The age of the Wombat...

So as we get older we get slower, as we get older we should stop pushing and even slow down....Let me think about this one...Thought about it and the wombat has come to the conclusion that its bullshit...!!!

I believe that as you get older just keep doing what you are doing, your body will slow you down if it thinks it can't do it... As as we get older I think some of us get tougher. I know that I can cope with a lot more discomfort now than I could when I was a younger athlete. I don't know if that is a strength thing or a stubbornness thing or maybe its just me, but I would love to have been paid a dollar for every time I heard someone say "She's a tough old girl." or " He's a tough old bastard" I can think of two runners who were tough as nails in fact Jim Langford who the Wombat Warrior admires considerably still is one of the toughest bastards I have had the pleasure of running against. He still competes and whenever you see him on the start line you know that he will be in the lead group somewhere. He's just tough. Anne Shaw , who is no longer with us , also falls into that tough as nails category and even in my prime I had to work if I warmed up with her she just ran flat out.

When I went to hospital the other day and saw the doctor he said that because I am getting older I should remember that I can't push myself like I used to and that you should not expect to be able to go as hard on yourself as you once used to... Now I understand that this doctor does not know me and given that we were in emergency did not know my medical history or life history however ever he did know I was 42 and he was telling me to slow down I can only imagine that if I was 50 he may have told me to make sure I had a nap at midday too. (maybe a little harsh.) Now on the Tuesday I got in to see my own GP and said to him " Maybe I need to slow down a little and not do as much" his response...." Why? I think that is what some people say to justify why they do less and then ultimately they do even less" Way to go doc!!!! In other words keep doing what your doing and enjoy doing what you are doing...

This morning I went to my mail box out the front of my burrow and inside was the latest 'Runner's World ' magazine and inside it was an article on getting older as a distance runner..Now while it did say that as you get older your max heart rate drops it went on to say that there was no reason why as you get older you cant keep running Pbs over the longer distances.. Sure I am going to lose a little bit of my speed and so the 10k might slow but I don't need to maintain a 2.50k rating to run a 2.10 marathon...

Maybe the universe it tuned into my doubtfulness at present and so I am getting all these signs to say age is in the mind but at least it gives us older wombats the kind of inspiration we need to get out there and continuing to give it our all. Sure as hell beats lying down and watching the world go by, I'd rather be and active participant...

So those older wombat warriors don't despair there is plenty of fight left in you yet, and if you ever line up and see Jim Langford standing on the line I hope your prepared to give 100% because he gives 110%..

Remember set your goal, plan a strategy then go for it. If it does not work out then before throwing in the towel look at your strategy maybe you need to revise it then you can try again... If you expect to fail I doubt whether you will disappoint yourself.... There are those who will use defeat as a learning tool while there are others who will use it as a reason to stop ... which one will you be

Barrel on wombats...