I was catching up on my Oxygen Magazine the other day at the pool as I lounged, er I mean waited impatiently for a swim lane to open up.
This pretty lady caught my eye. Ava’s a figure competitor at the ripe old age of…wait for it…gasp! 43! As someone who has 43 in her rear-view mirror, I read Ava’s story from a different perspective.
First, I am thrilled that “older” people are being featured. But what is “older”? To me 43 is not older, although when I was 8 and my best friend’s mom turned 40, I thought 40 was old and grandmother-like. I’m sure it is in the figure competition arena but still. To a 70 year old, I’ll bet 50 seems like spring chickenland.
It’s all relative. To be fair, I’ve known 30-somethings who seemed “older” than my granny did when she hit 90. It made me sad that at the ripe old age of 43, Ava talks about how this is the first time she hasn’t lied about her age.
We’ve all seen the “Age Issue” of various fashion magazines. Where they break out the decades but anything over 50 is just 50+. I’ve been to races too, where the age groups are every 5 years, until you hit 50. Then it’s to the 50+ pool you go.
At my recent triathlon, I was encouraged to see 154 ladies in the 50-54 age group. The “older” ladies weren’t exactly turtles either. Two from the 55-59 age group were faster than 5 of the 13 elites in the race. The overall age group (non-elite) winner finished 5th overall, ahead of 9/13 elites. And guess what? She’s 48. Not too shabby for an “old” lady, right?
My point in all this is that we need to embrace where we are in life. Longevity is guaranteed to no one so make the most of the time you have. Be active, grow, learn, challenge. Because when you hit 90 and you realize you were lamenting being “old” when you were 40, you’ll be pretty ticked with yourself.
What is “old” to you? How do you picture yourself 10-20-50 years from now? Last day for my giveaway!
Tomorrow is Runfession Friday! Spill all your run- gym- swim- tri-, heck all “fessions” are fair game! Link ’em up right here!
I’m linking up today with Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursday.
This AGE thing is something I tend to just ignore. I don’t market it and I don’t compare myself with regard to it. It is just another way of discriminating IMHO.
Boy, I was asking myself what is old on the run of my most recent triathlon. With everyone’s age marked on their calves, it’s easy to see who’s older, younger or in your age group. I ran past 20 year old women, 30 year old men, but was passed by a 57 year old woman about half way through. Right then, I decided 43 is not old (my current age) and I had no excuse to quit doing competitive races. I’m not sure when I’ll stop signing up for races, but I hope I can keep exercising forever
Excellent points! Age, like many things, is relative 🙂
She looks fabulous but I wonder how airbrushed and photo-shopped that picture is. I wish magazines would not do that. Let’s celebrate what we really can do and what we really look like.
I LOVE those quotes in your graphics. Age is definitely relative and I totally agree some younger people seem older than their elders, whether it’s attitude, mindset, or their fitness. It’s also a lot like body image, isn’t it? I was reminded of that when you wrote you don’t want to kick yourself at 90 for thinking 40 was old – just like you don’t want to remember what a strong able body you had at 40 that you didn’t enjoy because you were worried about weight or something like that. Great post!
Love those quotes. I am 62 and I am NOT old.
Some days I feel very old. In regards to fitness, parenting, etc…I see things sagging that shouldn’t, wrinkles on top of my wrinkles and me being naggy in a way I swore I never would. But then there are days that I sing at the top of my lungs to the music and just let my hair down and I realize that ‘younger’ me is still in there…<3
I think age is very much, relative.
I’m glad my mom never had a negative focus on her age and I think that’s influenced me as well. At 47 she ran her first marathon, and at 58 has started back running again mainly because she CAN and I think that’s amazing.
I’m 38 now and my coach told me I should expect to continue improving in triathlon through my mid-40s. Even after age-related declines start overtaking performance improvement, there is a lot to be said for experience and not making the mistakes that younger (and generally less experienced) athletes make. My coach is 58 and more often than not can kick my butt in a tri, especially the run!
Age has never really bothered me (I’m 53). Maybe it has to do with being the baby of the family. I hope to be running the rest of my life – I was almost 50 when I started, so I have some time to make up for!
Who’s old? Not you or me! We’re in this together, my friend!
Just like the lyrics, “Age ain’t nothin’ but a number!” I’ve seen people 70+ that have taken great care of themselves and look and feel better than people younger than me! It’s a state of mind.
You are only as old as you feel! Love your perspectives!
It’s amazing how much your perspective changes of “old” as you yourself grow older. My main goal for fitness is to maintain my longevity in life. I want to be that 70 year old marathoner kicking the 20 year old’s butt!
I’ll sometimes use my age as an excuse if I don’t want to do something but really I don’t feel particularly old and I never lie about my age. I know it take me longer to recover these days but it’s just a small adjustment;
I just turned 30 this year and I -still- have a hard time believing it. To the point where I have to stop and think for a minute when people ask me how old I am because I honestly don’t feel my age. I think age is as useless as most other numbers out there. It doesn’t really tell us much besides how long we’ve been on this earth for.
I just have to say that in my 40’s, they would never think of putting me on a cover – it was old & now it really isn’t. How about a 57 year old regular women! 🙂
Age is just a number. I’d much rather base everything off of how I feel and what I’m physically able to do.
I couldn’t agree more – embrace life where you are!
My grandma is 90+ and still does her water aerobics and her workout group. I long to be that awesome. It is my goal.
Girl, age is definitely nothing but a number. I’m going to turn 40 in a year and while sometimes my body feels 80, my mind is saying i’m 25 and I’m sticking to it 🙂
Love the state of mind quote! I don’t live in that state either 🙂
Reading this made me realize I rarely think of age. Interesting.
Have a fantastic Friday Marcia!
Woman, you are awesome! I love that age is just a number to you too! Because it is and you look amazing!!
I do not live in that state either! I am feeling pretty frisky at this old age! LOL! You are doing great for a YOUNG lady! woo hoo!
Old age is a state of mind. I think you are only as old as you feel you are?
I love that quote about old being a state of mind. It’s so true and I see it daily with my mom. She just turned 50, obviously not “old” but it’s amazing how she has improved with her running and how she pushes herself daily. Whenever we go back to PAraguay and see our family, everyone comments on her dedication and fitness.
43 isn’t old!
Once I couldn’t double my age anymore without wondering if I would still be around, I started to feel “older”
The number doesn’t really bother, just the effects gravity bother me lol
that’s interesting. back in high school and college, I used to think that someone in their 30s was old. Now I can easily say I look and feel better than I did in my 20s. It’s hard to believe my parents are in their 60s and they still seem incredibly young to me- so I have to say 70s-80s seems old.
That’s a nice thing about swimming, it seems to be the best sport for being competitive at older ages (maybe because it’s easy on your joints?). Some years ago I was looking at a picture of my parents in their 40’s and they looked so young— that gave me a new perspective on 40 plus that has lasted. But like you, that decade is in the rear-view mirror. Still, I can’t give up just plain wanting to be good at my sport, not just good ‘for my age.’