Skip to main content

Hello sixty!


Hello sixty!

Welcome to my ‘Old lady running’ blog. I don’t know who you are or what you are doing here. Maybe you are an old lady like me. Or someone who likes running. Or someone interested in old ladies who run. Or maybe you are none of the above. Perhaps you just like reading blogs. Or not! 
You might just be bored and have stumbled upon me by mistake.
Whoever you are and however you got here . . . welcome.
This is a blog I have tried to start many times. But I never seemed to get enough traction to get it off the ground. (Or off the couch!) Anyway, 18th time lucky! This time I plan to get myself properly ‘up and running’. 
The time is ripe. 
Next month, I will officially become an ‘old lady’ . Next month I will turn the grand age of 60!. 
Yikes!!
In some cultures 60 is it! jTime to cash in your chips. The end of a pretty good innings. These days we would be feeling short changed if we ‘popped our clogs’ at 60. 
Whichever way you look at it, 60 is a fair few years to have been living on the planet. It’s 21,900 days (to be exact).
And, when you are getting on a bit, it helps to be exact. In fact, being ‘exact’ is quite essential, especially if you have recently started popping pills. And I don't mean ‘party’ pills. I mean ‘pill’ pills - like people take for cholesterol and blood pressure and arthritis and all those other ‘old lady’ ailments. I am lucky not to have needed to pop too many pills and I attribute this 100% to not having seen a doctor more than twice in the past twenty years. This isn't necessarily because I’m a healthy speciman -  In fact, its more about the fact that doctors tend to scare the shit out of me. I don't enjoy sitting in the waiting room surrounded by posters and warnings of all the diseases that might be lurking. I get squemish! Graphic pictures of diseased tissue etc. I dread a doctor taking a test or finding a lump or spotting a misshapen mole. I know this is immature and completely cowardly . . . but there you go. I am an immature coward when it comes to things medical.
Sorry. . . I seem to have gone completely off track. Where was I?
Oh yes. I was being exact about my time to date on planet earth. 21,900 days gone already. . .   Best crack on with whatever’s left!
So. . . 
To celebrate my ‘coming of age’ and my impressive tally of days lived on planet earth I have signed up to run a marathon. Yeah, I know. Running a marathon is not exactly an original response to a challenging situation. In fact, it’s become a bit of a ‘bucket list’ cliche. but, the truth is. . . I couldn't think of anything better.  So I will stick to the tried and true. 
And, cliche or not, I think you’ll agree that running 42 kms is quite a challenge. It’s a challenge for anyone, let alone someone who’s been knocking around the planet for as long as I have.
Is it even possible.
Stick with the blog and let’s find out.

Comments

  1. Unknown23 July 2019 at 01:08

    Hilarious Sandy!! I am enjoying reading your blogs! I had heard a rumour that you were running the auckland marathon!! Hope the training goes well. You should join us one saturday soon!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Old lady running29 July 2019 at 14:02

      So good to know someone is reading. Yes! Hoping to go the distance. Still feels like Ice got a very long way to go! But thanks.
      Sorry. You didnt leave name?

      Delete
  2. dee8 August 2019 at 14:25

    Just stumbled upon this blog Hilarious! I too just turned the big 60 . To celebrate I ran a half marathon with my good friend and at one time running buddy when we lived closer , along with my daughter in law who is an athletic beast and my daughter who trained a total of 11 miles before venturing onto the course. An all woman 1/2 The Thelma and Louise. A day I will always cherish it was exhilarating and a lot of fun. Kudos to you for doing the full marathon!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to run a marathon

How to run a marathon (Post-race reflections) The marathon was three weeks ago and the body is slowly falling back into place. I can’t believe it’s been 19 weeks since I first embarked on this adventure. In the beginning it seemed an impossibility and it was with great trepidation that I began my training. But. . . I have always wanted to run a marathon and with age 60 looming large I knew it was now or never.   I followed the schedule with the aim of increasing my mileage and endurance to the point where I could contemplate going the distance. The long runs became steadily longer   - 60 mins became 70 then 80 then 90. Two hours loomed at the six week mark. The improvement was gradual and I tried not to think about the 36 kms that would be required at the end of week 13. While I learned to push myself just a little bit further with each and every run I still had grave doubts that my 60 year old bod would ever cope with 42.2 kms. The truth was, the runs were hard and I
Post a Comment
Read more

Time to taper

Time to taper The big day is nearly here. In the past week my training runs have gone down. And down. And down. Aunty Lydia (running mentor and creator of 16 week schedule) tells me it’s time to taper.   ‘Taper?” I am only learning about this aspect of training for the first time. In the schedule it appears alongside words like ‘easy’ and ‘rest’. The mileage has gone down, the rest days have gone up.   In the dictionary ‘taper’ appears alongside words like   - narrow; wane; die down; dwindle; lessen; recede; subside; abate; diminish; rescind; slacken off. Words that make me feel uneasy. Words that feel like the opposite of what I should be doing.   The crux of this ‘tapering’ lark appears to be to ‘slacken off.’   Which is obviously appealing after 16 weeks of ‘cranking up’. So what, I hear you ask, is my problem?! My problem, I am fast realising, is my need to over-do stuff. To over-prepare. To over-compensate. To always try and do just that ‘little bit more’ than
2 comments
Read more

What to do with a broken toe

What to do with a broken toe! It’s week 11 of training. But it’s has been ‘one of those weeks’. It all started with an unexpected head cold. A running nose. A pounding head. A barking cough. Throat on fire. The works.   Then the hubby went off to China for a week, which meant I had to keep the home fires burning on my own. (We have a very labour-intensive fire that requires much hauling of wood -)   I also had lots of extra tutoring to do, which meant long hours at the workplace.   It was all getting bit knackering. Then. . . To top it all off. . .   I think I broke my toe. I know! Careless! Stupid!   Unlucky! It was one of those ridiculous accidents involving a bare right foot, a chair leg and a very innocent little ‘clip’. I didn’t think much of it at the time. A slight shriek, some mad hopping, a few swear words, and that was it. Because it was 8:30 on a Saturday morning and I had a two hour run to complete. There was no time for fuss. This run was har
2 comments
Read more