It's my party and I'll hike if I want to

As an August baby, this month I'm one year closer to a new age group!
(This should go in the "you know you're a runner if..." files. Only people who race look forward to the -0s and -5s birthdays.)

While other people might want to unwrap piles of presents, my favorite way to spend a birthday is to do something active. A few cases in point...

My 30th birthday was a bowling party.

Photo of women bowling circa 1950. No I am not old enough to be in this photo
Image source

Last year I was working on a 21-day yoga challenge.

This year Hubby and I went spelunking.

My parents, who refuse to get on the no-gift bandwagon, usually send me a new pair of running shoes, which makes us all happy.

I've gotten a few raised eyebrows over the years when people ask "What did you get for your birthday?" and my answer is "Nothing. We went out to _insert field trip here_ and it was awesome!" Not everyone understands, but it's my birthday and I'll hike if I want to.

First of all, there's plenty of evidence that exercise slows the aging process.

Second, as I get older, I can blame aches and pains on running rather than blaming them on "old age."

Third, every year older is one year closer to a new racing age group - which means I'll be the youngest all over again (at least for that year).

And last, but certainly not least, there's something to be said for staying young at heart and going out to play for your birthday.

What birthday traditions do you have?

When I grow up

When I grow up, I want to be just like this:



In case you haven't heard already, 86 year old Johanna Quaas proves that we don't need to sit quietly on the sidelines as we get older. In fact, the woman might have more upper body strength than the average 20-something guy (and is definitely more fit than Stephen Colbert).

"Accomplished gymnast" is not the image most of us imagine when we think of an 86-year-old. But I like this option better than the stereotype of crocheting doilies while sitting in a rocking chair or (worse) being wheeled around a senior day care center in a wheelchair.
Ok.
So maybe I don't want to be "just" like her...
The last time I got on a balance beam, I split my lip open falling off of that balance beam.

But I do want to keep running well into my golden years.

What's your idea of a good retirement: quietly relaxing or taking on some new challenge?

Aging and running

According to research published by Stanford University in 2008, running slows the aging process:

Regular running slows the effects of aging, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine that has tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years. Elderly runners have fewer disabilities, a longer span of active life and are half as likely as aging nonrunners to die early deaths, the research found.

But aging also slows the running process...

In his article "Coming of Age" in the October issue of Runner's World, Peter Sagal interviewed Dr. Ray Fair (Yale University) on the effects of age on runners' pace.

The bad news: it really is all downhill after age 35. Or, rather, it's an uphill battle. Our finishing times increase (as pace decreases) as we get older. Dr. Fair conveniently created a web-based conversion system if you want to see the details. And, for your viewing pleasure, I've turned the data into a chart summarizing how uphill the battle is:

Coincidentally, today's Dictionary.com word of the day just happens to be acme: the highest point of something; the highest degree attainable.

Let's use that in a sentence: By age 35 nearly all runners will have reached the acme of their running performance, and can no longer expect to set PRs.

Wow. That sounds horribly depressing. But...

The good news: The slowdown is very gradual as we age, until the mid-70s. By age 88, we can expect that most running distances will take us about twice as long as they did at age 35. Or, put another way, by age 88 we will run at about half the speed we did 50 years earlier.

But really, if we're still running at all at age 88, isn't that good enough?

Also...for one of my favorite stories of 80-year-old words of wisdom, see "Enjoy it while you can."

In the long run

Yesterday's half-marathon training long run went off without a hitch. Well, ok. There was one hitch. Hubby and I started about an hour later than we intended to, but we'll just call that "replicating race conditions" (the half will start later than we'd like) and move on.

I've been running my long runs without music for the past couple of months because #1 - in Florida heat I sweat so much I'd short out my iPod, and #2 - my iPod hasn't been holding a charge for more than half an hour anyway. (I don't know about you, but I can't run 10-15 miles in 30 minutes. If I could, I'm pretty sure being faster than Usain Bolt would have gotten me a Nike sponsorship and a wall full of Olympic medals by now...)

Yesterday I decided to give the ol' mp3 player one last chance, and a good, long overnight charge. It must have worked because both my tunes and I lasted through 95 minutes of humid, shade-less, coastal trail running.

This morning my quads and ankles feel like someone whacked them with a tire iron (result of a long run on uneven terrain and soft sand) but it's that "good ache" that tells me I pushed my boundaries yesterday. I just wish I recovered as quickly as I did 10 years ago! (Cue clairvoyant voice: I see more ice baths and foam rollers in your future...)

Hubby finished his run before me (no great shock there) and snapped pics of me at the finish. This is the least unflattering of them (which is saying something about what I look like after a long run). But hey, at least I finished strong, right?

My favorite song from the run: Silversun Pickups "Growing Old is Getting Old" which came on in my last couple of miles. (Confession: I played it 3 times in a row.) Aging + running is definitely a theme from this weekend, but more on that later...

What song motivates you most at the end of a long run?

Have you noticed any changes in your running (or recovery) as you've gotten older?

"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."

I knew I ran for a reason!

Is it just me, or do you love when news breaks that proves running is good for you?

I get almost as much giddy "See! I told you so!" pleasure out of reading about the health benefits of running as I do from passing people in the finish chute at a race. Today's news is no exception: Apparently running is the Fountain of Youth. (And Juan Ponce de Leon was looking for the mythical fountain in Florida! How wrong was he? Ha!)

In new research, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky found that mice who exercised the equivalent of three 10k runs each week showed almost no signs of aging, long after their sedentary peers had perished from age-related causes.

I'll add this to the long list of reasons to love running.