Busdriver, I know how you felt. When I was 40, I encountered two twenty-something’s while mountain biking and ended up racing them up a hill and beat them. I was elated. (And then, in my elation, decided to take a big jump at the top, landed with my front wheel turned and immediately pancaked myself. When I regained consciousness, I looked up and literally saw a horse’s ass above my head and immediately thought that not withstanding my injuries, things could very quickly get a lot worse. But I digress.)
Cycling could be a sport where, within reason, you could be competitive with younger riders. Low impact, easy on the joints and youthful advantages can be compensated for by technique, strategy and focused training designed to increase muscle oxygen capacity to offset the inevitable age based loss of cardiac capacity.
Did my 8 miler tonight. Started out kind of rusty, then picked up some speed - could have ran a couple more miles, but had to feed very hungry Mr. B.
Pizzagirl, hang in there. I can relate to not feeling like doing anything when stress makes life miserable. When I was battling enormous stress, I did not feel motivated to exercise at all, so I stopped posting here. My wake up call came during my treadmill run at the cardiologist’s office. Apparently, I “beat their record,” which was not so hard to do. I realized that I did not want to end up a crippled, old little lady barely moving on that treadmill, so I dusted off my running shoes and my dumbbells. It was hard to get going, but it actually felt good. Some days, we really need to “just do it” - for our own good. If you have an exercise buddy, grab the buddy and do something together. Sign up for a class. Try something new. Make sure you have some vested future exercise interest to get you off the couch. I wish I could take you for a powerwalk through a mall for some therapy shoe shopping Hope you feel better soon!
No, I’m seriously slow on the uphill. It’s the price I pay for 38 years of smoking. I’ve accepted it and am just thankful I can get out there and walk up mountains. I could be haulin around an oxygen tank… When I started this fitness thing a few years back, one of the three goals I wrote down was “to walk one mile without getting winded” and I was talking about walking on a flat paved neighborhood street.
I’ve figured out my pace and have accepted that I’m not winning any hiking races. I do carry a backpack with a lot of clothing options, first aid stuff, and lots of water… enough to survive a few hours if, god forbid, I’m ever the one who’s fallen and can’t get up…
I’m actually a little slower the same hikes than I was two or three years ago. When I first started hiking, it did the up hill like sprint intervals. I’d go fast until my heart rate was up over 90% and then stop and pant. I’ve learned that it’s a lot more enjoyable to not do it that way, so I’ve figured out some techniques to slow it down. It’s a bit like MOWC’s lower heart rate run training. Over time, it’s definitely lowered my heart rate at the same level of exertion. Recently, on the steep bits, I’ve been doing seven steps ending on a rest-step (locked knee) for three breaths, then seven steps ending on a rest step on the other leg for three breaths and so forth. It’s a good way to walk at a reasonable pace and not let the heart rate runaway.
I’m seemingly faster than average (in my age group) on the downhill. I have zero knee issues (which is unusual for a geezer like me), so I’ve got pretty good legs for downhill. Aerobic capacity isn’t really an issue downhill. My pace is terrain limited. I’ve learned to just take what the trail gives me as pushing the pace downhill on rocky terrain is sure-fire recipe for a twisted ankle and faceplant. A lot of what I hike is stepping down 1 to 2 feet from rock to rock, so that can be slow going. The youngsters kind of jump down, but I follow the advice to keep at least one foot (and a hiking pole) on the ground at all times! Falling on the landing of a jump downhill sets an ugly chain of events in motion. That’s how people end up in the trees, like the kid I passed a couple of weeks ago that was going to need stitches in at least one knee and two elbows.
I went down today. Foot slipped out from under me on a slippery rock slab after the rain shower. Just sat down on my back side and bounced up. No harm, no foul.
Oh no, @MichaelNKat, what a story! Okay, that is actually hilarious! Cycling does seem like a great sport. I have a friend who is in her sixties, and is amazing. It just seems very intimidating to ride in a pack of bikers when you’re kind of wobbly…but I guess it’s all experience.
I wonder for Pizzagirl, that if sometimes it’s better to just take a short break. To not feel bad or guilty about it, but just let it go for a little bit. And instead, drink a glass or two of wine. Know that soon enough, you’ll get back to your routine, and it will all come back to you. Just feeling bad about it only makes things worse.
“Thanks for the into on the unsweetened stuff. I choke on anything that has artificial sweeteners. Just can’t stand the fake sugar taste.”
There are so many things out there made with Stevia. A little bit on the sweet side, but natural, and no downside. I love the Lily chocolate bars. Have you tried those?
That is incredible that you are doing all this after 38 years of smoking, idad. Wow. Apparently people can completely reverse the effects if they stop, and it sounds like you have. That is amazing.
Thanks, bus. Can’t stand Stevia either, because it is artificially too sweet. After cutting out most sugar out of my diet, I don’t really feel the need for the sweet taste in my performance and recovery gels and drinks.
Busdriver, time trial events are great for those who want to compete but are leery of mass starts and riding in a pack. Each competitor is assigned a specific start time and you are on your own unless you happen to get passed by someone who starts after you or you pass someone who started before. There are time trial events and categories where you can use a regular road bike and don’t need a specialized time trial bike - in fact they are not allowed - so you could try out time trialing without making a financial commitment to a bike that is designed for specialized use.
And, yeah, the circumstances of that little crash and its aftermath were pretty funny. When I picked myself up off the ground, I discovered I had bent my rear wheel, cracked my helmet and also had broken my collarbone and separated my shoulder. I managed to make it back to my car and get my mtn bike on the roof rack with one arm. Called my wife and told her I was done riding and would be home after I made a couple of stops. She asked where and I told her I had bent the wheel and needed to go to the bike shop. Her wife radar pinging, she asked where else and I told her the local ER. After calling me a few choice names that questioned my mental competency, we negotiated a deal that I would come home first, she would drop me at the ER and then take the bike to the shop. We did that and she returned to the ER just as a nurse was about to scrub the dirt out of my multiple abrasions at which point my wife said with great glee, “No, let me do that.” Afterwards, we went back to the bike shop for me to check on the bike and buy a new helmet. When we got home, I promptly opened a bottle of wine (again, one handed, I was very motivated), sat down in front of the TV to watch the Tour de France, put my new helmet on and proceeded to drink the entire bottle. A little while later, the doorbell rang. Feeling particularly sociable at that point, I answered it helmet on head, arm in sling, legs bandaged and bottle in hand to meet and greet for the first time my wife’s cousins from out of state with whom I had forgotten we had made dinner plans. It was one of my finer moments. We did proceed to go out to dinner but for some reason no one would let me drive.
Okay, @MichaelNKat, your first paragraph sounds encouraging, your second one sounds scary! That’s awesome that it can end up to be a funny story, but it sounds like it could have been very serious.
The risk of major smoking related diseases, like lung cancer, approach normal after “x” number of years as an ex-smoker. That’s just a statistical thing, based on cancer-free years.
Alas, the cumulative damage to aerobic capacity is not really reversible. Training and exercise can maximize whatever oxygen capacity is left, but the total available capacity is always going to be lower than in lifetime non-smoker.
From my perspective, that really doesn’t matter. All I see is the immediately apparent improvement from my last year as a smoker when I couldn’t walk a half mile on flat city streets without having to stop to catch my breath.
I had a good 5.5 mile run on a very hilly route last night. It was hard but I felt great. Yay!
Tomorrow afternoon we are driving to Chicago for the Big 10K on Saturday. It’s a 10K race sponsored by the Big 10. It’s a very fun race with thousands of people running for their respective Big 10 schools. It’s very well run and one of our favorite races. Weather has been great this week and I hope it holds for Saturday.
PG-sorry that you are dealing with that kind of stress. It is so easy to put exercise and yourself on the back burner while you stew over the issues. But really, forcing yourself to follow through with whatever exercise you schedule will make you feel so much better. I really hope that you’re able to take care of yourself and that the stressful situation(s?) will be resolved soon.
busdriver-We hiked Mt. Si last year! I loved it - what a gorgeous hike and amazing view at the top. I was not passing anyone, however, and set no records for speed. And I am even slower on the way down than going up.
abasket-I hear you on those mosquitos! They are terrible this year!
iDad-your hikes sound so wonderful. I am in awe (and more than slightly jealous!)
Last year Michigan State had the highest number of participants! I think so far this year they lead in registrations. Whatever school has the most runners gets their fight song played at the start of the race. I probably won’t get to sing Hail Purdue so I’ll hum along to the MSU Fight Song in your honor.
Glad idad explained a little more about lung damage and heeded to his wake up call to future health.
The aleoli in the lungs (the little sacs in the lung where oxygen exchange takes place) actually break down with smoking so there is less surface area for oxygen exchange. Long time smokers have a lot of ‘dead air’ in their lung when they then develop emphysema - can’t exhale the dead air. Dad would not have made it out of his 40’s w/o quitting smoking, his emphysema was so bad. He had a relatively healthy 20 years w/o smoking (some heart issues - back then they did the balloon procedure until they developed stents), then developed small cell lung cancer (they have more effective treatments now, but chemo in 1995 was ineffective against his cancer) - dad died two days before his 64th birthday. His younger brother died earlier of lung cancer (also a smoker), while their older brother died of heart disease in his 80’s - also a smoker. Smoking damages blood vessels too, among other things - heart disease is common.
Having extra weight on is a health risk.
We all can say ‘should of, could of’. Can’t repair for the water under the bridge. Just can be effective with what we do today and in the future to take care of our health. Activity after quitting smoking can improve fitness, just as activity with anyone.
Michael- that sounds scary to me, but I can just picture you answering that door!
iDad is my hero.
3.1 miles this morning after it rained heavily during the night. Felt like a swamp.
GO IU!! (for the Big 10 race).
We are heading to Springfield, IL tomorrow for my daughter’s first half-ironman distance triathlon on Saturday. She has other friends competing in the various races- a couple in the sprint, one in the Olympic distance and another couple in the half-ironman distance. She’s pretty excited. If anyone had EVER told me I would be supporting this child in a half-ironman I would never have believed it. We are very proud of her.
I did a body weight workout with my trainer on Tuesday–she really pushed me and I was a sweaty mess by the end of the hour. This morning I went to sunrise yoga. I got up at 5:30 and made the 6 am class. Getting out of bed was harder than the yoga. I’m not a morning person.
PG–Don’t beat yourself up. Do something. Anything. I think if you can get ourself to start one activity (trainer, yoga, Pilates), you’ll find that the exercise is a great stress reliever. Taking the first step is the hard because it’s so easy to blow it off when you feel stressed. Good luck!
Hope you feel better soon!