Older is Better

With the exception of some wines, cheeses, and furniture, nearly everything in today's society leads one to believe that youth is the ultimate desire(actually, maybe I should not have included furniture in that list. My stepdad owned several furniture stores. He would shake his head when my mom and I would buy antiques, asking why in the world anyone would pay good money for USED furniture).

Those of us over 50 know that it just ain't so. We know. Our kids and grandkids would not believe us if we tried to explain just why older is better, so we generally just keep that secret to ourselves. (And anyone who says they want to be 16 again--100 percent 16, mentally and physically--needs more help than I can give them).

Truly, sometimes older athletes are just better. Not necessarily faster, but simply better (yes, I did watch the Vikings game, but this is not a discussion on the merits of Brett Farve). Here are some of the reasons why:

1. We work out smarter. Age does a funny thing with your intelligence. It makes it grow in leaps and bounds. We no longer see a need to push to run that extra mile when 10 was our goal, we understand our bodies' limits and abilities, we know the truth in going hard on hard days and going easy on easy days, and we stick with that. We plan workouts like we plan our retirement; we spreadsheet things and keep an eye on our progress. We make sure we back off appropriately, and push when pushing is required.

2. We race smarter. After a certain age, the race really is between you and you. Although age group podiums remain fun and interesting, we will sacrifice those in order to keep our health and bodies intact for another year. When we hurt, we slow down. We quit writing "pain is fun" on our biceps, because we know it isn't. We do understand the concept of suffering, but we know that doesn't mean to an extreme. We don't have to pass that guy who just biked past us. We look at our watches, our heart monitors, and race smart. And we finish.

3. We eat smarter. We know we can't rush out there on an empty stomach after having imbibed a bottle of red the night before and run 7 miles (neither can the younger set, but they won't know it until about mile 4). We've (hopefully) gotten past the diet of fries, pizza and beer and are eating fresh fruits, veggies and lean meats. We no longer think a keg party is the perfect pre race carb load. Very few of us end up upchuking our intake halfway through a long course.

4. We heal smarter. We know our bodies have a limited warranty on them, and we want that warranty to last a long, long time. We have a great orthopedic doctor, a good massage therapist, a cardiologist, and a chiro on our speed dials. We don't just "run through the pain." We don't "rub it out/walk it out." We figure out what's wrong, and we fix it or let it heal, and then we keep going.

5. We think smarter. We don't let the irritation of a bad workout or a bad race overshadow our lives. We don't let the glory of a great workout or race blind us to the need for continued improvement. We laugh at ourselves, especially when we screw up, fall down, bonk, or have to do a Walk of Shame halfway through a run. We get giddy over small victories. We know that life is bigger than us, bigger than our PR, and way bigger than our daily workout routine. We are polite and accomodating to those who share our road, our path, our pool and our treadmill. We've learned that it's really true that it's not all about us.

6. We recover smarter. We know the value of a good night's sleep, a good recovery meal or drink, an ice bath, a massage, a rest day. We quit trying to be Superman(woman) a long time ago. We enjoy running/biking/swimming for its own sake more than the numbers on the watch at the end.

So, yes, although we are often slower, grayer, thicker and more wrinkled, we are better. We may not beat always the youngsters on the clock, but we beat them a lot in our heads. The good news for those young pups is that one day, they will be where we are, and enjoying their own superior status as an older athlete.

We rock.