You Can Grow Younger

Bill Bell Shows Us How

California's Bill Bell shows us how he transformed himself from ordinary to extraordinary. Bill went from a typical golf-playing executive with some excess poundage and a borderline health problem in his early fifties to an age-group champion Ironman triathlete in his sixties and seventies. While you and I may not be looking for quite this drastic a change in our lifestyle, there's much for us to take away from Bill's fascinating journey. Here's a little of his story.

Bill never played any scholastic sports due to his father's insistence that he maintain a couple of paper routes during his high school years for financial reasons. As a young adult he was classified as 4F by the armed services due to heart irregularities. The turning point in his life came in 1974 when a stress test showed that the then 53-year-old had a slightly irregular heartbeat; this prompted his doctor to suggest that he take up jogging three days a week. Bill enjoyed the running so much that after a couple of weeks he asked the doctor if he could run every day. With his doctor's blessing, he gradually increased his running over the ensuing months until in short order, in 1975 to be precise, he was ready to tackle a 26.2-mile marathon. You could say he was off and running: running -- in one year -- a leg-wearying 14 marathons.

In 1980, Bill saw the Hawaiian Ironman triathlon on TV and came across an article about triathlons in Sports Illustrated which peaked his interest. In 1981, he had a chance encounter at an airport with an Ironman triathlete who encouraged him to try the sport. That's all he needed. Bill, now 59, signed up for swimming lessons at a local community college to prepare for the swimming portion of the triathlon. At first he could barely complete six lengths of the pool, but he stuck with it. By February of 1982 Bill was ready for his first Hawaiian Ironman (ALL 2.4 miles of swimming -- ALL 112 miles of biking -- ALL 26.2 miles of running) -- finishing in 15 hours, 57 minutes, 48 seconds. He was hooked. In his sixties and seventies Bill completed an impressive 32 Ironman races -- 17 of them being the extra-tough Hawaiian event.

All, however, was not clear sailing for Bill. He couldn't compete in the Hawaiian Ironman in 1989 and 1990 due to a fatigue-causing thyroid problem. After a year or so of looking, he finally found the solution in a very inexpensive thyroid medication. Then in 2001, at age 78, he became the oldest person to complete the Hawaiian Ironman; but right after the race, his heart rate wouldn't return to normal. He was subsequently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and had an ablation procedure done to temporarily eliminate the high heart rate and then in 2002, he had a pacemaker implanted. Bill has also recently had to deal with bone rubbing on bone in his right knee and a little exercise-induced asthma. None of this has stopped him.

Bill's last completed Ironman was in California at age 79. At age 81, he did attempt to be the first octogenarian to successfully tackle the Ironman in Hawaii, but, though he was on schedule to make the 17-hour cutoff, he was forced to abandon the effort due to recurring leg cramps and a flat tire during the cycling portion of the race.

Bill is now 87 and still competing in the shorter triathlons. Since June of this year, he has completed no less than seven sprint triathlons. In one of these races, the September 12 Malibu Nautica (500-meter swim -- 9-plus-mile bike ride -- 5K/3.1-mile run) -- his time of 3:03:39 beat 12 men and 32 women competitors; three of these men were in their 20s and two were 30-somethings and the women he outperformed were mostly in their 30s and 40s with the oldest being 61. AND, of course, by default he beat the great majority of much younger adults who are not in shape to complete a triathlon in any time.

In his 30-some years of racing Bill has:

• Completed 32 Ironman events and an equal number of Half-Ironman races
• Run 159 marathons and ultras (races longer than a marathon)
• Completed the Ultraman 3-Day Triathlon (a 6-mile swim -- 250-mile bike race -- 52.4-mile run) in 1983 and 1985 when he was in his sixties
• Biked across the USA as a member of the 4-man 70+ team (2,473 miles in 7 days 5 hours and 23 minutes)
• Swum in 1-mile, 3-mile and 10-mile open-water swimming races
• Done much more
• AND had the time of his life

Bill Bell has shown us how much more the human body, mind and spirit can accomplish than is generally assumed. It's not, however, about trying to match Bill stride for stride, accomplishment for accomplishment, but rather a wake-up call for us to not settle for the crumbs of life. Bill Bell shows us that while age may slow us, it doesn't have to stop us -- AND we can summon all the energy we need to enjoy life to the fullest no matter our age. Bill's advice to anyone willing to listen is simple: "Keep moving." No matter what obstacles life throws in your path, just keep moving. Bill did and it's made all the difference.

Ed Mayhew is a leading authority on slowing and reversing aging, who through his speaking engagements, books, CDs and newsletters, helps Boomers thrive! His age-redefining books include: Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You Visit him at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com   www.FitterForLife.com AND Ask for your F*R*E*E** Fitter After 50 e-newsletter

Champion Swimmer Margery Meyer Honored

California's Margery Meyer had always wanted to be "really good at something." She didn't find that "something" until age 64, when she began swimming competitively for the first time. Now, on September 12, 2009, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after a little over two decades of masterful and record-smashing swimming, Margery is one of only four swimmers from around the world to be inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame. Let's look at what Margery Meyer has done to earn this most prestigious of honors.

During her 23-year swimming career, Margery has set 53 FINA Masters World Records (six of these in just the last year or so) in every freestyle event from the 50-meter sprints to the endurance-demanding 1500 meters. At one time she held the World Record for 11 of the 12 freestyle events in the 80-84 age group. At the USMS (United States Masters Swimming) National Championships at the Cleveland State University Busby Natatorium in August of 2002, at age 80, she swam the grueling 1500 freestyle in 29:35.03 to become the first woman 80 or better to break 30 minutes and she broke the former record by more than a minute. To add perspective, this is equivalent to swimming the length of your local high school football field and into the end zone 15 times -- in under two minutes per lap.

Swimming in the FINA World Championships in 1988, 1994, 1998 and 2006, Margery has won 11 Gold, five Silver and two Bronze medals. That's not bad for someone who in her early sixties had arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat), a dangerously-elevated cholesterol reading of 385 mg/dl, and no inkling that one could begin a competitive swimming career so late in life.

Margery, however, is not being honored for a swimming career that has ended, but for one that is ongoing. Presently competing in the 85-89 age group, Margery is still going strong and continuing to produce record-setting performances. In 2008 alone, she broke 14 USMS National Records and has 11 more National Records pending based on other times she put up in 2008 and 2009. Included in these record swims is a 1650-yard freestyle swum in an astounding 31:15.55 (Note: 1650 yards is about 30 feet longer than 1500 meters). That means that in the six years since Margery swam her 29:35 in a 1500-meter freestyle, she's lost very little of her amazing stamina. As a testament to how competitive she still is, at the 2009 Tamalpais Aquatic Masters Postal 1650 (called a "pool mile"), Margery posted a time that was faster than 17 of the women masters in their forties could put up.

Margery in her early sixties had signs that her health was at risk and that her best days were behind her, and she had not the slightest notion that a successful, award-laden competitive swimming career was close at hand.  With, however, a little tweaking of her diet, the addition of intelligent and appropriate training, a very positive attitude and a laser-beam-like focus on her new-found goal -- to excel at swimming -- she was able, relatively late in life, to become a world-class masters swimmer. In doing so, Margery Meyer is a model for the rest of us. She gives us hope that we, too, can take the plunge into a new sport or other activity and either excel or at least have the time of our life. Yes, Margery Meyer will have the honor of being inducted into the very exclusive International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame this week, but we are also honored to be able to learn from her that it's never too late to go for the Gold. Thanks, Margery, and may you enjoy many more years of masterful swimming.

Ed Mayhew is a professional speaker and the author of books on how to slow and reverse aging, such as: Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life (with a chapter about champion masters swimmer Margery Meyer) and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You www.YouCanGrowYounger.com  www.FitterForLife.com  Ask for your F*R*E*E* Fitter After 50 e-newsletter

The Lady Methuselah of Sports, et al and the Month of July

This past month gave several aging athletes a chance to show that they still have what it takes to compete at the highest level. We'll take a look at five of these athletes on the verge of geezerhood and their age-defying accomplishments in the month of July.

July 9 & 11 -- Only in the world of sports can 42 be considered old. This is especially true in elite competitive swimming, where even 25 is considered to be bordering on the ancient. That's one reason why the swimming times of Dara Torres, the Lady Methuselah of swimming, at the Conoco Phillips USA Swimming Nationals/World Trials are so impressive. Despite a bum knee that limits her training and will need surgery at the end of the competitive season, Dara won her 10th 50-meter freestyle national title and in the process qualified for the World Championships in Italy with the fourth fastest time in the world in 2009 -- 24.43. Two days later in the 50 fly (butterfly stroke), Dara broke her own American Record that she set twice in May and missed the World Record by just .17 seconds. Her 25.50 was the third fastest swim of all time.

July 14 -- Another 42-year-old who distinguished himself is Boston Red Sox pitcher, Tim Wakefield. Tim represented the American League at baseball's national classic by virtue of his being tied for the most wins in the American League, with an impressive 10-3 record.

July 18 -- Bodybuilder Scott "Old Navy" Hults, 66, won the Open Men's Lightweight class at the NPA Nationals (National Physique Association) in Burlington, North Carolina. There, he was also awarded his fourth Pro Card. It's worth noting that  most bodybuilders are amateurs and never earn a single one of those much -coveted cards with their accompanying professional designation. Scott has accomplished all this despite his having started competitive bodybuilding a mere six years ago.

July 19 -- Leading most of the four-day tournament, Tom Watson, 59, came within inches and a very doable 8-foot putt of winning the British Open. If he'd made that last shot on the 18th hole, that would have made him the oldest golfer to win a major by 11 years (Julius Boros, the oldest, was 48 in 1968 when he won the PGA Championship). Adding to the awesomeness of his play is the fact that he'd had hip-replacement surgery just nine months prior.

July 19 -- On this same day that Tom Watson had Boomers across the nation glued to their television sets with their fingers crossed, Hershel McGriff, 81, became the oldest driver ever in a NASCAR-sanctioned race. Racing in NASCAR's Camping World West series in Portland, Oregon, Hershel came in a very respectable 13th out of 26 competitors. He did this despite having to start one lap behind the pack due to a last-minute modification to his carburetor. Winner Jim Inglebright said about Hershel's race performance, "There were a lot of other cars out there that were a lot slower ... I followed him for a little while and I couldn't get around him."

So there you have it. In a single month of athletic competitions, five "old geezers of sports" are showing us that they still have what it takes to compete with the best in their sport. As a result, we have a choice to make. We can be inspired by their age-redefining athletic accomplishments and get our own backsides into motion or we can ignore their lead and continue with our relentless, unnecessarily speedy decline. The question is: Are you going to use their spirit-lifting stories to get back in the game and enjoy life more, like so many masters athletes and others are doing, or are you going to be boxed in by your own self-imposed age-related limitations? The Lady Methuselah of Swimming and the other older athletes profiled here are telling us that the choice is up to us!

Ed Mayhew is a professional speaker and the author of Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You  Visit Ed at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com and www.FitterForLife.com  Ask for your F*R*E*E* Fitter After 50 e-newsletter

Still Drubbling at Age 58

Clio, Michigan's Riley McLincha is still drubbling at age 58. That statement brings three pertinent questions to mind: Who is Riley McLincha, what is drubbling and who cares?

Let's start with drubbling. We know that jogging is a slow run and that juggling is basically keeping three or more balls or other objects in the air while continuously tossing and catching them. Which brings us to the hybrid of these two activities -- joggling, where one jogs (runs) while juggling. Are you with me so far? We are also very familiar with dribbling -- keeping a basketball bouncing on the ground/court by repeatedly pushing it down with one hand as it rebounds up. Drubbling is the dribbling of three basketballs (a form of juggling) while running (jogging).

Now back to the third question: Who cares? Clearly many people do as attested to by Riley's receiving about a dozen invitations each year to drubble at big-time road races (and other events) across the country, including the Boston and Chicago Marathons. This August, Riley will be drubbling the Crim 10 Mile race in Michigan for the 16th consecutive year; the Crim attracts some 15,000 runners each year and is one of the most famous road races in the U.S. Riley estimates that he will drubble this race at a 9:30-per-mile pace. It should be noted that few 58-year-olds, as well as those in their 20s and 30s, can run 10 miles at all -- with or without balls.

Riley has been drubbling since 1992. While there have been a number of jogglers in recent years-- those who juggle balls while running in road races -- Riley seems to still be the only drubbler. As Riley jokes, being the lone drubbler is "a testament either to its difficulty or worthlessness." Since basketball is such a popular sport, it must be the difficulty that has kept others from replicating this skill. Reinforcing this point, Riley gained eight pounds of upper-body muscle when he started drubbling and he has stated that it was the "hardest thing" he'd ever tried to learn. This from the guy who's in the Guinness Book of Records for memorizing pi (the ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter) -- that is, 3.14159 .................

When drubbling a marathon, Riley's time is an exhausting 5 hours 30 minutes or so, whereas when just running, he can complete the 26.2 miles in an age-group competitive 3:45. For a 5K he can complete the 3.1 miles in about 28 minutes with the basketballs and 21:30 without the balls, making him one of the better age-group runners.

We tend to think of individuals with unique talents such as Riley's as one dimensional, forgetting that the unique skill they display to the world is just one part of their lives. Riley is anything but a one-trick pony, as he regularly kayaks, bikes and is an accomplished singer and musician among his other interests. His biggest claim to fame, however, is his drubbling, and since seeing is believing, check out this very entertaining video. 

If a man closing in on 60 can dribble three basketballs for the 10 miles that make up the Crim 10 Miler at a 9:30-per-mile clip, when most 20- and 30-year-olds can't -- in their current condition -- conceive of running 10 miles at any speed, then just maybe aging doesn't have to be the unrelenting downhill slide to the grave that has been generally accepted as gospel. Maybe we can continue to excel and outperform those decades younger than we, as Riley McLincha is doing. But will we?

Ed Mayhew is a speaker and the author of the books: Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You    Visit Ed at www.YouCanGrowYounger.com and www.FitterForLife.com AND Ask for your F*R*E*E Fitter e-newsletter

She's Back And Proving That Age is Just a Number

Last summer at the Beijing Olympics a 41-year-old swimmer, Dara Torres, stunned the world by winning three Silver Medals in a sport where 25 is considered old. Most would think that at her age, we'd seen the last of her as an elite competitive swimmer, but guess what! She's BACK!

Friday, May 22nd, Dara set two new American Records at a senior circuit meet at Texas A & M. Here's how it went down with all the extraordinary circumstances. Dara was scheduled to swim in the 100-meter and 50-meter freestyle races at this competition; however, due to a flareup of bronchitis, she didn't think she had the stamina to swim the 100 and opted instead for the less-stamina-demanding 50 butterfly.

Having not planned on swimming this event and not having trained for it, Dara surprised herself and everyone knowledgeable of the sport, when she swam the 50 fly in the morning preliminaries in a new American Record, 25.84 seconds. This time easily beat Jenny Thompson's six-year-old record of 26 flat. Then in the finals that evening, she reset the record, with a blistering 25.72. Think about it. An American Record that the top young American swimmers couldn't topple in six years of trying, is smashed by 28 hundreds of a second (a huge amount of improvement for a sprint event) by an ancient (by elite swimming standards) 42-year-old masters swimmer.

What makes this all the more astounding are some of the surrounding circumstances:

• First, according to Dara, she hadn't "swum a lick of fly since the 2000 Olympics!!"
• Dara's training had been compromised by her criss-crossing of the country to promote her book, Age is Just a Number, which was just released in April
• She's raising a three-year-old daughter
• In the months since the Olympics, Dara's had surgery on her right shoulder, left knee and left thumb -- all of which have required time for recovery 
• During this meet, her left knee was sore and swollen and she's talking about needing more surgery on it after the World Championships this summer

Dara says that she will continue to compete as long as she is improving, and she does believe that she is "still improving" and that she hasn't reached her peak yet. If a woman in her forties can not only compete with America's best young swimmers, but outperform them and set new American Records in the process, and if that woman in her forties is still getting faster AND is likely to get even faster/better, what does this say about aging?

Whether we're interested in competitive swimming or not -- whether we care a lick about sports competitions of any kind or not -- these performances are important to us! Dara's age-defying swimming feats are important to ALL OF US because they challenge the self-limiting, self-destructive beliefs about aging that we all have to one degree or another and open the way for us to latch onto ever more empowering beliefs if we will but pay attention. Dara is BACK for more. The quintessential question is: Are we paying attention?

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (need one? a good one?) and the author of Fitter For Life, Fitter After 50 and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You Visit Ed at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com   www.FitterForLife.com  Ask for his F*R*E*E Fitter After 50/Fitter for Life e-newsletter

Someone to Root For

Ed Root of Ormond Beach, Florida was someone back in the 1990s for whom we all could have rooted. Recently we ran across a video clip about Ed on www.GrowingBolder.com . On this video, which includes an on-camera interview of Ed Root himself, we are told that in his mid-sixties Ed was a chain-smoking alcoholic who was diagnosed with emphysema.

While many folks with emphysema choose to avoid any vigorous or even moderate activities that might cause them to struggle to catch their breath, Ed chose a completely different route. As soon as he found out he had this life-sapping COPD condition, he started running. And he kept running mile after mile, day after day, until he had literally run away from his drinking problem, his smoking habit, and his breathing difficulties.

In his seventies, Ed added swimming in the ocean and cycling to his exercise routine. Then, in his mid-eighties, he started competing in triathlons. While today there are a number of octogenarian triathletes, in the 1990s there weren't any, easily making Ed the oldest triathlete of his day.

Let's look a little more closely at Ed Root, the triathlete. During his triathlon career, Ed trained seven days a week and competed in about 16 tris a year. That's quite a workload for anyone, but is especially impressive for someone in his mid- to late 80s.

You may appreciate some more amazing details about this unlikely triathlete. First, Ed's sprint triathlons consisted of a quarter-mile swim, followed immediately by a 8- to 9-mile bike race and culminating in a 3-mile running race. The obvious questions are: Was Ed at all competitive, or did he arrive at the finish line while all the other racers were headed home in their cars?

Believe it or not, Ed got more competitive as the years rolled by. In 1993, for example, at age 86, Ed completed the Beaches Fine Arts Series Sprint Triathlon in 1:39:01. About four years later, now 89, and a couple of months before his death, he ran the 18th Annual Sertoma Cypress Garden event in 1:22:39. Adjusting for the fact that the Beaches Fine Arts race had an extra mile of cycling, Ed was about 10 minutes faster after four years of "aging."

As to how competitive he was, as an 89-year-old in the Cypress Garden tri, he beat 38 of the decades- younger competitors, including 18 men. Sixteen of those men he outraced were in their 50s or younger and four of them were 30- to 34-year-old men. Now let's face it, men don't compete in triathlons unless they are in much better-than-average shape; from this we can conclude that at 89, Ed was in better shape than most of America's general population of middle-aged and younger men.

If a man in his 60s with serious health issues with which to deal can overcome them with just a good exercise program and determination, becoming competitive so late in life in such a grueling, exhausting sport, then maybe there's hope for us, too! His blazing a path to well-being that the rest of us can follow truly makes Ed Root someone for whom we all could have rooted.

To learn more Google: "Ed Root" and triathlon or visit: www.GrowingBolder.com and find Vol. 79, which includes the piece about Ed Root, Triathlete.

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (need one?) and the author of Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life, and Age Blasters: 3 Steps to a Younger You (May, 2009) You can visit Ed at: www.FitterForLife.com www.YouCanGrowYounger.com AND Ask for your F*R*E*E* Fitter For Life Newsletter

Out of Nowhere (part 1)

This is the story of an individual who came out of nowhere to achieve an impressive athletic first. The fact that no one could have seen this coming gives hope to all the rest of us that we don't have to remain stuck where we are.

Sheila Isaacs of Shoreham, New York didn't play any sports in high school or college, nor did she have any desire to do so. A self-described "academic" and mathematician by trade, Sheila had put her energies into caring for her husband, Hugh, raising their two children and working full-time as a systems analyst. Sports and exercise were the furthest things from her mind for her first 50 years; but that all changed in 1991 when, at age 53, she was challenged by a co-worker to compete with him in a triathlon.

Taking up the challenge, Sheila told everyone what she was going to do. When her colleague eventually decided to drop out during their training, rather than "lose face," Sheila felt compelled to follow through and run the race. In this first race of her life, Sheila won a medal for finishing first in her age group; it was the first thing she had ever won, and she was hooked.

In the ensuing couple of years, Sheila competed in twenty-some more triathlons in 15 or 16 of the surrounding states. At this point, it occurred to her that by running a triathlon in each of the 50 states she could combine her love of triathlons with the fun of traveling and seeing our great country.

A little over a decade later, Sheila had run 99 triathlons, placing first in her age group 58 times, and had completed one in each of 49 states. Only Hawaii remained. She decided to go BIG by capping off her 50 tri's in 50 states with the 2004 Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii -- the granddaddy of all triathlons. This was a huge undertaking for the now 67-year-old because all her previous triathlons were of the shorter varieties.

For the Hawaii Ironman, Sheila had to compete with thousands of other triathletes from around the world for one of the 1500 or so much-coveted openings. She qualified for the 140.6-mile "big kahuna" (2.4-mile swim -- 112-mile bike ride -- 26.2-mile run) by winning her age group at the UK Half Ironman in Sherborne, England. Then came the months of intense training. Each week, Sheila put in at least 5 miles of swimming, 150 miles of cycling and a minimum of 15 miles of running, plus weight training and a couple of hours of yoga. That's about 20 to 25 hours or more of training per week.

It all paid off when she crossed the finish line in Hawaii in 16 hours 54 minutes 55 seconds, beating the 17-hour cutoff time with 5 minutes to spare, and coming in second in her age group. With this awesome feat, at age 67, Sheila became the first person (man or woman) to run a triathlon in each of the 50 states. With this race she also reached her goal of completing 100 triathlons. Not bad accomplishments for someone who had no athletic background, or interest in same, until her 50s.

Sheila Isaacs gives us hope. She has shown us that despite our background or where we've been, what really matters is where we are going. Where are you heading? Let's hope it's somewhere you'll enjoy.

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (need one?) and the author of Fitter After 50, Fitter For Life and Age Blasters: 3 Steps to a Younger You (May, 2009) www.FitterForLife.com  www.YouCanGrowYounger.com Ask for your F*R*E*E* Fitter After 50/Fitter For Life newsletter

Out of Nowhere (part 2)

In part one of Out of Nowhere we learned of how Sheila Isaacs, a most unlikely candidate to become a triathlete, did just that in her 50s and went on to become the first person to complete a triathlon in each of America's 50 states -- culminating with the 2004 Hawaiian Ironman -- at age 67. How let's take a closer look at Sheila's amazing transformation.

Growing up in Africa and having contracted a tropical malady that doctors were slow to diagnose and treat, Sheila was a sickly child. Later in her childhood, while attending an all-girls school, she learned what she refers to as "survival swimming" and was instructed in tennis, but never hit the ball with, shall we say, any consistency.

As an adult, before her first real foray into sports and exercise at age 53, Sheila was, in her own words, "really inactive" and she found just walking around in New York City to be "difficult" for her. She also experienced a couple of health problems serious enough to require surgery. Let's just say that Sheila Issacs was not a prime candidate to become an athlete of any kind, but that all changed when she took up the challenge of a colleague to enter a triathlon. At the time, Sheila didn't even know what a triathlon was and reflecting back, doesn't even think she'd ever heard the word before. She liked the novelty of it all, however, and gave it a "tri."

Now in her early 70s, Sheila has completed more than 120 triathlons -- about six each year. This includes a yearly Half Ironman event where she has to swim 1.9K (1.2 miles), bike 90K (56 miles), and then immediately, run 21.09K (13.1 miles -- a half marathon). To prepare her body (and mind) to successfully compete in these events, Sheila puts in 12 to 15 hours of training weekly.

In recent years, Sheila has had the honor of representing the United States of America at international competitions. This includes a triathlon in Hamburg, Germany in 2007 and the 2008 ITU Age Group World Championship in Vancouver, Canada, where her time of 3:02:42 earned her a bronze medal. These international races are olympic-distance triathlons where she had to swim 1.5K (.93 miles) -- bike 40K (about 25 miles) -- and run 10K (6.2 miles).

Interestingly, this once sickly child, who grew into a very sedentary adult with serious health issues, has not suffered a single injury or illness in the almost 19 years she's been tri-ing (although she did recently have cataract surgery). Sheila says that all this exercise energizes her and "definitely makes you feel better!"

Sheila enjoys all this training and racing. To keep her 12 to 15 hours of exercise a week fun and fresh she mixes it up -- running on the beach, in the woods, on trails, doing speed work at the track, running and bike riding with her husband and swimming with a masters swim team. The camaraderie of exercising with others makes it more fun and makes the time seem to pass quickly. Unlike many exercisers today, she eschews wearing headphones so that she can enjoy and be more aware of her suroundings.

A strong believer in the importance of setting goals and having a plan, Sheila's current quest is to complete traithlons in each of the 10 main Canadian provinces; she has four under her belt to date. Her yearly quota of triathlons and this Canadian challenge gives her a reason to continue to train at a high level. These goals make her life more exciting, and being excited about something in our future keeps us young. What are you doing to put more youth-enhancing excitement into your life?

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (need one?) and the author of Fitter After 50 and Fitter For Life You can visit him at: www.FitterForLife.com www.FitterAfter50.com www.YouCanGrowYounger.com  Ask for your F*R*E*E* Fitter After 50/Fitter For Life newsletter 

Let's Play Detective

Let's play detective. The idea is that with a very limited amount of information about an individual, you are going to come up with a profile of this person -- kind of like what the police do when they want to nab an unidentified suspect.

Here's what we know: This person successfully competed in 51 triathlons, one in each of the 50 states, (plus D.C.) over a 5-year period. These were Olympic-length races -- not the shorter sprint versions of the triathlon, nor were they the colossal Ironman-length events. More specifically, Olympic triathlons consist of a daunting 1.5K (.93 mile) swim, immediately followed by a 40K (24.8 mile) bike race and concluding with an exhausting 10K (6.2 mile) run/race to the finish line.

With this small amount of information at our disposal, how much can we know (i.e., conjecture) about this person? First, is this a male or a female? If you guessed "a man," kudos to you. The odds were with this choice because more men than women take on physical/sports challenges like this one (next time, however, we'll look at a woman who accomplished a similar, and maybe even a bit more impressive, physically-demanding challenge).

How about his age? Maybe you're of the opinion that he has to be relatively young -- as in his 20s or early 30s to have the physical prowess to withstand this ordeal. After all, besides the grueling nature of the races themselves and the daily hours of intense training, there's all the exhausting travel, including the seemingly endless airports at a time when air travel is not so easy due to increased security and cost-cutting measures. In actuality, this man commenced this challenge at age 44 and completed it just shy of his 49th birthday. No spring chicken, he.

How about his occupation? Was he an early retiree with plenty of time on his hands or a super-rich jet setter who was free to devote his time to such a venture because he didn't have a job? The truth is, he was a Silicon Valley executive who, in the middle of this time- and energy-consuming 51 triathlons, started up a  business. As CEO and president of Quick Health, his new health-care business, he proceeded to open up 16 stores during this 5-year span.

How about his athletic background? Surely he was an ex-jock, probably a former all-American in some sport(s) in high school and college -- a natural, gifted athlete, right? Wrong. His only sports participation of note was his being a part of the Stanford University sailing team.

Finally, why would a busy, civicly-involved executive/business owner take on a challenge of such magnitude? Why would he undertake a quest which required him to work out six days and nights a week and which resulted in a lifestyle that he could only maintain by limiting himself to five hours of sleep a night? Was it for the glory or for something better? We've just profiled CEO/triathlete, David Mandelkern, who took on this challenge to get in shape AND to raise money and awareness for three charities: Team in Training (finding a cure for Lymphoma and Leukemia), the Challenged Athletes Foundation and World T.E.A.M. Sports (helping athletes with physical disabilities).

To find out more or to contribute to David's fund-raising efforts, go to: www.50x50x50.org Next time we'll look at the age-defying feats of a woman who transformed herself from someone with no athletic background (or interest in same) at age 50 to a triathlon record setter at age 67. Like next time's subject and David Mandelkern, why not get out there and make the 2nd half of life better than the 1st?

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (need one?) and the author of Fitter After fifty and Fitter For Life Visit him at www.FitterForLife.com www.FitterAfter50.com www.YouCanGrowYounger.com AND Ask for your F*R*E*E* Fitter After 50 newsletter

Are They Crazy?

When non-runners hear of someone voluntarily running a 26.2-mile marathon or longer, their all-too-common refrain is: "Are they crazy? ..." An E-mail received from a friend, while exchanging holiday greetings, will help answer this quasi-indictment masked as a question. Its content will help point out that these extra-long runs are not merely torturous ordeals suffered to see how much pain one's body can endure. Here it is with a few editorial comments from Yours Truly.

And the same to you ... thank you. Just for updates (and bragging rights) I did the Death Valley Marathon on December 6th [a relatively comfortable 75 degrees, below sea level with beautiful surrounding mountains to savor] and came in second in my age group 55-59 [exact age, 56]. I ran 4:38 [a little over 10:30-per-mile pace]. Great marathon and can't wait to go back!!! A week later I ran my first ultra [any race longer than a marathon] -- Twin Peaks 50 Miler [not exactly an easy first ultra in that it includes 17,000 feet of vertical ascent or the equivalent of climbing the Sears Tower's 108 floors a dozen times and just a week after a marathon run]. I dropped [out] at 44 miles due to a blizzard in Southern Cal!!! It was snowing at the peak and we had to summit twice during the 50. My legs and body felt fine, but I was not interested in getting hypothermic or something worse. Since I was in a running skirt with bare legs and not equipped for this weather [the race director reported that up on the mountain the snow was blowing horizontally, visibility at times was nonexistent (e.g., two ladies who were running TOGETHER said that at times they couldn't even see each other even though they were running side by side), the trees were covered with ice, and temperatures were in the low thirties -- not exactly ideal conditions] I opted out and went to the finish after 44 miles. I was totally ok with that and certainly not ashamed of doing 'only 44.' Funny how wise we get as we get older. I always say one should know their limitations. Of course I still have to do the full 50 to close that chapter, so I am already signed up for another. It really wasn't that bad and the hours flew by. Ultra runners are a crazy lot for sure, but they make for fun company and lots of laughs along the trail. Continued success and health to you in 2009. Sincerely, Laura [yes, this E-mail was written by a woman and quite an amazing woman at that!]

Although you [non-runners and recreational runners] may or may not still think that such challenging footraces are sheer madness, you now have a better understanding of the motivation, the adventure, and yes, even the fun, that is at the root of ultra-long distance running. Of course, you can stick with the treadmill or elliptical as you watch the news on CNN, but know that the ultra-runners may just think that you are the crazy one.

Postscript: Another E-mail from Laura...  Last Saturday I ran another 50 miler ... and finished this one. It was called the Big Cat Challenge in Huntington Beach Ca.[no mountain blizzard to contend with here] It was exactly two weeks after Twin Peaks. This one was a twelve-hour "loop course" [two miles per loop] and you get credit for what mileage you can get done within a twelve-hour time limit. I ran my 50 in 10:43 and change and was the oldest female [for the 50 miler]. I had the time of my life. It was a beautiful loop course around a park and a lake and had a great crew of volunteers. It will definitely be on my "to do" list for next year.

[Then Laura added] I ran the last twenty-five miles in my Crocs! ... my feet felt amazing ... They had great support and were easy to run in ... [Finally she included two photos that show the sheer joy she was experiencing -- not the agony some would think is part and parcel of such long runs] Here I am with my friend Leigh finishing our 50 (in my Crocs!).

 

Maybe running ultra-long distance races isn't so crazy afterall!

Ed Mayhew is a speaker and the author of Fitter After 50 and Fitter For Life. You can join him at: www.FitterAfter50.com   www.FitterForLife.com   www.YouCanGrowYounger.com (blog) Ask for his F*R*E*E Fitter After 50 newsletter