Age is an attitude

Why doesn't our age usually match our attitude?

We all know someone that is much younger than they seem, or conversely, much older than their attitude would suggest. A few years ago I set a goal to complete my first marathon before I turned 40, we had our first child when I was 21 and when talking with a fellow co-worker, he said he wanted to stop working when he turned 50. We seem to put so much emphasis on our age and use it as a benchmark to measure things or events by. Why is that? Age shouldn't be our primary means of measurment. When someone asks me if I have kids ( a very typical and innocent question at your standard dinner party) and I answer yes, the very next question is, "what are their ages?". Without exception the reaction is one of surprise. I'm too young to have kids that age, did you start when you were 14 and so on. Yet, I can't imagine having done it any other way. Seems normal to me.
I met a 76 year old woman at an Olympic distance triathlon who told me she always wins her age group. She was more than a little peeved she didn't have more competition! Now THAT'S the right attitude!


This week I will turn 44 and it's hard to believe that I have arrived here so quickly, yet when I think about it, what does it really matter? Age is truly just an attitude and I don't believe we were designed to retire or stop doing anything based on age. Rather, we should ask ourselves "are we contributing and living out our purpose in life?"
As long as we believe we are, we are in the right place. If not, what in the world are we waiting for? One thing's for sure, we get one round at this thing and we better make it a good one!

With little more than 200 days to race day, I'm feeling stronger each week. Most of my work has been focused on building aerobic capacity. Lots of swimming, tempo runs and bike sessions that exceed a couple of hours and I have been able to stay injury free.

My work schedule has been very busy in February, loaded with travel. Running and cycling has not been a problem, that's usually easy to solve. Swimming is a bit tougher to solve for. Not many hotels have an Olympic size lap pool and finding a club close by can be difficult. This week I received a training aid that I'm going to try. It's designed to allow me to swim in a small pool like you would find at a hotel. Check it out.









I'll see how it works. At any rate, it will allow me to get my swim in!


So I turn 44 this week, I'm training for an Ironman while managing to be a part of my family and have a full time career. Oh yeah, and having an absolute blast at that!

Have a great week!

Testicular Nip and how to prevent it....

It's friggin' cold....period.

Dangerous cold, actually. But when you spend so many training days inside, you just have to go out if you can. It really just comes down to dressing in layers and covering any exposed skin. If you don't, you absolutely can get frostbite. For those of us that have lived in the upper Midwest, we don't take it lightly.
The second thing you have to worry about are the "boys". You know, your cash and prizes! If you don't, you can get testicular nip. From what I've read (not from personal experience) it hurts like no other. I can imagine! If you go out in temps below zero with wind chills in the minus teens, just a few minutes of exposure can cause big time pain when your fingers and ears warm back up and there isn't allot you can do but wait. Imagine what it would feel like if you got your .......never mind, too painful to think about!

To prevent this horrible infliction, you must do the following:

• Dress in layers, even there.


• Do not use cotton. It gets wet, and then cold!


• Use special briefs from a running store that carries gear for cold temps. These special briefs have a wind blocking fabric, just where you need it and it really works.


• Keep your core warm.

If you have the right gear, running in extreme cold can be unique and cool and I love it that some people would think it's insane. Sure, I could go find a treadmill in a warm, safe gym, but that's what everybody does. And this road to Ironman is all about just that....the road.

I've posted pictures of running in the snow, this is what it looks like running in sub zero temps.

And yes, I have my special briefs on!

The weather report from this weekend

















The gear

click on picture to enlarge






























The photographer (son Nathan)

So here's to living life large and going for it everytime you get the chance!