Fear & 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!