This last month, I’ve gone on a long hike every Sunday. I found a local hiking group, plus some Meet-Up groups that hike.
However, I’m not used to the pace at all. They are trucking along at about 3.5 mph, and I’m used to walking at a more leisurely pace & stopping to look at things along the way. Most of the hikes are around 9 miles, but one was 12 miles (ouch).
I’ve seen some women in their 70s, and that is certainly motivating.
Wow, that is awesome. Hiking is a great activity to keep your body in tuned up shape. 
Good morning all. Apologies for being MIA for awhile. I’ve been dealing with (a) new job stress (tapering off) (b) an ugly extended family situation (ongoing but I’m getting burned out & thus taking it less to heart) and © having a full house for the summer with both D’s home and (d) starting the process of getting younger D into college.
Exercise & health took a back seat for a while, but I think I’m back to where I can get back on track. I’ve definitely lost ground with my running, but that’s OK. I’ll get back to where I was, and I think the break gave my body a chance to deal with a couple nagging aches & pains that seem to have gone away. It was good to catch up on everyone else’s activities & see that y’all are going strong.
Glad to hear from you, @GertrudeMcFuzz! And happy to hear that your life is getting less stressful. I’ve been mia too with too much on my plate. Finals, buying one house, making it livable, moving, getting the other house ready for sale… plus losing a pound, just to name a few things going on. Three more weeks, and I will be - fingers crossed! - back in action.
Good reports, Gertrude and Bunsen!
Ran a tough 10K this morning after a pretty tough 12 mile training run on Saturday. My legs weren’t recovered. Won my age group in my last race as a 64 year old. I’m glad that’s over. My corporate team was 2nd in our division.
That’s terrific, MOWC! I bet you have a nice collection of awards at this point. I don’t think I could handle a 10k race right after a long training run.
Good to see you Gertie! Hope all the difficult stuff works itself out.
Congrats, MOfWC! A 10k after almost a half is pretty tough.
It felt terrible. It wasn’t too bad for almost 2 miles, and then it felt really bad. I kept the same pace pretty much, so there’s that. It’s just SO hard to race!
So good to see you again @GertrudeMcFuzz ! No doubt you’ll get back on track!
Just to put “hard core” in perspective… Had dinner with our “adopted” kids (two young athletes that we’ve been helping to settle in the US), and learned something new about them: before the birth of their kid, the husband considered going into freediving and knew the late world champion and her son. The mother was 40 when she decided to try it and set many world records after turning 50; she was 53 when she tragically disappeared off the coast of Greece while teaching a freedive lesson. Holy Moses. Holding your breath for 9 minutes (floating face down in the water), diving into a hole located 100 feet below surface on the ocean floor without scuba, etc. - wow. Not your typical middle-aged woman’s activities.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2005926/mysterious-disappearance-natalia-molchanova
This is as hard core as it gets!!!
Oh boy. I have a kid who decided to do a sprint tri. She signed up late… now she needs to fond a a wet suit because the lake is freezing cold. Ok… that is bad by itself, plus the air quality is crappy to say the least. This is the kid who ran her tri in my flats because she forgot her shoes at home. Sigh. I need to stuff a couple of pairs of Hokas in her car just in case. Hope I can keep my sanity on Saturday.
That diving sounds insane. Good luck to your kiddo! Wet suits can be hard to navigate without practice… hard to get on and off!
BB I don’t blame you for worrying about her!! Will you be there to watch??
Thanks all! I can’t be there because we have work scheduled on the house… 
She has done some surfing and wakeboarding, so I suspect she is familiar with wetsuit issues. Swimming is not a problem for her usually… it is the whole signing up for a tri on a whim thing and “oh I need equipment” thing that make me nervous. The air quality has been abysmal to say the least.
I probably was hard core at birth. I remember in grade school holding my breath underwater for 2 minutes. Maybe that accounts for my brain damage!?
That free diving is so beautiful but so dangerous.
I’ve been plugging along, actually sticking with my training plan for the 10k but adding some variety to my workouts with a circuit strength class and some new Pilates classes. Haven’t been running nearly as much and physically I’m feeling a lot better. Hope things with the house are going well, Bunsen!
Clearing the last pieces of crap out of the old digs!
Freediving is likely the most dangerous sport out there. Apparently, people get such adrenaline rush after surfacing, they want to do it over and over… Thank goodness that the daredevil kid was not with us to hear about the mother/son duo. She would have been intrigued. I recall how she went cave swimming in Maui, dove under an overhanging rock, and disappeared into the darkness of the water. That was one of the longest minutes of my life!
Here you go @BunsenBurner https://www.amazon.com/Lemorecn-Wetsuits-Neoprene-Diving-3041P12/dp/B072C93DB6/ref=sr_1_2?s=outdoor-recreation&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1504823602&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=wetsuit&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011&psc=1
If you do one day shipping can it get there in time?
My sil always rents a wetsuit when she needs one, I have no idea how that’s done and if it can be done last minute
Thanks deb! She is figuring it out as we speak.
Wetsuit - found. Kid is not answering her phone. The race is on. Air quality went up to “moderate” yesterday and improved substantially today. The beer garden opens at 11…