Climb01742
07-05-2004, 09:23 AM
today i'm 50. god, when you're 20, you can't imagine being 50. but i'm ok with it. no strange feelings. no urge to date 18 year olds. ok, i do have an urge to buy a porsche, but i've always had that urge.
i think the biggest feeling i have today is being curious. curious about aging. so here's what i'm going to do: for the next year, i'm going to train to ride the 2005 mt. washington hill climb. i'm going to use the next year and my body as sort of an experiment. i've never really totally committed myself to do everything i could to achieve an athletic goal. i've always had some half-*ssed aspect to my athletic stuff.
in high school, i was willing to puke my guts out after running 440 repeats, but i wasn't willing to eat right, get enuf sleep or not get polluted whenever i could.
in my 20s, doing triathlons, i did insane amounts of training volume, but i ate like crap and had no coaching, no system, no logic to my training, i just beat myself into the ground.
and nowadays, i'm eating pretty well (but not great), and i push myself hard, but again, without any logic or system. i ride, or run, or lift kinda as a feel each day. which is more fun, but not so productive.
so i've always kinda wondered...if i really put my mind and body to something, really gave something my best shot, what might i be able to do? and being 50 adds kind of a neat additional angle. is age about years, or more about compromises we make, or things we let slide? is it predetermined or do we by our actions, determine it? i'm psyched to explore nutrition, training, mind-body stuff, technique -- try to touch all the bases.
instead of doing an athletic thing half-*ssed, i'm curious to try something full-*ssed! ;)
i guess there are two other things i'm curious about too. can i make the journey, the next year of training, as important to me as the goal is -- meaning to not let the goal overwhelm the journey. and second, to see what my real goal is. we often start things thinking they are about one thing, but then later realize we were really after something else. climbing a mountain is too rich of a symbol to not be about more than just climbing a mountain.
this post has one last purpose. don't let me punk out, kids. i figured if i posted this goal, this plan, this idea, punking out would be pretty hard. attaining a goal like i'm after involves sacrifices and some small "s" suffering. private goals are easier to abandon. public ones are harder to punk on. maybe that's part of the goal too, the exploration. how much sacrifice am i willing to make for a non-essential, non-materialistic goal?
and thanks to everyone for their very kind birthday wishes.
i think the biggest feeling i have today is being curious. curious about aging. so here's what i'm going to do: for the next year, i'm going to train to ride the 2005 mt. washington hill climb. i'm going to use the next year and my body as sort of an experiment. i've never really totally committed myself to do everything i could to achieve an athletic goal. i've always had some half-*ssed aspect to my athletic stuff.
in high school, i was willing to puke my guts out after running 440 repeats, but i wasn't willing to eat right, get enuf sleep or not get polluted whenever i could.
in my 20s, doing triathlons, i did insane amounts of training volume, but i ate like crap and had no coaching, no system, no logic to my training, i just beat myself into the ground.
and nowadays, i'm eating pretty well (but not great), and i push myself hard, but again, without any logic or system. i ride, or run, or lift kinda as a feel each day. which is more fun, but not so productive.
so i've always kinda wondered...if i really put my mind and body to something, really gave something my best shot, what might i be able to do? and being 50 adds kind of a neat additional angle. is age about years, or more about compromises we make, or things we let slide? is it predetermined or do we by our actions, determine it? i'm psyched to explore nutrition, training, mind-body stuff, technique -- try to touch all the bases.
instead of doing an athletic thing half-*ssed, i'm curious to try something full-*ssed! ;)
i guess there are two other things i'm curious about too. can i make the journey, the next year of training, as important to me as the goal is -- meaning to not let the goal overwhelm the journey. and second, to see what my real goal is. we often start things thinking they are about one thing, but then later realize we were really after something else. climbing a mountain is too rich of a symbol to not be about more than just climbing a mountain.
this post has one last purpose. don't let me punk out, kids. i figured if i posted this goal, this plan, this idea, punking out would be pretty hard. attaining a goal like i'm after involves sacrifices and some small "s" suffering. private goals are easier to abandon. public ones are harder to punk on. maybe that's part of the goal too, the exploration. how much sacrifice am i willing to make for a non-essential, non-materialistic goal?
and thanks to everyone for their very kind birthday wishes.