You and I Are Too Old NOT to Be in This Race and Win It for Life

Too Old for This Sh*t: How to Take Your Life Back from an Ageist Society

One of my favorite LinkedIn writers calls it what it is

Scott Fulton is many things, including the author of Wealthspan. I love what he has to say about healthy aging. As a fellow athlete who didn’t really become one until sixty, I read such wisdom in his comment posted over on LinkedIn.

Scott speaks to the essence of how to climb a mountain, win a race, win the race of life.

For reference, too many people die on Everest and all the world’s great mountains because they train for the summit and not the descent. They die on the way down because they have spent their reserves. This terrific comment about Scott’s marathon perfectly sums up how to win the race. This demonstrates how to plot out not only our second half but also our last third if you’re already past sixty.

“They think they’re banking time but in reality they’re living on credit that comes due in the 2nd half, plus interest, long before the finish line.”- Fulton

Unless you’re Secretariat or Phar Lap and have an abnormally large heart along with all that training, you pace yourself, plan, train and prepare. Most of us can, but most of us don’t.

Fulton writes:

Never having had the opportunity to play sports growing up, I have an adult perspective on sport and aging.

The 1st half of life sets us up to win in the 2nd half of life. Similarly, the 2nd third sets us up to win in the final third. The point is, waiting to show up at some future date NEVER sets us up for success.

My first and only coach, Gordo Byrn was a world champion, mentored by the great teacher, Joe Friel. An early lesson I paid attention to: to always try and #negative#split your training and your racing - go faster in the 2nd half than the 1st half. Only about 15% of marathoners will achieve this feat because most attempt a pace they can’t sustain. They think they’re banking time but in reality they’re living on credit that comes due in the 2nd half, plus interest, long before the finish line.

The best results come from smart disciplined decisions made early, not later.

Yesterday I ran my one race of the year, a local half-marathon. Races like these are opportunities to view human behaviors that have become very predictable after years of study.

At 8 miles, I was three minutes down on the leader in my age group.

As in life the last 2 miles were all uphill. Coupled with fatigue, pace slowed, but not equally. I overtook several runners over the last 2 miles, including the AG (age group) leader, to capture the win for my AG.

Without a running pedigree, I discovered quickly that fitness is key but without a sustainable plan, most fall short of their potential. I’ve beat many people more fit than me over the years, simply by understanding the race is won in the 2nd half.

The 2nd half, or final 3rd of life can be our best, but it isn’t the result of lucky genes or finally finding time for investing in personal #healthspan. I’m busier now than at any time in my life. It’s the decades leading up to now, and the continuity and frequency that build healthy aging equity.

We can literally “#make #time” by investing in our own life and health plan. Time invested today #compounds over the years. It takes months to fully transform, but as many of my students remind me, the investment offers new life, new energy, and new opportunities.

We’ll live on those investments in future years, in dollars saved and by experiencing more moments that #longevity provides.

And isn’t experiencing #more #moments what it’s really all about?

***

Having become a late-in-life athlete myself, what Scott says here truly underscores much of what I believe. Even starting late, we can train for the time we have left. You don’t have to run a marathon, half-marathon or climb a mountain. Aging in and of itself is the marathon. Aging well takes serious preparation for body, mind, spirit, finances, occupation, social circle.

Thanks to Scott for allowing me to re-post this statement of joy. Let’s enter our final Third with enthusiasm and hope. Build healthy aging equity.

Let’s play.

Photo by Brian Metzler on Unsplash

Thanks for joining me on a day that celebrates fall. The leaves are falling slowly and beauty is everywhere. What are you celebrating? Shall we celebrate life by taking better care of ourselves? Let’s. Please consider supporting my work here

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Above all, let’s train for life. It’s all we have.