Age is no barrier, it is just a number.

 

The month of celebrations are now over and it’s time for me to get on with life as a fifty year old. So, what exactly does that mean?? I have had various friends warn me that after fifty, your body starts falling apart. Of course I scoffed at them and arrogantly suggested my body would weather the foray in to middle age with ease. (I’m actually not sure if middle age starts at 40 or 50, but for the purpose of this post, it will be fifty!!)

Imagine my surprise when not even a month after my birthday I started to get a niggle in my left shoulder. Now hamstring problems I have had, and am still dealing with, but my shoulders have always been fine. I decided to ignore the discomfort confident it would be gone the following day. To my frustration, it wasn’t. No problem I thought, I will avoid any upper body work for a week and just focus on my running. All was going well until a few days later, when I got a sharp pain in my right calf during a long trail run. I had to slow down to a shuffle and limped home like an …..old lady!!

What was going on? Was my previously fit, capable body falling apart? All the comments from my friends came flooding back to haunt me. A mental picture flashed into my mind of me hanging up my running shoes and donning my pink fluffy slippers as I sat on the couch and turned on daytime TV.

Feeling sad and sorry for myself I rang my Physio and told him I needed an appointment as soon as possible, it was an emergency.

I spent a very agitated evening contemplating the fact that my body was betraying me and that exercise as I had know it for the past 30 years was over. (A complete over reaction on my part but the fifties phobia had got to me!)

Feeling tired with dark bags under my eyes (is that also normal now or just from lack of sleep!!) I dragged my feet into the physio’s office like a criminal walking to his execution.

I explained my concerns to Joe and reluctantly told to him that I had just turned fifty. Was it time for me to consider taking up a more sedentary exercise, such as bowling?

Joe took one look at my forlorn face and burst out laughing. He almost fell off his chair he was laughing so much. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh with him or be offended. When he had recovered, he told me his parents, who are the same age as me (this wasn’t helping!), were at present competing in the master’s games for running. They were as fit and healthy as they had ever been and had no plans for retiring from competition in the near future. He then went on to give me the names of a handful of trail runners in Hong Kong who are my age or older and running much better times than I was. (Definitely not helping!). He then looked at my shoulder and calf, told me there was nothing serious going on, gave me a few exercises and ushered me out the door. I could still hear him laughing as I limped down the hallway.

When David arrived home that night I greeted him at the door with a glass of icy cold champagne. He was a little startled and wanted to know what we were celebrating. I gave him the good news. My body wasn’t falling apart. My injuries were minor and I didn’t have to stop running or exercising. My positive mental attitude had been restored and I was once again ready for action. I then went on to explain that I had been doing some research on the inspirational people out there in the world who had accomplished some amazing feats at older ages than us. It was time to set some new goals. (I can’t be sure but I think he groaned a little).

As a culture we have been conditioned to believe that as we get older we need to slow down. Thankfully this way of thinking is beginning to change. I remember hearing a great story one day about a man who was asked why he was still running at 90, and his answer was “because no one told me I couldn’t”. Our bodies are amazing machines that will adapt to any load we put on them. If we keep exercising as we age we are doing ourselves a big favor. We can maintain muscle mass, which is more metabolically active than fat, which means we won’t put on weight as easily. Exercise helps maintain bone density, and keep heart disease at bay; it can reduce blood pressure and lower the risk of type two diabetes. One of the great side benefits of being active is how good it makes you feel. When you exercise the brain releases endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine into our system, these chemicals work together to make us feel happy.

The other essential ingredient to aging well and staying active is the food we eat. At the start of the year I began studying nutrition and Health Coaching with the Institute of Integrative nutrition. While I have always been a healthy eater, this course has really opened my eyes to how essential a good diet is and how of we eat affects us right down at a cellular level. This is a subject I will be talking more about in future blogs as it fascinates me and I would love to share what I’m learning with you.

For now however, I am going to leave you with a few links for truly inspirational people who have not let age stop them from achieving their goals.

 

http://www.greatveganathletes.com/rich-roll-vegan-ultraman

http://www.triathloninspires.com/mbuderstory.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/15/health/70-year-old-marathon-seven-continents/index.html

 

After my temporary aging crisis I have decided I am going to attack my fiftieth decade with the same enthusiasm and energy as I have the last few. My new motto will be age is no barrier, it is just a number. Now to find the next goal, it’s not time to hang up my running shoes yet.

Dr. William Buchan, the 18th-century Scottish physician wrote, “Of all the causes which conspire to render the life of a man short and miserable, none have greater influence than the want of proper exercise.”