This group, I think, is made up primarily of two subsets. One group consists of runners who have been at it for 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years or more, and whose PRs are long behind them, and on the other side, there are those who came in to the sport much later in life, and are still exploring their best efforts. I find it most interesting and appealing that somehow, each side inspires the other, and that is part of what makes this such a great group.
It seems like my whole life, I have always tried to fight my age rather than embracing it. For sure, I have never tried to act my age, and around the time I hit middle age, whatever that is, I have often tended to gravitate towards those a generation or so younger than myself. In a funny kind of way, I guess I have felt that people my age were older than me, and didn't energize me in the same way that younger generations could.
But as I got older, not only did I age outwardly with graying hair, weight gain, and wrinkling skin, but inwardly as well, developing hypertension and arthritis as I passed through my 50s and into my 60s. I also needed to start taking a medications to address my arthritis which compromises my immune system. I've been very lucky that the medications have worked very well, and without any notable side effects, for over four years now.
These medical conditions have highlighted a fact that is true for many of us in this group, I can no longer pretend that I'm still in my 40s and immune to everything bad around me. I am more susceptible to future illness because I have hypertension. I am at higher risk of viruses due to a compromise to my immune system due to one of the medications I am taking. And now, just because I was born in 1955, I get special shopping hours when I need groceries because I am in a high-risk category and this allows me to look for toilet paper at a time I might actually have a chance of finding some.
My whole adult life as been an effort to fight my age. I get amazing satisfaction any time someone learns my age and looks at me incredulously as they say there is no way I am that old. I have run over 100 miles a month for almost two years now, and I love racing and nipping athletes half my age at the finish. It is part of what keeps me feeling, feeling, and looking younger than I am. I could do more for myself, like sleeping more hours, but I still work, and if I want to run, I sometimes need to set my alarm for 4 a.m. or earlier so I can get it done before my work day begins. I could also be eating better, but I have a weakness for food that tastes good, so I worry more about portion control than the makeup of the calories I eat. I could be drinking less....well, maybe not.
But suddenly, the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the 60 and over population to its core, and has forced many of us, perhaps for the first time in our lives, to face the fact that despite everything we have done throughout our lives to maintain our health, we are suddenly thrust into a group that may not respond as well as younger generations if we are infected, simply because years take a toll on a immune system. Not only is this the generation I am a part of, but this is the generation I am suddenly bonding with because of our unique enemy. This is the group I want as my friends and who I want to relate to.
We have a lot of relatable history that we experienced first hand. Some of the older members of the group remember another pandemic, Polio, when it was still an unexplained mystery. We all remember the day Kennedy was assassinated. We all remember the first moon walk. As time goes on, there will be fewer and fewer of us who lived it first hand and can share with younger generations what these moments in history actually felt like at the time.
I guess what I'm saying is I'm finally ready to act my age. Who's in?
