Are you still an athlete?

[homestead]

Back then, backstroke:
1953High School All-American Swim Team... 2nd.

I was swimming the backstroke too in 1953, in amniotic fluid.

 

[aja8888]

Where did it go....??

Athletic, maybe not an "athlete" in the sense of the word.

High school baseball - 3rd base

College - Starting pitcher - Not good enough to go further

Later in life - softball pitcher - won city championship in Thousand Oaks, Ca - 1990 (I was 47 at the time)

!980 - late 1990's - Long distance running to remain healthy. Good enough to run 20 milers @ just under 7 minutes per mile.

Played a ton of golf from 20's until late 60's. Lowest handicap was 11. With that handicap you can lose a lot of bets.

Now just walk 10,000+ steps per day @ 75 years old.

 

[Dtail]

Athletic, maybe not an "athlete" in the sense of the word.

High school baseball - 3rd base

College - Starting pitcher - Not good enough to go further

Later in life - softball pitcher - won city championship in Thousand Oaks, Ca - 1990 (I was 47 at the time)

!980 - late 1990's - Long distance running to remain healthy. Good enough to run 20 milers @ just under 7 minutes per mile.

Played a ton of golf from 20's until late 60's. Lowest handicap was 11. With that handicap you can lose a lot of bets.

Now just walk 10,000+ steps per day @ 75 years old.

Nice progression.

 

[eytonxav]

While my head says yes to being an athlete, my body strenuously disagrees.

 

[aja8888]

Nice progression.

Thanks! It's a letdown as to what one can't do anymore as they get older, but as long as you are doing the best you can at something, it's still good!

 

[Dtail]

Thanks! It's a letdown as to what one can't do anymore as they get older, but as long as you are doing the best you can at something, it's still good!

Agree. Love playing Pickleball, but sometimes miss mixing it up with the youngins at basketball, but just will not take the that chance of injury.

 

[robnplunder]

Re: the title...Not, "still"
But a chance to brag.

Back then, backstroke:
1953High School All-American Swim Team... 2nd.
1954 High School All-American Swim Team... 1st.

1956 NCAA All-American Swim Team (as a jr.) ... 4th.
1957 NCAA All-American Swim Team (sr. yr.)... 2nd.

Thru H.S and college, held pool records in 38 schools and Boy's Clubs in New England, some that lasted until the mid 1970's.

(sigh) since leaving Florida in 2012, haven't been in a pool.

Gimme a break... Not first in anything today.

Wow, that's impressive, Triton. In water, I sink like stone. Gravity and I are very close friends.



(The best I ever got was a 3rd place in US college boxing. But boxing served me well while growing up. Growing up in tough neighborhoods (in a 3rd world country, and in heart of Los Angeles), kids learned to leave me alone.)

 

[RobbieB]

Not me, no way! Never an athlete, no love (or even like) of sports ever.

I'm a nerd!

 

[SnowBound]

Ask me in six weeks after I throw these crutches away!

 

[Chuckanut]

Agree. Love playing Pickleball, but sometimes miss mixing it up with the youngins at basketball, but just will not take the that chance of injury.

I know a guy in his 80's with two knee replacements who is an absolutely smashing pickle ball player. I want to be like him when I grow up.

 

[kgtest]

Yes and no, probably more no than yes.

I played a lot of different sports as a youth and young adult... tennis, skiing (snow and water... hence pb4uski), softball, volleyball and others. I did take up golf when I was in my early 20s.

I gave up water-skiing regularly many years ago after my brother-in-law had a bad fall water skiing and got injured. I still snow skiied until a couple years ago once we started to snowbird (and miss it). I traded tennis for pickleball... the same fun with half the effort... but one needs to be careful of injuries in pickleball too.

I do golf much more than I ever have... prior to retirement I was generally in the 95-105 range and today regularly play bogey golf or better (85-95 usually, with a career best 79 on a par 72 course). One surprise is that even playing with a cart, my fitness watch indicates that I walk about 3.3-3.7 miles playing 18 holes... I also sometimes will walk 9 holes with a pull cart.

Until a couple years ago I would sometimes walk the front nine with a pull cart and take a cart for the more hilly back nine... if it is a cool day I'll consider it but on a hot, humid day... give me a cart.

LMAO I literally JUST now got the acronym of your handle hah.

 

[NanoSour]

I consider myself a jogger, but I do jog in running shoes. So I guess it's debatable.

If one could provide a definitive pace that separates a runner from a jogger, then I'd know for sure.

 

[aja8888]

If one could provide a definitive pace that separates a runner from a jogger, then I'd know for sure.

Depends on if you are being chased or not.

 

[HFWR]

Played several sports as a kid/teen. Played several seasons of league softball, and an occasional pickup basketball game. Was a jogger, but stopped due to w*rk and sloth. Still walk, bicycle, and throw weights around, but not competitively.

 

[Lsbcal]

I consider myself a jogger, but I do jog in running shoes. So I guess it's debatable.

If one could provide a definitive pace that separates a runner from a jogger, then I'd know for sure.

This could be a nice separate thread. After getting an Apple Watch a few weeks ago, I see that my track pace is way faster then my trail pace. Not that I am shooting for a fast pace. Rather that I want to keep the training heart rate at a reasonable level.

I think I'll start a thread on this.

 

[MuirWannabe]

I’m actually more athletic now than I was when younger. In preparation for retirement I managed to lose a lot of weight. Almost 100 pounds. After this I became a runner. I’ve done marathons as recently as 2014. I still run almost every day for 5-6 miles. I’ve played tennis as a junior and much of my adult life competitively. And in the last couple of years I’ve become a long distance hiker/backpacker. I love all these things and hope to continue them as long as possible. Being active is part of what makes retirement joyful for me.

Btw, all this talk about running versus jogging. I’m in the camp of being a runner. Not a jogger. Here’s a clip I like on the subject.
https://youtu.be/B6nFhcI4tgI

 

[Ronstar]

My doctor calls me her ”athlete”. Probably because I’m her only patient that has run a marathon in their 60’s. Not competitive, but I’ve finished in the top 4 of my age group in the 5 races I’ve run since 2011. I want to do one more marathon in 2 years when I’m 65 so that Medicare will pay for the damage.

 

[RunningBum]

I consider myself a jogger, but I do jog in running shoes. So I guess it's debatable.

If one could provide a definitive pace that separates a runner from a jogger, then I'd know for sure.

There isn't one. Whatever you think you are is fine. I feel like jogging implies a fairly low level of effort, and I think if I'm training for a marathon, or for an all out effort in a 5K, I'm a runner, not a jogger. I don't look down on anyone who laces up their shoes and gets out there.

 

[aja8888]

My doctor calls me her ”athlete”. Probably because I’m her only patient that has run a marathon in their 60’s. Not competitive, but I’ve finished in the top 4 of my age group in the 5 races I’ve run since 2011. I want to do one more marathon in 2 years when I’m 65 so that Medicare will pay for the damage.

Nice work on the competitive running at over 60, Ron!

65 is exactly the age I got my hip replacement due to a completely worn cartilage that was the result of years of running and other forms of healthy punishment.

All is good now, but no more pounding exercise.

 

[RunningBum]

Here's a runner. 70 yr old woman in an epic finish at the Western States 100 miler a few years ago. You have 30 hours to run 100 miles from Squaw Valley to Auburn CA, over mountains and thru hot hot valleys, finishing on a HS track, the most prestigious ultra marathon in the US, if not the world. There is no mercy, if you don't make it in 30 hours, you don't get an official finish. The guy who had won the race some 15 hours earlier was one of the people who went out on the course and ran the last mile with her.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10153307128530412

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Not me, no way! Never an athlete, no love (or even like) of sports ever.

I'm a nerd!

Me too. I took up jogging in college because I was horrified at the prospect of gaining the freshman 15. (I never did. Still within 10 pounds of high school weight) Did long stretches of no exercise (interspersed with weight control jogging) till January when I started going to the gym. I am enjoying the heck out of it. Who knew?

 

[imoldernu]

Any excuse for a story.

My jeanie's uncle was one of the greatest guys who ever lived. Smart, good looking, the perfect ladies' man, and wealthy enough to do whatever he wanted.
He adored jeanie, and became a good friend to me as well... 'specially when he found out I was a pretty good swimmer.

He was also a great sportsman... Rhode Island Champion skier... (Diamond Hill) for the first three years i knew him... Also... the Rhode Island golf champion for years... (Gene Carlson). (late 50's, early 60's).

He just naturally assumed that being good in one sport, made a guy good in all sports...naturally. I was strong, and should be able to do well in golf. So he took me to meet the people at the Newport National Golf Club, and to play a round with him.

Now, at the time,the course was laid out with the first holes parallel... First shot... the wind up... the pitch, and the ball went a country mile.
Not to the next parallel course, but over that, in well into the third fairway....

Gene was a perfect gentleman, and didn't say a word as I crossed #1, #2, and pitched back from #3. Course was very busy, and as I walked to my ball, I'm sure I heard snickering. Distance good, direction very bad.

Got through the day, who knows how, and back to the clubhouse to meet the friends... Never a word said, though I'm sure everyone knew. Jeanie's uncle saved my day... and told the guys about my swimming... Cool dude!

Haven't touched a golf club since. Surfing, waterskiing, canoeing and hiking, but NO GOLF!

 

[Out of Steam]

I’m actually more athletic now than I was when younger. In preparation for retirement I managed to lose a lot of weight. Almost 100 pounds. After this I became a runner. I’ve done marathons as recently as 2014. I still run almost every day for 5-6 miles. I’ve played tennis as a junior and much of my adult life competitively. And in the last couple of years I’ve become a long distance hiker/backpacker. I love all these things and hope to continue them as long as possible. Being active is part of what makes retirement joyful for me.

Except for a brief stretch in my early 30s, I'm more athletic than when I was younger. I share both the weight loss (65+ pounds) and the backpacking parts, but am not a runner at all.

 

[Ronstar]

Nice work on the competitive running at over 60, Ron!

65 is exactly the age I got my hip replacement due to a completely worn cartilage that was the result of years of running and other forms of healthy punishment.

All is good now, but no more pounding exercise.

Thanks aja8888 - At my age, it isn't difficult to be competitive - there are seldom more than 16-20 guys in my age group running in any given race.

Good that the pounding exercise is over for you and all is good now.

There is point where one must recognize that they need to quit the pounding exercise and move on to something less stressful on the joints. I hope I can convince myself to stop before I wear out my joints.

 

[nash031]

Well, kinda. I loved riding my bike more than anything else. But I played soccer and basketball and eventually transitioned to strictly running track and cross country all through HS. I opted not to compete in college. I picked back up running at 25, then bought a road bike and started riding a little bit. Cycling again became my favorite activity, and now 17 years later, I’ve raced dozens of triathlons up to 70.3 and have even coached a runner and a triathlete.

Now with the arrival of DD#2, I’ve been limited to just time on my bike... not that that’s a limit. And this coming weekend I will race my first straight up bike races (criterium). We will see if I race bikes or go back to tris, but in a roundabout way... yes? I guess? [emoji1]