This is the AGE!

"You've reached the age in which you don't back down from a challenge. This is the age of knowing how to make things happen. So why would you let something like...This is the age of taking action." Ah man, I love Viagra commercials! Seriously, a cowboy gets his truck stuck in the mud and spinning his tires, he pulls out the horses, and gets the job done. Yeah, nothing suggestive about pulling out the horses! As an aging runner, I can't help but feel like that cowboy stuck in the mud. Every time I go to a race, especially local ones, and I watch from behind some guy 20 years younger than me win at a time much slower than I used to run at his age, I feel stuck in mud. What happened to me? Why can't I rise to the challenge? I should have whipped that young whipper-snapper's tail and let my horses run wild on him. Instead they are trapped in the trailer. Unfortunately, there is no little blue pill that can solve this problem. Besides, I really don't want a run to last more than 4 hours. So how do I rise and not back down from the challenge of slowing down?

As I begin my quest of a sub 36:00 10,000 meter on the track this summer, the first step is simply being realistic about my limitations. One thing that I have learned over the past couple of years is that my body just cannot handle the volume of miles I used to be able to run. The days of hitting 90-100 miles per week are gone. They were fun while they lasted, but, this old body just can't handle that much of a beating. Rest days are no longer just an easy 7-10 miles. A rest day means that I do not lace up and head out the door. And, some days, without warning, like yesterday when my right knee ballooned up and ached all day, parts of my body will revolt and hurt for no apparent reason. Then 24 hours later, like today, everything is fine. But as the commercial states, this is the age of knowing how to make things happen.

Fortunately, at least I hope, with age has come wisdom and knowledge about the sport. My training has become more about quality over quantity, even though I still run between 65-70 miles per week, the focus is on the quality of those miles. Am I practicing good form? Am I stretching and doing drills? Am I working on my core? Are my work-outs geared towards steady improvement based on effort and duration? These questions guide my steps as I carefully plot out my races to help me reach my goal. Performance-wise, I can no longer race every weekend. Family, career, and other responsibilities come before racing, and besides, again, the old body just can't race at a high level as often as it used to. Quality over quantity. I know I only have so many good races in the tank, so I carefully pick high quality events in which I know I have better odds of performing well.

And of course, one must have understanding partners of your plight. One of the things that really helps me cope with this dilemma knowing that I am not alone. Playing with friends your own age with the same, yet varying degrees of symptoms, helps ease the pain and helps us rise to the challenge and take action. Running, like sex, is best done with partners. Even though we can go at it alone, to have others to joke around with, talk about life, and just share in the experience makes it that much more satisfying. Here is the one area that is so much better than when I was younger, the conversations and sharing of the experience is much deeper and richer than before. So maybe the challenge is not how do I keep from slowing down, but how do I keep the passion alive for my first true love? I think the answer is simply sharing it with others. I have been blessed with a great group of running buddies throughout my 30 plus years of putting one Nike in front of the other and it is without a doubt, the number one factor in helping me rise to the challenges I set for myself as an athlete and that is much better than having to take a little blue pill!

So, it is that time once again, to lace up, head out the door, and put some miles in for the day. As always, stay healthy, keep running, and let your horses out of the trailer!