It’s inevitable. As you age, you simply don’t move as fast
as you did your prime. And that’s a good thing. Consider it your body’s way of
keeping you active and avoiding injury.
I’ve written here before about the fuzzy term of listening
to your body. Just exactly how do you do that?
In my case it has come about through a routine that hasn’t
varied since the middle ’70s. In the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s I ran every other day at
an eight-minute mile pace, and in the Zeroes every other day at 8:30 and in the
past five years, closer to 8:45.
Slowness, of course, isn’t limited to road work. These days
I try to give myself more time to get to work, or to prepare a meal, get to a
movie or a play. And this winter slowness has been a natural response to all
the ice and snow we’ve had.
In a car, we slow to the condition of the road, walking the
dog in the park, we slow as we climb slick banks and negotiate black ice
pavement. Why? Because falling isn’t an option. Our bodies are so much slower
to heal with age.
Do you equate slowness with boredom? Protect the body
through exercise and eating and drinking responsibly (cutting down on booze at
night), and you’ll sleep more soundly, and most important, protect the mind. We
are slower, but critically, we don’t, if our mind is sharpened by embracing the
idea of slow motion, feel slower.
That’s the beauty of being a human. Mind over matter. We can
literally convince ourselves that we are only as young as we feel. As the old man runner (see image at right) of my
blog so enthusiastically declares: Reverse Age That Body.
Next: Running for Your Life: Live at The Jazz Palace
