If you think turning 50 sucks, try running a little harder then watch time spin backwards. The research is spilling out — that endurance training can stall and even reverse the clock on aging. I lap that stuff up because, hey, I want an entire second act to my life. I want that birthday fantasy to come true — of having the wisdom of a 50-year-old inside the strong body of a 20 something (okay, can’t do much about the wrinkles).
Is it possible?
Well, I’m putting the research to the test. My goal is to get in the best shape of my life, after 50. My proof? Setting personal bests in every race I enter — 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon, marathon. And then race against some of the world’s best oldest athletes at the World Masters Games in Torino, Italy in August 2013, which I will do with my running buddies above (who range from 50 to 61; pretty awesome, huh?).
I’m three months into that year-long plan to Super Fit Me. And here’s (in brief) what’s happened so far:
Lost: 10 pounds & super-charged my energy.
Gained: Two power-piston glutes and stronger hammies.
Partially Recovered: From a midlife crisis.
Improved: My mental attitude and also 1/2 and marathon paces by about 20 seconds/km.
Set: Personal bests in every fall race I entered, so will have to top all those results again. Not goofing around. Setting the bar high here.
Won: And this for a gal who has never gotten within a dirty sock sniff of the podium, two first-place finishes (a 5k and 10.8k), one third and one fifth (in half marathons) in the 50-54 age group. How’s that from someone who was cut from her grade school track team and never thought she could be fast enough to even run with a club. This from a flat-footed menopausal menace who packed on 20 pounds eating her way across Canada researching a food book. (Since that buffet-athon, I have run about 6,000 kilometres.)
How did I do it? How will I get to the next stage of super fitness? Please join me on the Older Faster Stronger journey. And hey, if you’re under 50, do Younger Faster Stronger. Subscribe on the RRS feed at the bottom of this blog, follow me on facebook and twitter, or check in here for regular posts.