A Problem?

[GURGLETROUSERS]

I'm starting to realise what it really means to be getting old. It's not to do with performance which, surprisingly, isn't that much affected, but it IS all to do with self confidence!

In the 1990's we had a 78 year old regular (old Ron we called him) who was as keen as mustard. He too windsurfed all winter long, but he suddeenly fell ill with pneumonia. It almost destroyed him. (He was never the same afterwards. It shattered his self confidence.)

Well I'm now older than he was then, and have the same worry on my mind in those cold winter sessions. It never FEELS any different once up and running after the initial warm-up, but is there really an age related factor? That worry is taking root, yet against it is the feeling of satisfaction you get from making adverse conditions work.

So, I'm in two minds. It feels as normal as ever was, but can age really be just ignored without danger? I don't know, but I DO now care!

Thoughts and experiences, anyone?

[SeaDawg]

Gurgle,

We all, at some point have a moment when we realize that at what ever level we were at once......we are not there no more.

I was a very good swimmer for years. A long while ago I was windsurfing and my harness line broke, between the wind and the waves I was separated from my board pretty quickly. I started to swim after it, I soon realized that my normal speed wasn't there. I put everything I had into catching the board. My last burst of speed let me get my finger tips on the board.

It was then that using a pfd became important and to check my gear more thoughly.

Love your posts and attitude, maybe haul it back just a bit......

[techno900]

Gurgle,

I think we respect what we have more as we age. In other words, risk taking, or inadvertent negligence is something that I am fully aware of, and take care to avoid what could be dangerous or just plain inconvenient situations.

While I have never had a serious issue while windsurfing (32 years), I have had plenty of things go wrong or break, but solutions were not all that difficult. The issue is that things will happen, but where will I be when it does happen, and how will I solve the problem? If there is no good answer, then I try to avoid putting myself in those situations.

For example:

Trying to sail with friends and not alone, especially in the colder months.

Not getting too far from shore, or at least the shore that I will drift to if broken down.

Calling it a day when I begin to get sloppy due to fatigue.

Checking gear in advance to minimize breakdowns.

Staying within my skill set when others are heading out. Once this fall, friends went out on a 4.5 day, where on-shore winds created a nasty shore break with very short wave periods (in the sound at the OBX). I knew I would flounder, so I just watched.

Keeping fit, so that I can still manage high wind days and not rip my body apart.

Windsurfing is so much fun that I will do whatever is needed to keep myself on the water for as long as possible. 71 now and still hope to be doing what I doing now for another 10 years.

[NOVAAN]

Know your limits. If that means it is to cold to windsurf, don't. Take that same time to stay in shape for the warmer days. Ride a bike, go to the gym. You must not sit and watch TV all day. A strong flexible body is the key to keep you going for years to come.

[NOVAAN]

I don't windsurf in the cold anymore. Its just not as much fun as it use to be.

[isobars]

I'm fitter at 73 than I have been in many years. I can sprint after runaway boards, can sail very hard and physically for 8 hours in a day, have lower body fat percentage, get praise from complete strangers on my physique, have no chronic aches/pains, push every gym strength set to complete concentric and eccentric failure (else why bother?), push every interval sprint to 100% capacity (ditto), and fit loosely into my military boot camp uniform.

Argh, Argh!

HOWEVER ... so much for the things I can control. Those 8-hour days take a LOT more perceived effort and determination, are fewer and farther between, and require better wind quality than they did just 5 years ago. My fatigue is deeper; I sometimes have to take rest breaks now. My minimum water temperature threshold is creeping upwards (although largely an inner ear threat). I have zero desire to bother with vacations to WSing destinations (primarily because of too many skunks.) I seldom fight unusually crappy conditions any more; the exceptionally gusty/choppy/crowded sessions I used to almost enjoy are now opportunities to rest or eat. I'm using bigger sinkers (often even floaters with 5.0 or bigger) than I did just 5 years ago. I'm taking MANY more precautions to avoid long swims or walks, to the point that it's impacting my sailing. I'm confident about the long walks, but NOT about the long swims or about slogging small sinkers, and there's no way I'd try to sail in a challenging ocean break again. Hell, just the thought of dragging my gear 150 meters both ways across windy sand dunes to reach the COLD shorebreak is deterrent enough at this point.

And I'm just 73 ... 5 years behind you ... and my skills are still improving.

Research clearly identifies and medically explains big declines with age in our physical capacity. I've forgotten the details, but there are distinct decreases in our work capacity in our 50s, 60s, and especially our 70s. We feel them, and our confidence (and fortunately our judgement) follows suit. I CAN still sail in winds averaging 40 mph, but I'm now too SMART to do it. One dislocated shoulder and I lose a season, maybe even WSing altogether. Neither is worth one lousy bragging-rights session. One of our local experts used to sail alone in full howling February blizzards in the very remote deserts east of the Gorge. He hit 50 recently, and is switching to snowboarding in the dead of winter. Smart guy!

But every time you feel depressed about it, remind yourself that as fit as I am, I won't get even CLOSE to 78. One of our local experts expired at 50 this year. I consciously remind myself every time my mortality surfaces that I've seen and done and lived in a wider variety of things and places than most people and have played longer and harder than the vast majority of them. It sounds like you are pushing that envelope, too. My bucket list is short, arguably even empty unless you count more windsurfing.

How's yours?

I consulted a cardiologist at 70 with one literal question: Could I kill myself within the next decade by pushing my body to its limits in the gym or on the water? The fool ignored my nutrition, my exercise history and status, my physical condition, and my genes, wanted only one piece of (virtually useless by itself) information ("What's your LDL?"), and prescribed only one cure: statins. STATINS!

Fugging idiot! Some other idiot told him back in medical school that high cholesterol, especially LDL, PROMOTES HEART DISEASE and that statins at lipids-lowering levels are GOOD for us, and he apparently hasn't read a book or a peer-reviewed study since then. He might be an excellent heart surgeon, but he knows squat about what brings patients to his OR or recuperates them after he repairs their hearts. I'll bet he even tells them to avoid strenuous exercise for the rest of their miserable lives!

You can most certainly improve your fitness (and thus your confidence) by studying it and putting that knowledge to work. But to age 50 levels? Probably only if you watched a LOT of TV, ate a TON of crap that passes for "food" in your 40s, and got serious about nutrition and exercise. Fortunately, it takes smarter, not necessarily more, exercise, and nutritional improvement requires more willpower than actual sacrifice.

Mike \m/

[windward1]

Gurgletrousers, there is a growing mental awareness of our mortality as we get older. That awareness growth varies with the individual. It does breed caution.

In your case it may mean that as you approach and reach your eighties you realize that you are not immortal and you do not act in the ways of your youth of the seventies when you thought you were.

W1

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Thanks all, for the encouragement. Just returned from a solid 4.5 helter-skelter day but it was O.K. because it has been relatively mild today. Tomorrow we start a predicted 'Arctic' type freeze over, so I think I'll heed advice, and switch to the bike. That, by the way, has been a fabulous fitness builder this last decade or so, with no danger of pneumonia (At least, I hope so. )

Yes, i agree with Isobars regarding conflicting medical advice from 'experts' who are often stuck in the mud, or don't really know. And I agree with Techno, Noovan, and Sea dawg about the possible consequences of ignoring a fall off in ability, when things go wrong. That is a real problem.

In my 40's I had a series of stomach pains which played on my mind, but I remember sitting in the camper van after a good day cruising on the long board, when one of those strange bouts of utter certainty swept over me that there was nothing wrong, and I would always be alright!. I've met others who have had similar experiences of such certainty, so perhaps it's a judgement of the self conscious mind, who knows. The point is, it felt an utter certainty. (The pains were probably work related stress at that time in life, and they faded away.)

So I suppose that positive thinking and enthusiasm for life (always looking ahead) have more effect than people give them credit for. But common sense now dictates not to take it too far, and completely ignore the reality of age.

Thanks once again. It's nice to know that windsurfers share a bond, and think alike. Here's looking forward to another new year. (Yahoo !!!!!)

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Just seen your post Windward. I quite agree. Immortal not, but not yet ready to think about signing out!

[cgoudie1]

GT,

My father once said to me with regard to extreme sports and aging, " you're not worried about dying, you're worried about how much time you'll lose during recovery". I think he hit it pretty succinctly. My recovery time from injury (if I recover at all) is almost a magnitude worse than when I was 20.
Death is easy, but long, slow, painful recovery that keeps me away from adrenaline jollies weighs heavier as what little grey hair I have left falls out.

And, you are still my idol ;*) I hope to have 1/2 your courage, if/when I
reach your tenure.

-Craig