Extreme Sports for the over-50 set
A recent piece in the Washington Post dives into how more older folks are embracing extreme sports and heavier fitness loads. It talks about how society’s vision - and our own personal prejudices - are shifting to see that not only are people capable of heavy training well into our 80’s, they’re actually capable of improving.
This (paywalled) article from Triathlete Magazine talks about the world’s oldest Ironman Finisher, Himoru Inada, 90. He competed in his first Ironman at 76. As a 54-year old I look at his training schedule and ask myself, “What’s your excuse?”
This week’s
was a repost and definitely a good one. It touches on a number of similar themes to the articles above, asking how we look at our life later in life?Episode #241 of The Drive Podcast with Dr. Peter Attia and Ric Elias
This is a diversion from Dr. Attia’s often science-heavy podcasts (which I also love). Great wisdom and examples of living a fulfilling life as we age. Well worth the listen.
The day you stop growing is the day that you age.
—Ric Elias
Progress on my 2023 New Year’s Resolution
Almost 2 months in and I’m batting close to a thousand in doing one hard thing every day. The most common ones are “lift heavier at the gym” and “1 minute of cold shower” (wintertime water temperature from the cold tap in Colorado is … bracing). But sprinkled in there have been some bright spots that signal change: sessions meditating, an early morning ruck with the local F3 group, and a couple of harder hikes. I’m benefitting from this in a couple of ways:
when I get to late in the day tired without having done my 1 hard thing: missing it would break my vow, so I do it
it acts as a daily reminder of when and where I’m running away from little discomforts
The 2% Newsletter
I continue to enjoy the email newsletter from Michael Easter, author of “The Comfort Crisis”. Along with good advice about embracing discomfort it’s a constant reminder that the book is still in my queue to read. This week’s edition includes:
The Most Uncomfortable Thought, on thinking about death:
The Most Uncomfortable Thought. I’ve written before about men who in the name of living longer have illegally acquired dangerous pharmaceuticals from overseas labs, paid thousands to have the blood of younger men pumped into their bodies, and spent millions funding teams of scientists who will, they believe, discover a fountain of youth in pill form. This is a distraction—a distraction from the fact that life is happening right here, right now.
The Podcast “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling”, on embracing truly difficult conversations.
Megan explained, “It’s about the polarization of public opinion and the fracturing of public conversation. It’s about the chasm between what people say they believe and how they’re understood by others. It’s about what it means to be human—to be a social animal who feels compelled to be part of a tribe. And it’s about the struggle to discern what is right when our individual view of the world is necessarily limited and imperfect…This is another application of your Comfort Crisis model, I think. Or at least, in avoiding the distress of a very hard conversation, we’ve made it even more difficult … (but) it seems like people are finally ready to go there in spite of the discomfort.”