Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Aging
This morning I ran 4 kilometres - roughly - in 22 minutes. In fact I ran twice, the first time about 10 metres before I stopped and said "stuff it" and then I started again when Susan, who I was walking with, said "Go on" and made me run.
The first 500 metres was hard going and then I settled into sort of a rhythm as I ran along Circular Quay, round the Opera House and then round the pond in the Botanical Gardens and back to the Opera House.
Not exactly a big deal, but now an hour and a half later I'm a bit stiff and sore. Which is rather depressing when I think that I used to run 4 or 5 kilometres, at a much faster speed, as a warm up before doing a 15 k race.
On the other hand I swam 2.4k at Coogee round Wedding Cake Island in a "fun swim" on Sunday (and I was stiff as buggery that night and the next day) - and I certainly couldn't have done that 10 years ago.
So you might say I was at my running peak 22 years ago and I'm at my swimming peak now.
Problem is, at my runnig peak I was really quite good. Not great by any mean, but I was a perferred runner in the City to Surf, I came 5th in my last marathon (admittedly in a small field) and I was certainly in the top 1% or 2% of fun runners.
While as a swimmer I'm happy to get in the top 80% of the field and pleased to beat 25% of the over 50s.
As a runner anyone who finished in front of me was pretty damn good and no-one overweight ever beat me. As a swimmer people who make Jabba the Hut look like Twiggy regularly climb out in front of me.
I guess I'm truly competing with myself (and the waves, jellyfish, etc) but I do miss being young and reasonably good.
Mind you, I was always pretty stiff after a run back then, so that hasn't changed.
The first 500 metres was hard going and then I settled into sort of a rhythm as I ran along Circular Quay, round the Opera House and then round the pond in the Botanical Gardens and back to the Opera House.
Not exactly a big deal, but now an hour and a half later I'm a bit stiff and sore. Which is rather depressing when I think that I used to run 4 or 5 kilometres, at a much faster speed, as a warm up before doing a 15 k race.
On the other hand I swam 2.4k at Coogee round Wedding Cake Island in a "fun swim" on Sunday (and I was stiff as buggery that night and the next day) - and I certainly couldn't have done that 10 years ago.
So you might say I was at my running peak 22 years ago and I'm at my swimming peak now.
Problem is, at my runnig peak I was really quite good. Not great by any mean, but I was a perferred runner in the City to Surf, I came 5th in my last marathon (admittedly in a small field) and I was certainly in the top 1% or 2% of fun runners.
While as a swimmer I'm happy to get in the top 80% of the field and pleased to beat 25% of the over 50s.
As a runner anyone who finished in front of me was pretty damn good and no-one overweight ever beat me. As a swimmer people who make Jabba the Hut look like Twiggy regularly climb out in front of me.
I guess I'm truly competing with myself (and the waves, jellyfish, etc) but I do miss being young and reasonably good.
Mind you, I was always pretty stiff after a run back then, so that hasn't changed.
