stapfam

You don't normally walk and she does- She had the right clothing and shoe wear and you didn't. You helped her do a faster time than she had done before. She is younger than you.

Next problem??


Take a spare bike into work one day and invite her for a gentle 20 miler.

Feathers

Shoot, I didn't know that Siu Blue Wind had crossed the magical 50-year barrier!
The writing style seems very youthful and everything. Good on ya'!

steeler54

Pal, I hate to say this but its only going to get worse. The key is to maintain yourself and just do the best you can.
Toto - this isn't your 30s anymore.
Your doing fine but be smart as well as strong.

Louis

+1 Watch her come up with multiple reasons why she can't ride.

BluesDawg

+1

cyclinfool

I have to wear steel toes boots from time to time - if I power walked in them I'd have major blisters.
The fact that your lugging freight around all day has probably kept you in good shape all your life. Many of us here are recovering from being couch potatoes at one point, some have been yoyos (like me). I would be immensely flattered if a Women 20 years younger said boo to me let alone asked me to walk with her. And yes - I'd be back a few steps just to soak in the view.

Well done - do it again!

Catweazle

+1

I was wondering what you were upset about, reading through that topic post!

There IS a difference which comes with aging, though, for most of us at least. We more and more come to understand that our performance in comparison to others is a minor consideration, and our performance in relation to ourselves is the thing we are best being concerned about.

There's an aspect of "she was rude and inconsiderate" about the description of that young lady. SHE wanted to go walking, and needed a companion to go walking with. SHE was the one not prepared to walk at a pace which suited her walking companion. I'm glad you left her gob-smacked! The next outing should be at YOUR preferred pace!

Siu Blue Wind

Feathers, I'm not there yet - but pretty darn close!

Ohh let me make it clear that the office gal isn't THAT much younger than me...I'd say a little less than 10 years. I'll most likely see her tomorrow and I've got some good shoes and shorts that I can change into should we decide to go again.

Where I work, I have to keep up with the performance of the guys - I have to be able to do the same things they do regarding lifting and such. I do believe that it keeps me in shape with the upper body strength but lately I've noticed that it's getting more tiring and I go home walking like I got a hitch in my git-along. Well.....it doesn't help that I have a bulging disc in my lower back...but I've been doing this job for quite a while and sometimes I think maybe I should just cool it.

Siu Blue Wind

Catweazle, I never looked at it this way. Thanks.

Thanks to ALL of you for being so supportive. I'm really feeling better, seeing things in ways I never looked at or thought about before. You guys are awesome!

Road Fan

Another factor in percieved fatigue is body cooling, i.e. ventilation. If you were wearing heavy cotton work clothes to do this walk, you might not have been well-cooled. Probably you'd have felt better on a cooler day or with walking togs (you already know about biking togs!).

Road Fan

Road Fan

You're right the bulging disc doesn't help, and it should receive attention. Mrs. Road Fan ignored one for quite a while. Then she started limping, and finally went to the doctor, after having severe muscle pain in nervy spasms. She was immediately sent to the hospital for emergency back surgery.

Many people live with this and manage it, and now she does, too, but please don't let it get much worse, or ignore it. I know how badly it can hurt!

Road Fan

mandovoodoo

Getting used to a training partner takes time and lots of listening. Hard to break oneself and the other in! Certainly getting an easy rapport established seems crucial. Paying attention so that the pace is appropriate.

And equipment, of course, but that's a fairly trivial thing.

I tried walking with the ladies once. It didn't work. They were power exercise walkers trying to use energy. I have probably thousands of loaded fast high-efficiency back country miles while doing geology and the like. I simply couldn't use up energy quick enough to really exercise at their speed! Long efficient strides designed to eat up miles contrast with high lift, arm swinging exercise walking.

That's where the rapport comes in. We just laughed about it after a couple of attempts and I went back to cycling at lunch. But if another long-distance backwoods tough guy had been around we'd have been out humping 40 lb packs at lunch.

stevesurf

Siu, you are ageless; very similar to my sisters, who look 10-20 years younger than their age. Some folks are driven to do things no matter what they're age and that's cool, but they should also be reasonable.

I remember our marketing manager came out on a mountain bike ride that was one of the activities for a dealer meeting we held. I forewarned her to try to be reasonable and not make it into a competition, but she cranked away and the group tried to keep up. One of the dealers got dehydrated fast and got mild heat stroke (this was Arizona), so I hung back and followed him back; he really appreciated it.

After that I learned that some people just won't be sensitive to your needs, even if they don't get a "good" workout. There's always another day to workout, and besides it's better sometimes to just keep your own pace, whatever that may be...

SKYLAB

I've been dealing with declining physical capabilities for a while. It can be difficult to come to grips with if you've been athletic most of your life and especially if you are competetive by nature. I've more or less come to grips with being the last guy in on mtb rides and frequently the last guy over the top on road rides. Getting a cheapo cycling computer helped because it lets me compete with myself to the extent that I have a very good idea what my avg mph is on many of the routes around here. So even if i get smoked by the 40 year old CAT3 coming out of Nederland up to the Col du Magnolia I can relish boosting my MPH average from low 15''s up to 16.1 - or some such.
The thing is - you're going to get older. You're not going to be able to do all of the things you used to do as quickly and easily as you used to do them. Accepting it is part of accepting and loving yourself. It sounds to me as if you have a lot to feel good about. Quite a lot actually.
Cole Porter said it - "you've got to accentuate the positive."
Things I can no longer do - dunk a basketball, or even touch the damn rim!
Sprint for 200 meters.
Sprint!
Bench press my body weight.
And on and on and on.
I do still play handball, but am on a several month hiatus because it gave me such bad tendinitis in my right elbow that I couldn't shake hands with a floor mop without grimacing in pain.
However, 10 years ago I couldn't make it up to the top of Lump Gulch withouth having to dab a foot. Two years ago I couldn't climb mountain base road in my middle ring. My heart rate has gone down into the low 50's and my blood pressure is centerfold qualit

Siu Blue Wind

I guess that's basically it in a nutshell. I've always been active - mountain climbing, martial arts, cycling, auto crossing..things that kept my in shape and my mind sharp. Even with my back the way it is and my asthma, I often felt that I wasn't going to let the guys who always degraded the women get the best of me. But now I guess it's time to slow down. Or at least admit that it's time...

az_cyclist

You dont have to slow down.... just realize you are getting slower, and dont push yourself to injury to chase performance you had when you were younger.

Garfield Cat

Go on another power walk. This time bring the shoes and draft behind her. At least the view will keep things interesting.

SKYLAB

You will slow down. you HAVE slowed down. Unless of course you have some super powers which you have yet to reveal to the rest of us.
Just do what you do. And keep doing it until you can no longer.
Then do something else.

BSLeVan

No!, Fight until you can't fight anymore. My father is in his mid 80s and still pushing it. This despite having two knee replacements, surgery on his spine to relieve spinal stenosis, and currently dealing with prostrate cancer. On my last visit he was on a ladder checking the cap on the house's chimney. My mother said that earlier in the day we was moving soil in the wheelbarrow from one part of his massive garden to another. He rises each day and fills it with activity. Hell, he's more active than most 60 year olds I know, including my older brother, his oldest son. Is he as strong as he was? No. Is he as flexible as he was? No. Is he as fast as he was? No. Does he have the endurance that he once did? No. But despite all of this, he's still pushing it. I believe that as soon as you "admit" that it's time to slow down, you've started on a downward spiral that accelerates. To use an automobile as a metaphor... his engine isn't what it used to be, but everytime he starts it up, he's pedal to the metal.

Terrierman

Look. You're supposed to feel crappy about aging, it's what makes you fight back and the struggle IS the victory.

PaulH

Power walking or speed walking is a specialized sport/exercise. Basically, it involves walking at a speed such that jogging would be either equally efficient or more efficient. Learning to walk efficiently requires learning and practice, just like learning to cycle or run efficiently. You don't expect to do it well on your first try, espcially if you are wearing steel-toed workboots and have been lifting heavy things all day.

Since you have never power walked (an unnatural act, in my opinion) before, there can't be any past performance at a younger age to compare yourself against, either.

So be proud that you did a difficult thing well!

Paul

DnvrFox

I would guess that you are now getting pretty good flavor of the 50+ forum, and perhaps you and the other mods can understand why we sometimes don't seek the input and ideas of the young turks in some of the other forums, and don't necessarily desire our threads moved away, even though they may "seem" like a general interest thread.

No, don't give up, don't give in, don't think of oneself as old - just think that we are challenged in unique and interesting ways.

Catweazle

A perhaps interesting aside here. Do women reach their 'prime' at a different age to men?

We reach our 'peak' for things like sheer speed, agility etc when we're fairly young. But for men, so long as we remain active, we reach our 'prime' for that peculiar combination of strength, stamina, endurance etc which sees us getting more done at about 40 years of age or thereabouts. I've been seeing it all my life. Pit a fit, 40 year old bloke up against a fit, 25 year old bloke and set them a task which requires both strength and endurance, and the older fella will get more achieved. Happens all the time. If there's such a thing as 'alpha male in the human pack' he isn't a particularly young bloke. He's probably going to somewheres around his very late-30s to mid-40s.

Do women attain this 'prime' at the same stage of life, or a different one? I've never taken the time or effort to notice.


Amen. This section is more than just 'old people talking about bikes'.

Yen

You just described my dad, who lived that way until he died a few months ago at 88 years young (I can't believe I just said it -- "died" -- I think that's the first time.). Unfortunately, it was a fall down the stairs in the dark that took his life -- something that could happen to anyone at any age. Even at 88, he saw himself as the youngest person in a room full of grey-haired folks when in fact he may have been the oldest. He got up every morning and set out to live life to the fullest.

We need to focus on what we can still do, and do that to our fullest capacity.

BSLeVan

Yen, I remember your posting about the loss of your father. I'm sorry it's still so painful for you. As you already know, men such as these are role models of the highest kind... even for those of us over 50. I hope the pain in your heart is less with each passing month and that your fond remembrance of him grows stronger.