Staying Fit After Sixty
Getting fit and staying fit is crucial to a healthy lifestyle at any age, it is crucial after sixty!
When I was 48 years old (good memory, eh?) I decided to start running. So I started off slowly. I lived in the very flat, St. Petersburg, Florida, so hills were not a factor. However, I was really out of shape and did not have an athletic type of body, especially a body type for running – too much body fat!
I started running from one driveway to the next. I laid out a one-mile coarse with my car, so I would know how many times around the block would make one mile. I purchased shorts and shoes from K-Mart and started running. One day, I noticed an announcement in the local newspaper about a running club. Well, that sounded like just what I needed – a group to encourage me! So, I showed up. The coach was very kind, but said to me, if you are going to be serious about training, then you need to get the right clothes and some real running shoes – without the velcro straps.
So, I went shopping at the local running store.
Well, I learned that the difference in a jogger and a runner is – a race entry form! Next, I signed up for a 5K race in Dunedin, Florida one Saturday morning. I started out way too fast with the elite runners and learned that this would not work for me. However, I did finish. I was not last. And I didn’t stop. I was really tired and learned that I had a long way to go.
I kept running and entering races. When I moved to Atlanta, Georgia a few years later, I joined the local Team in Training group of the Leukemia & Lymphomia Society. They trained me and supported me in the Atlanta 1/2 Marathon in 1997. I finished. I was not last. It was a great accomplishment for me.
Setting a meeting goals is what I teach my business clients. I feel like it is a matter of integrity for me to model what I teach others to do.
Jump ahead to today. After two minor surjuries (one back surjery) I am not ready to train again. So, I joined the TNT group in Blacksburg, Virginia where I live and have committed to run the Shamrock 1/2 Marathon in March 2010!
Hooray!
If you would like to support blood cancer research and give me encouragement, please visit my fundraising page at TNT and make a comment on this blog.
Leukemia/Lymphoma Society Team In Training
TNT page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/shamrock10/hughballou
Running Journal
October 24 – First TNT training run at CRC – 3 miles – Hooray!
October 26 -31 First training week finished and in my log – Hooray! Total miles for week one = 10
November 7 – End of second week of training, I made it 3 miles without stopping! Total mile for the second week = 12
November 14 – end of third week of training. Just a normal training week = 13
November 21 – end of fourth week of training. Finished in Florida = 13
November 28 – Thanksgiving week and bad cold. Took the week off to heal and rest = 2
December – Continued to train weekly with a total of 10 – 13 miles each week even through weeks of travel and family holidays.
January 10 – End of first full week of 2010 running inside due to snow on the ground and very cold weather. Same schedule.
January 17 – Finished my first long run outside with TNT coach – 6 miles! I realized after running inside due to the cold that hills are a challenge. However, with the TNT coach cheering me on, I made it over several challenging hills today! A new milestone. Hooray!
January 17 – February 28 – Kept up the weekly running schedule in spite of the massive amounts of snow and a lot of travel. Got to a long run of 8 miles – Hooray!
March 8 – Made it over the 10 mile mark without any problems. Now to run this week’s schedule and then taper off before the half maration on March 21.
