During my first year as a full-time pastor, I’ve put a zillion miles on my car, and somewhere between 7-10 pounds on my frame (does anyone else find their weight bouncing +/- 2 or 3 pounds any given morning?). The increased sitting and increased reliance on convenience foods have done a number on me. But I’m signed up to do some stationary cycling for the Great Cycle Challenge again this year (if you’d like to kick in a few bucks toward my fundraising goal, click that link!), so that will get me on the bike every morning in September. And I’m signed up for the Towpath Half Marathon on October 8, and am starting to gradually increase my walking/jogging distance to get to the point where I – hopefully – won’t embarrass myself. Maybe by my first ordination anniversary in October, I’ll have at least taken those pounds off.
OK… what follows is some random, but hopefully useful or inspirational info…
I listen to a lot of podcasts, and can’t remember where I heard this statistic, but the speaker said that after the age of 65, a serious fall is associated with a significant increase in the probability of all-cause mortality in the subsequent year. (I recall the probability was quite high, but until I can find the source, I won’t toss out a number.) Balance and lower body strength are SO IMPORTANT. Try this single-leg ten-second balance test and see how you do.
If you live to be 100 years (or more) old, what do you want to be able to do? What would a good life look like at 100… for YOU? I heard Peter Attia on the Rich Roll Podcast, talking about the Centenarian Olympics. Decide now on the things you want to be able to do if you make it to 100: Get yourself off the floor unassisted? Go for a jog every day? Be able to carry your own groceries or lift a suitcase into the overhead bin of an airplane? Compete in track and field at the National Senior Games? Then start training now! Work the habits and exercises into your daily routine that will preserve those abilities at 100. 99-year old Charlotte Sanddal, who took up swimming in her early 70s, is currently learning the breast stroke so that she can compete in the 100 meter individual medley when she turns 100.
This is a great reflection by Andy Jones-Wilkins, remembering the nail-biting moments before Gunhild Swanson became – at age 70 – the oldest female in history to finish the Western States 100. It’s part of his IRunFar.com series on Unforgettable Moments in Ultrarunning History.
He keeps doing this kind of stuff: 58-year old Rupert Romero (see the Instagram link to the left) won the 2022 San Diego 100 outright — that is, he was the first person to cross the finish line. Period. Not just his age-group winner; the winner-winner.
50 is the new "forte" 
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