fitness, strength, and wellness over 50
(That awesome photo of Peggy Oki is by Kevin Steele.) This wonderful article about former Zephyr skateboarder Peggy Oki took me back a few years. When I was in the 7th, 8th, and maybe 9th grades, I fancied myself a skateboarder. I bought skateboarding magazines and cut out amazing action shots of all the cool... Continue Reading →
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJAW8STfiko This is a great short documentary about 52-year old Nicky Spinks, one of the last two women standing at this year's bonkers Barkley Marathon in Tennesee. For the second year in a row, nobody completed the race - five soul-sucking laps of 20 miles in treacherous terrain and wild weather. In fact, in 33... Continue Reading →
OK, that sounds a little melodramatic. But my half-marathon walk at the US Air Force Marathon event last weekend was kind of a reckoning, when I was forced to admit that not only is running way, way, way out of the picture, but until I go forward with knee replacement, distance walking probably is, too.... Continue Reading →
Submitted for your approval: biker shorts that "imbue average people with superhuman walking abilities." I can see the therapeutic possibilities for restoring mobility in people who have lost it, which helps to redirect my thoughts from their otherwise inevitable trajectory to "The Wrong Trousers." Moving right along... I don't know how I missed this in... Continue Reading →
Forget all that "beach body" nonsense. I simply need to get lighter and faster on my feet! In some sort of post-50K "I did it!" delirium, I signed up to do a 50-miler this coming October. 189 days from now, to be precise. I will probably walk it, although - currently basking in the chemical... Continue Reading →
February turned into a pretty good month. For the last five years, during the weeks leading up to my annual mammogram, I get a little bit crazy. My sleep - which is never good - gets horrible: a series of short, light naps interspersed with a dozen or more full-wake-ups every night. I become forgetful,... Continue Reading →
I met Suez Jacobson when I sat (briefly) on the board of directors for Great Old Broads for Wilderness, at the same time she did. We bonded immediately over our shared commitment to wilderness preservation, writing, outdoor sports, teaching, and hand-written letters. When I started thinking of “everyday athletes” in my circles that I would... Continue Reading →
Part of me says "hey, wait for me!" And the other part says, "oh, H*** no!" Watch this mesmerizing look at cold open water swimming, featuring the "swim twins," Kari Furre and Kate Rew. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB3THSHPLuQ Read more about Kari Furre and her Outdoor Swimming Society here. The weird thing about this video coming across my... Continue Reading →
If I'm being totally honest, I'd have to say that after the "high" of completing that 50K walk with my cousins and friends in early October, things have been a bit bumpy. I had a crazy string of colds, flus, and minor mysterious infections, my workout discipline ground to a near halt - partly because... Continue Reading →
♥ An article in the New York Times summed up research showing that the muscles of long-term regular exercisers in their 70s are virtually indistinguishable from those of twenty-somethings. In general, it looks like aerobic exercise keeps us physiological "younger" than weight training, but let's face it - any exercise is better than no exercise!... Continue Reading →
Do you ever have the sense that your body doesn't fit right? I've been thinking about this for several days, since gathering with the family for Thanksgiving. After the main meal, and before dessert, my nieces and nephew went outside to toss a football around. Eventually I went to join them. Tossing balls, shooting baskets,... Continue Reading →
(Update: no idea how that weird Facebook link got into this page, but it's gone, now!) One full year ago (October 30, 2017), I told you about a health assessment I took that estimated my biological age to be five years older than I actually was. The estimate gave me some extra dings for having... Continue Reading →
50 is the new "forte" 