Just Fit Enough

I raced in a regatta yesterday.  I struggled in making the decision whether to race or not.  You see, I'm quite used to racing in peak condition.  And I'm not right now.  I haven't trained nearly enough to win a race.  But, in the end, I love racing so much that I decided I would.

And I'm glad I did.

It turns out that I'm "just fit enough".  Just fit enough for 4 minutes - give or take a few seconds - of gut wrenching, lung bursting, heart galloping exertion.  Just fit enough to maintain a decent stroke rate.  Just fit enough to even have a kick at the finish.  Just fit enough to help both boats to a third place finish.

Then I got home and Adam Kreek, 2008 Canadian Olympic gold medal rower, was on my Facebook feed.  Watch and enjoy.

And stay fit enough!

Never Leave the Playground

Stephen Jepson is 77 years old and plays all day as if he were 7.  He supports play and movement at all ages to improve your life.  He wants all of us to have better balance - to avoid falls.  And he believes his approach builds brain cells and memory.  He is a marvelous inventor of toys and activities and an inspiration for us all.

Stay active.  Never leave the playground.

Watch the Growing Bolder video here.

Stephen's Never Leave the Playground website is here.

Hole in One at 103

Gus Andreone recently became the oldest PGA member to score a hole in one.  It's only been 75 years since he last scored one!

Gus golfs three times a week at a par 90.  His personal formula for longevity is not complex. “It’s all about just being yourself, keeping your old regular pace,” he says. ”You just have habits you do every day. You don’t live outside of what you do every day.”

“I take a spoon of honey every morning in my coffee. Every morning,” says Andreone. “Before I get out of bed, I do a certain set of exercises that help my knees, back and hips. It works for me.”

Gus is more evidence that we just have to KEEP MOVING!

Read about Gus' hole in one here!

How to Live to be 100

As it turns out, our bodies have a capacity of about 90 years.  But our average life expectancy is 78.  Dan Buettner explored "blue zones" - places with a high rate of longevity - to try to figure out how to live long.  Here's what he found:

Move naturally.  Don't exercise.  MOVE.  Build systems into your life that make you move.  Walk.  Garden.  Take the stairs.  Just move.

Have the right outlook.  Take time to downshift.  Have a purpose.  I like the Okinawan concept of "ikigai" - the reason you wake up in the morning.

Eat wisely.  Don't diet.  People in blue zones drink a bit of wine every day.  They eat a mainly plant based diet - some meat, but not much.  And they limit their portions.

Connect.  Social connections are likely the most important aspect of longevity.  People need to belong.  Family is important, but, more than that, so is your "tribe" - the people you surround yourself with on a daily basis.

Watch the video.  It's interesting!

Guinness Book of Records at 91

Margaret Hagerty is amazing.  She's 91 and has run 81 marathons - the most recent is the NYC Marathon.  Margaret holds the Guinness Book Record for being the oldest person to run a marathon on 7 continents.  Amazing!  But what makes this an even better story is that she didn't start running until she was in her sixties.  She went to a stop smoking clinic at 64 and has not looked back.

Read about her here.

Running Makes You a Better Walker

I like walking.  It's easy on my feet and gets me outdoors.  Check backward on this blog and you'll see lots of support for walking as a way of life.  Or at least as an essential component of it.

But runners are better walkers.  Turns out that walking into old age isn't so great at holding off your ability to move with ease and agility.  Running is.

This is a great article that outlines the research that was done into both running and walking in your mid 60''s and beyond.  Runners have a similar "fitness" to sedentary college students!

Looks like I need to pick up my pace.

Read:  Run to Stay Young

Weight Lifting for Swimmers

Weight lifting is great for everyone as we get older, and here's a great article about how weight lifting improves swimming.

The author outlines her 5X5 method and offers a few suggested workouts.  Swimming alone is fine, but with weights?  Even better.  Be strong and swim faster!

Read about weight lifting for swimming.

New Gym for me

My favourite gym, Living Strong, closed down last August.  I'm glad the weather has been fantastic, because I've been able to extend my outdoor fitness activities - rowing and hiking.  But the weather is getting cold so it's time to get back to the gym.

This winter I've decided to work with a new personal trainer.  I've known Sue Spencer of Gulf Islands Athletic Training for a long time.  She coached and trained my daughter as a soccer player.  What I like about Sue is that she is my age and still playing soccer.  She's active and athletic.  We share many of the same ideas and attitudes toward being an athlete.  And she's competitive.  

My goals are simple:

1.  To rekindle my motivation to work hard.

2.  To get stronger (see my previous post about weight training and aging)

3.  To be in top cardiovascular shape by spring break.

4.  To make a difference in the boats I race in next July.

So far we're learning routines and creating muscle memory for the dynamic warmup Sue supports.  I've been twice and I really like it.  This morning a woman came in who is much older than I and she whipped through the dynamic warm up as if she was 20 years old.  There's hope...  :)

Here's to a great winter of training!

Fighting the Effects of Aging

It turns out that athletes over 50 can help themselves overcome the effect of age on their athletic performance.  Weight lifting does it.  And I don't mean body weights or high reps - I mean heavy, muscle-building weights.

Weight Lifting Improves Athletic Performance in Master Athletes

102 Year Old Cowgirl

Although Constance died a couple years ago from a complication arising from a fall from a horse, her strength and fitness is still an inspiration.

Will you be saddling up and riding a horse at 102?  The best way to get there is to follow Constance Reeves' advice.  Get out of your chair!!!

World Records in Track at 90? Of course!

“People make themselves old,” he said. “First they say, I’m too old to do this and too old to do that, and suddenly they look in the mirror and they are old.” I'm inspired by this story of Roy Englert and his teammates!

  Track Team Is Peerless and, Seemingly, Ageless

Masters Rowing - Inspirational!

I recently competed at the Canadian Masters Rowing Championships at Burnaby Lake. It's one of my favorite regattas - mostly because it's all about athletes who are older. Yes, there's a AA category of 21+ year olds, but get into the D and over categories and you're talking about athletes who are 40+. There are even a few who are in their 80's. And I don't use the term "athletes" loosely! These people train hard, getting up before the light several mornings a week to improve their on-the-water performance.

Wisdom of the Elders

Yep.  That's us.  We've officially passed the half way mark which means we've accumulated a fair bit of life experience.  We've lived through our own ups and downs.  We've had our own struggles and victories.  We've got some things to share!

I have a friend who posts about Grandmothers Groups from time to time.  So I thought I'd find out what they're about.  As it turns out, elders here are supporting African elders who are looking after the nation's children who have been affected by HIV/AIDS.  (Thank you, Stephen Lewis, for your amazing work.)

This is where I got to thinking about being an elder and what that might mean.  I don't feel like an elder.  My mom is still living.  She's a true elder.  But I also have a responsibility to help the younger set where I can.   Heading into the second half, I hope to help, role-model and inspire in my own small way.  I have a few things to share.

"Who'll be my role model, now that my role model is gone?"  (Paul Simon)

Look After Your Fascia

My sister introduced me to MELT balls.  They come in various sizes and densities and are used as a self-treatment for chronic pain in feet and hands.  And I think they are making a difference for me!

MELT also produces a body roller to roll out your muscles.  It is softer than many foam rollers on the market - and it, too, makes a difference for me.

Anything that keeps me flexible and pain free is great in my books.  You can learn more about MELT and order their products here.

Look After Your Feet

I have chronic pain in my heel.  It's been with me for 20 years.  Usually it subsides for a while and I get on with exercise.  But this year it isn't going away.  I'm okay with not playing soccer or basketball any more.  Rowing is going well.  But my foot is getting in the way of hiking and even walking!

There are 26 bones in a foot.  And heel pain is common.  This article in Medical News Today is pretty informative.

Rest.  Ice.  Ibuprofen.  I guess that's what I'll keep doing....  Sigh.

Another Inspiring Athlete

Peter Dreissigacker is 62 years old.  He is best known for his rowing oars and his Concept II rowing machines.

The World Indoor Rowing championships were held recently.  They are also known as the Crash B's. Basically a whole gymnasium of Concept II rowing machines is set up and wired together so they can be monitored and measured.  And then a bunch of rowers get on and row 2000 meters in the shortest time they can.

I've rowed a long time.  I'm a strong woman!  At 52, I can row 2000m in very close to 8 minutes.  People are impressed with that.  It would have put me in 8th place at the World event.  Nice!

The very fastest YOUNG men - national team calibre - row 2000m in about 5:30.  But back to Peter.  At 62 he rowed his 2000m in 6:55.  Pretty good!

I hope we can all find it in ourselves to put in our personal best at the highest level for years to come.

Get Off Your Rocking Chair

I row at Elk Lake.  I have some friends there who are my inspiration.  We call them the J Pod.

Rowing names its age groups alphabetically.  At 52, I am a D category rower.  It's a tough category - actually faster than A, B or C many times!  So I am really looking forward to getting older and moving to E and beyond.  But J?  Wow!  I hope I am still out there when I hit J.  These rowers are over 80 years old!

http://www.cheknews.ca/?bckey=AQ~~,AAAA4mHNTzE~,ejlzBnGUUKY1gXVPwEwEepl35Y795rND&bclid=975107450001&bctid=3153270969001