Okay, I’ll admit it. I used to skip gym class. A lot. Enough so, that I almost didn’t graduate from high school. You see, I used to put off my afternoon class homework until the day it was due. If I couldn’t get it all done between classes, I would skip my morning gym class to finish it. Eventually, my surprised parents received a letter from the school, telling them I was in danger of failing gym, and my early (January) graduation plans were in jeopardy. My English and Social Studies teachers had to suppress their smirks as I explained that I would be skipping their classes, several days that week, in order to take gym, almost all day, in order to graduate. Talk about the punishment fitting the crime.
I grew up in the days prior to Title IX. While there were a few girls’ sports teams at my high school, the choices were limited, and there was not the network of childhood teams & camps you see today. Don’t get me wrong; I was active. Kids didn’t have their own cars, so you biked or walked everywhere. Social activities revolved around skiing, skating, hiking, tennis and swimming. In many ways athletic activity was easy, because it was just part of life, and the adults weren’t involved in running the show. There was no sports burnout, soccer moms or traveling teams.
You can imagine my anxiety then, as I waded into a chilly lake at age 44, to await the starting gun in my first triathlon. I had never been in a competitive sporting event, never mind one with a starting gun. My heart rate monitor showed that my pulse was already into my aerobic range, and I hadn’t even started! I didn’t really know what I was thinking when I signed myself up that January, for the Danskin Women’s Triathlon. There was something about those double 4s that just made me want to do something that pushed my limits. Something I wasn’t sure I could even do. I chose something athletic.
I’m not sure where I first heard the term “adult-onset athlete”. As a physician it just struck a chord with me. I had been trained to recognize and treat many diseases which begin in adulthood. This seemed like the perfect tongue in cheek description of the older first time athlete. One who often begins exercising to control their weight, or in hopes of bringing down a borderline blood pressure or cholesterol. In my own practice I had often encouraged my patients to begin exercising. Sometimes it is hard to take your own advice.
The funny thing, though, is that what begins as a means to an end- weight loss, a better blood pressure, a lower blood sugar- quickly becomes something else entirely. The joys in cycling through verdant farm land or running along a seaside path soon become more powerful motivators than any cholesterol reading. The profound sense of accomplishment brought by finishing your first 5K or triathlon is even greater for the adult onset athlete because we have no history of such accomplishments.
I certainly wasn’t the fastest finisher. But I did it. My medal still hangs in my closet where I can see it, especially when I’m feeling old, and slow, and tired. And it makes me smile, and feel a little proud. There are a lot of rewards in being an adult onset athlete. So get out there. Experience them for yourself.
