"Enjoy it while you can"

On my run this morning, I started a little earlier than I usually do. Turning a corner, I passed an older gentleman with a cane. He was out for his own morning constitutional.

In typical southern fashion, he smiled and waved his cane at me. I smiled back and shouted a hearty "good morning!" across the street. He replied with:

Enjoy it while you can! Eventually your knees will go and you'll be doing this! (as he waved his cane in the air and laughed)

I replied:

I'm doing this so my knees will work as long as possible!

And then we both continued on our way.

But it did make me smile.

I have no proof that running will keep me young, but it sure as heck isn't making me any older! I am still in that lovely period of running that late-bloomers enjoy: I am considerably faster in my 30s than I was in my 20s.

I am sure my gentleman neighbor has a point. There is no magic elixir that works like a Fountain of Youth, but there are days when racing through a park still makes me feel like a little kid again. And each new PR makes me feel like my body works better every year instead of worse. I'm going to enjoy those feelings for as long as they last, and thank my neighbor for reminding me to "enjoy it while you can."