AARP, complaining about their aches and pains, living for the day they can become snowbirds and spend half the year in FL, and saying things like "at our age..."

I pretty much avoid people who use the phrase "at our age."

[Catrin]

I pretty much avoid people who use the phrase "at our age."

Generally speaking, folks who say such things appear to think that I am from another planet

[OakLeaf]

But then, "at my age" I *do* need more recovery time to get the benefit of a hard workout, and to avoid injury, and I'm not shy about admitting it, even to athletes older than I am. I know someone my same age who's been following a cookie-cutter training plan and getting very little benefit out of it, and it's pretty obvious to me that it doesn't include enough recovery time for someone our age ...

[OakLeaf]

You know, the year I did CFC and my first half marathon seems like forever ago, and in many ways it was, but it was only four years ago, and it's relevant to this thread in a few different ways.

That was the year I turned 50. I'd been afraid to do CFC ever since I heard of it. I just decided that I was old enough NOT to be afraid of hard work and pain, and I trained for it, and I did it in the chilly rain, and with what's happened to me since I may never do it again, but I did it. And I zoomed down some of those 25% grades on rough pavement in the rain and wasn't afraid of that either.

But then I got hurt ... and it wasn't so much slow healing that's been the huge problem, it's been that I couldn't find good treatment and so when I did heal, it was with everything still misaligned and a whole lot of muscles and tendons left significantly shorter than the bones they're supposed to be aligning. And the way age played into all that was the accumulation of minor injuries and misalignments over the years, that have all contributed to my ongoing problems.

But also, there's the emotional strain that comes with being our age. Deaths and extended illness of family members, increased responsibility, problems with children for those who have them, etc. That takes a toll on the physical body and training capacity, too. It will show in resting heart rate and in results.

[Crankin]

Melavai, those friends are what I call "regular" people, not any of my cycling friends. And Catrin, I agree, those people humor me because I have known them since 1990, when I was doing "acceptable" exercise at the gym, not "weird outdoor stuff." Or boot camp. Sometimes even younger acquaintances look at me like I'm from another planet.
Oak, I know I need more recovery and I do not ignore that. I stopped nordic skiing earlier than my friends on Sunday, and I am glad, even though the reason was because DH was starting to fall and knew he had had it! I took 2 full days off and I needed it after 3 days of snow sports. I know I sound like I am not aging gracefully, at least in my acceptance of the inevitable. That's why I keep on trucking and every few weeks go out with my cycling group which is full ofpeople just like me, who are up to age 90 or so!

[Catrin]

But then, "at my age" I *do* need more recovery time to get the benefit of a hard workout, and to avoid injury, and I'm not shy about admitting it, even to athletes older than I am. I know someone my same age who's been following a cookie-cutter training plan and getting very little benefit out of it, and it's pretty obvious to me that it doesn't include enough recovery time for someone our age ...

That is true Oakleaf, and I've learned the hard way that I need a bit more rest/recovery than the young things I train with. THAT is something rather different from the group I was referring to - the ones who won't lift a finger because "they are too old"...or "one shouldn't do that at our age", and they are MY age! That is all I was referring to, that fear of activity because of some arbitrary age. There are aches and pains that come from movement, and very different injuries that come from being too sedentary.

[Melalvai]

ShootingStar, I meant that I have friends who are excitedly bragging about joining AARP, complaining about their aches and pains, living for the day they can become snowbirds and spend half the year in FL, and saying things like "at our age..."

You have weird friends.