So for most of my aging athletic friends, this one’s for you. We all know about having to slow down, or not. Realizing we no longer can keep up with folks 10 or 20 or 30 years younger should have made an impact by now. You are the last to catch up on your uphill bike ride and when you get home you need 2 Tylenol 2 Aleve and a body bag. The ski trip where you feel your lungs ready to explode and your legs feel like lead at the end of the day. You are the first to go to bed after only one or two beers. Realizing how to set the bar is important if you want to keep doing what you have always loved. Not being too macho to admit you can’t do it as hard and fast is the difficult part.
I give you one example. Names are changed to protect the hard-headed. Jim is 71 years old. Always been a runner, but he sleeps in. By the time he gets out of bed to go run it is sometimes over 90 degrees in the Summer. Apparently he thinks he is still 29 years old and he can recover. Not the case my friend. At your age dehydration can literally kill you. Your kidneys will shut down and you can die. Saw it happen in Hawaii one year. Not pretty. The recovery period for runners at this age is generally twice what a youngster would be. Remember to keep your heartrate at your training rate based on your age. Jim will spot me and complain about how short of breath he feels and how much his knees hurt. Buddy, that’s your body telling you to quit the running and go for cycling or another form of aerobic activity. Fortunately I think he has taken to swimming, which is one of the better activities for us old guys.
So biking has always been a passion for me (second only to skiing) I like to go fast downhill on singletrack. When I moved to Reno it opened up a whole new venue with hundreds of miles of the stuff. Everything from desert landscape to high mountain trails in the Sierra. Problem is, most of the folks who do this extensively are much younger. The hill climbing to get to your reward is usually akin to a death march. Heartrates rip up into the high 100s almost immediately with climbs of 2000 feet of vertical or more. Sure, its worth it for the downhill joy, but at my age I need a hospital bed and a nurse by the time I’m done. Don’t judge, I have ridden all over the place, in fact did a Race back in 2011 which covered 11 miles straight uphill to a 10,000 foot summit with over 4000 feet of climbing in 2:08. Not too bad for a 50-something guy at the time. I also participated in a cross country trip from the California/Nevada border at Lake Tahoe to the Utah State line that traversed many of the 11,000 foot ranges in Nevada, completing it in 11 days. This was done on my old 26inch Giant Trance. Needless to say, I have nothing left to prove but still enjoy. My answer: E-bike. These bikes can get us old farts up the hill without cardiac concerns and you can actually adjust the input of motor to your training heartrate. Now the downhills are even more fun because you did not require CPR at the end of your climb. Cheating? Maybe, but at least you are still in the game, and cycling in the hills is a lot safer than riding on the roads with folks texting, applying makeup and reading the paper.
I started skiing to spare myself from depression after moving to rainy Seattle from Phoenix in 1973. My time as a ski patroller nearly caused a divorce but taught me survival ski techniques and I continue to ride to this day.
Not nearly as fast or quick on my feet but I still enjoy the sport at age 65. The secret to continuing? Keep doing it. Use good gear. There is no bad weather, just bad gear. If you don’t get out and go, you will never go back. Stay fit during the off season. See above. Cycling, swimming, and any aerobic conditioning that keeps the heartrate at YOUR training level. Not that of a 30 year old. Remember, set the bar. Ski with folks that enjoy the sport and outdoors and don’t worry about “not good enough” “too slow” “can’t keep up” The idea is to have fun, stay fit, enjoy the Winter outdoors. No one wants to get hurt or die. Set the bar where it needs to be.
Enough about me. The key to active lifestyle beyond whatever age you are is consistency. Keep doing something besides eat and watch TV. It’s never too late to start but go slow, talk to an expert so you don’t get hurt and Set the bar where it needs to be for YOU. Remember, your max heartrate 220 minus your age and go slow.