Defying the Vulture

Growing up my family lived just across the dirt side road from the Myers.  We knew them well, and I have many stories and experiences with the Myers - their kids babysat me and gave me their cast off stuffies, some of which I still have, and let me play dress up with their old clothes, but it was the mom whom I was entranced with.  Laura. To my mind she was a goddess. A beautiful Italian beauty with a joie de vivre (or however you say that in Italian). I wanted to be her, but failing that, I wanted to be around her as much as possible. Like all small children around adults I had a hard time gauging what her actual age was - she was "older" but she probably was in her prime when I knew her - early 40's maybe. Old enough to be worldly. Young enough to want to be in and of the world. At some point, they moved to Great Falls, which broke my heart but I still saw them from time to time and even after I moved out on my own and was living in Texas we kept in touch, and at some point she wrote, or Mother maybe told me, she had begun running marathons.  For seniors. But marathons. I couldn't run around the block at the time. Still can't probably. I hate running. But I was duly impressed, and expected nothing less from an amazing woman who - somewhat opposite of my mom who expected women to act their age - wanted to defy it and did so with her typical aplomb.

I thought about her when I was on vacation recently. I took some time in rural Ohio to hike and do some reading. I took Carly, one of my collies, with me, and on the first day we went on what was supposed to be an easy day of bird watching, but it was also in the full sun on a hot and very humid day so I took us off on a side path. It was beautiful and shaded but it got us lost. I turned a 3.5 mile walk into a 6.8 mile full on hike. As I finally found our way out onto the original path, we were faced with a heavy incline. Carly is an excellent hiker as it happens, but I was pretty badly winded by the time we made it to the top of the incline. I watched a shadow pass over us and saw a massive bird with an incredible wingspan fly past and settle on an electrical tower a ways off, watching us. From the distance, I couldn't tell what it was. I was hoping for an eagle. As we came closer, it became clear it was a vulture.  Not at all bothered by our proximity, it was just watching patiently, as if it was biding its time.  I stopped and watched it for a while and it watched us back.  I finally asked it, "So did you see me on that incline and figured I wasn't going to make it, and you were just waiting for me to collapse?" It just watched.  I took that as a yes. I am no Laura Myers.

But I'm not ready to be vulture meat either. This morning I participated in the Steelers 5K Run/Walk (I walk). Since I've been doing it, I've shaved ten minutes off my original time and was hoping for a personal record today. I felt great and I might have made it but a woman who looked to be roughly my age became dizzy and disoriented and collapsed in front of me literally in the shadow of the stadium where we finish. Her family caught up to her and took over and sent several of us who had gathered around her on our way, but it cost me, and I finished two minutes off last year's official time, so who knows what I could have done, but I was confident enough with how I felt to conclude I'm not marathon ready but I'm still strong enough.

I think about Laura not letting age be anything but a number, but I've been thinking about that poor woman this morning (clearly also a Pelotoner based on a shirt she was wearing), and I realize we're all over the map at 60+. Life deals us different cards and all we can do is play the hand we're dealt. But I'm struggling with determining how will I know what the limits are, and when I'm supposed to cash in my chips? Clearly the woman today wasn't realistic about what she could put out there on a hot, humid day. Will I know my limits? Will I be smart about it? I don't want to be afraid to keep active either. We think we can listen to our bodies and that will tell us, but does our brain interfere with that and set unrealistic limits, for better or for worse?

How do you tackle staying fit? How are you staying smart about it?