"I'd rather be seen on my bicycle than on a park run" - Quote from the dark side

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Age doesn't matter but...

I'll be 51 at the end of the month and I am working towards some awesome ultra goals. Yesterday I was listening to some kids aged 19 - 23 complaining about exercise and effort and whatever else they could. It made me feel quite good.

Yes I'm slow but I can work, run and walk them all into the ground. But it did make me think about a few age related things and even though age doesn't really matter there is a but for sure.

Recovery takes much longer than before. Getting back into shape also takes longer. I think it is related to the fact that getting out of shape speeds up as you get older.

I'm currently building up again after being sick. This is where my body tells me I am not 20 or 30 anymore. Not in what I can achieve, but in how long it takes to get there.

Recovery is certainly taking longer than 15 years ago. Recovery from sickness or after a heavy fall or maybe some other injury or mishap. This is where I feel I am no spring chicken anymore.

Luckily age also brings wisdom and I know from years of experience I must just be patient and persevere. I will get there and I will achieve those awesome goals.

Age doesn't matter, but be wise about it.

11 comments:

KovasP said...

Youth is wasted on the young - I really regret letting my fitness go when I was younger, so much more difficult now.

Lauren said...

The biggest thing I've had to deal with in my older years, is that weight absolutely does not come off by exercise. I find it nearly impossible to slim down. :( On the good side, I think my mental power is much, much stronger than when I was younger. And I like that.

misszippy said...

This is SO true, Johann! I sometimes long for my 30s and that speedy recovery but I wouldn't give up what I've learned along the way.

Robin said...

I agree, it's so important to listen to your body more as you get older. I find that too. Not to ignore the nigglings and to get rest when you need it. Glad you are back and hopefully back up to speed in no time.

Char said...

I hear you on the recovery thing. It used to be that you'd get an injury as a child but by the next day it was better. Now it requires months of therapy with a team of specialists.

coach dion said...

My injury is an age thing... the body is old (only 45, but with 30 years of hard running on the clock) and it doesn't regenerate as fast as it did in the 90's!!!

I'm not ready to be old!

Mark said...

Great post, Johann. One thing about getting older....fewer and fewer folks are in my age group!

A-Pi (Peter) said...

Good for me to bare in mind for the future. I'm just in my 30s, but hardly exercised at all until 7 years ago.

Paul said...

The silly thing is that the over 40 set should ALL be out exercising we are the ones that really need it.

Instead at a race its all sub 40. Jeez you can be sub-40 and your muscles are huge just doing nothing. You can eat pizza and hamburgers every day and stay slim ;)

Need to get more of us older folks out there!

Unknown said...

age doesn't matter, but all my ailments are age related. blah. youth is wasted on the young.

Black Knight said...

Great and wise post but a runner tries to be always competitive at any age: this is the problem and the source of many troubles.