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!

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

Social science has been exploring how our perception and vision affects our approach to exercise.  The results of their experiments are fascinating!  There are a few things that predict how we "see" exercise as easy or hard.  One is our own fitness.  Fit people tend to "see" exercise as easier.  Another is motivation.  People who are highly motivated "see" exercise as easier.  But the most fascinating part is what they found about how people "see" the world around them and the effect on how they "see" exercise.  As it turns out, people who are focussed and not attending to everything in their line of vision "see" exercise as easier.  That's great news!  It suggests there may be ways for us to adjust our perception of exercise and "see" how easy it is to stay fit and finish strong.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

1954 British Empire Games

All of the members of this gold medal crew are still alive.   What a story!  Inspirational.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Gold+medal+rowers+impossible/10073867/story.html

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

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