Amby Burfoot is a Boston Marathon winner and has spent his life studying how running affects health. In his book Run Forever he tells a story about Dave McGillivray, race director of the Boston Marathon. Dave has finished Boston himself 45 years in a row. Every birthday he would run his age in miles. He hit 60 miles on his 60th birthday. Amby counseled him, "You can't keep running your age. Don't hold yourself to an impossible standard. Be flexible."
The next year, on his 61st birthday, Dave covered 61 miles. But this time he included some swimming and cycling. "This is my game," Dave said. "I get to make the rules."
I love that!
My hope is that as a result of the time we spend together on this blog, you will begin to put your mind back in the exercising gear where you have allowed it to go into neutral. It will not be easy. It's never easy to make a lifestyle change. Let me urge you to buck the tide and come out of sedentary confinement. Keep you goals simple and attainable. Remember: you get to set the rules, not somebody else. Don't you dare let some unrealistic goal drive you away. While it gets harder the longer you live, I promise you, it also becomes more rewarding.
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| Meeting Dave McGillivray at the 2018 Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. |