I spent early October riding the Kokopelli Trail in Utah.
I enjoyed the trip more than I expected and want to share ideas to increase your athletic satisfaction as you move into, and beyond, middle age.
High performance is not about health, but long-term athletic satisfaction is most certainly correlated to health, strength and mobility.
As a cohort, our group of 40 to 60 year olds was the healthiest population that I have ever trained alongside. I am using health in a classical context – body, mind and spirit.
Here in Boulder, I see many friends "age-down" their training partners, seeking younger and younger peers. Heck, we even race our kids as soon as they are fast enough to give us a push.
If you feel compelled to hang onto your youthful performances then be sure to try the opposite, at least some of the time. Age up your pals, teach children and be kind to beginners. Pay close attention to how this makes you feel.
As one of the the "youngsters" on the trip, I learned a lot from listening to the veteran athletes talk about their lives.
Usually, a training camp involves a 5:30am alarm, wolfing down a breakfast, training all day, eating two massive dinners and sweating myself to sleep. Repeat for six to ten days.
Dropping into a guiding company that was celebrating 25 years of trips, I realized how little I knew about what (normal) people want.
On the first morning, the guides had a chuckle when I arrived in the lobby with my helmet, shoes and full riding kit. It was POURING rain and they gently broke it to me that we weren't riding for a while.
This pattern, of gently breaking it to me, would continue for the week. Eventually, I capitulated and decided to (attempt to) be a model guest.
I was surprised by the aspects of the trip that I enjoyed the most — the relaxed mornings and evenings.
Bottomless coffee and massive fruit salads in the mornings. As Wes-the-guide can attest, there is something truly satisfying about eating out of a mixing bowl.
Casual dinners and beers around the campfire in the evenings. Our guides taking a well-earned break after a 13-hour day taking care of us.
Stunning camping venues. Wine and cheese at a remote desert campsite.
I should remember that the health, strength and mobility required to enjoy unique experiences in nature is FAR less than what's required to train alongside high-performance athletes that are half my age.
Here is the link to my last piece about cycling with babies and preschoolers – also the Endurance Corner article about Active Parents.
Roll forward 18 months and the kids are aged 7, 4 and 3. The four year old just transitioned from a strider and the three year old is comfortable on her strider as well as a three-wheeled scooter. I wouldn't have expected some of the changes.
One of my rules-of-thumb is to consider selling anything that I don't use for a year. So, I sold my racing bikes, race wheels, powermeters and Garmins. When I need a road bike, I rent a top-of the line model. Considering maintenance, upgrades and airline fees – a net savings of more than $1,000 annually for the family.
I spent $5,000 and bought a haul-a-day and a family tandem from Bike Friday. My main bike is a 29er and the 20-inch wheels on the Friday bikes were an adjustment. Disc brakes and front/rear flashing lights with both bikes. Flat pedals for me and shoe cages for my daughter on the tandem.
Most the cost (above) was in the tandem but it's a game changer for exercising with my oldest. She loves it and we're up to 20 mile rides. If I remove a second row seat in my Sienna then it fits inside my van and we did several trips this summer. Now that school is back in session, we use it as a commuter to/from her climbing.
When I got the cargo bike, I expected to be able to sell our second car (my Sienna van) as well as our double bike trailer. It's not going to happen.
Turns out that the second car was useful, it's now the sitter's car. The adjustment to not having a car of my own left me a little grumpy. I went so far as to price out what a third car would cost the family. When I calculated the costs associated with a new car, a third car and my existing car… it got a whole lot easier to adjust my life. My effective savings are $5 per city-mile not driven. Human powered whenever possible and treat Uber like a free service.
The cargo bike gets the kids up high and in the air. They love it… when it's warm. I have kept the trailer for cold and wet mornings, when I bundle up and take one for the team.
SAFETY – it turns out that I don't enjoy riding on city roads with my kids on their own bikes! This shouldn't have surprised me (but it did) because I was a nervous boyfriend when Monica and I would train together. The kids and I prefer bike paths, even if they double our travel time.
We didn't go electric as I have the horsepower (just) to get a hundred extra pounds up the local hills. If you aren't a strong cyclist then consider front-wheel power assist for the cargo bike.
Last weekend, a bunch of my pals were in Hawaii for Ironman. Watching from a distance, Ironman is a reminder that the human body can do some incredible things. While the race is neat, what's most impressive is the training load that the competitors put themselves through. The physical output, over many years, is impressive – sitting here, I can't believe I was able to do it!
I've had success coaching men between 40 and 75 years old (as well as women from 40 to 55 years old). Interestingly, it's the guys who are most prone to saying, "I wonder if I'm getting old." Top amateur women just keep on rolling, about the only thing that slows them down is injury and illness.
On the other hand, guys get really tired. I like to joke with my wife that I get Man-Fatigue – like man flu – it's a whole different level of fatigue from what she experiences.
What follows isn't for my pals, who are still crushing it. Keep doing what you love for as long as it makes sense. I miss those days, and you will too! It's for the rest of you – particularly, if you were a top athlete in your 20s and 30s.
In my peer group, characterized by exceptional will, a few can extend the "holding on" phase into their 50s and, extremely rarely, their 60s. You can find examples of these special humans (!) on the Big Island each October. I know a few and they are amazing people.
What lies hidden is the psychological, and physical cost, from living an unnatural life. When we put ourselves together in a peer group, that consists of much younger 1%'ers, we're left wondering… what's wrong with me? Why can't I be like XXXX? Am I getting old?
Wonder and gratitude are effective antidotes to mourning the past.
Another thing that I've noticed is I get an excellent mood response from small doses of exercise. I have to remind myself of this A LOT so I don't fry myself.
With exercise, generosity, novelty…happiness links better to frequency than intensity, or dosage.
How do you know if you're holding on too tight?
If you aspire to performances that were extreme when you were 10-25 years younger then be sure to spend time with people your own age, as you age.
Trying to be the 1% of the 1% can lead to a rough ride as the years roll on.
Had some follow up questions on my Endurance Corner Article – Active Parents.
I use a double trailer as it lets me cram two preschoolers inside for a trip to school.
When I'm going on a longer ride, I take one kid at a time and can fit in everything I need to keep her comfortable.
On my longest trailer ride (5 hrs total time), we climbed to 12,000 ft and she had lunch, blanket, iPad, pillow and headphones in with her. In the end, she ate a snack, played a little music on speaker and enjoyed the view.
I use a full suspension 29er mountain bike.
I have a triple front chain ring and a ton of gears.
Without the trailer, I can get up most everything in Colorado with my middle chain ring. So the smallest ring is for climbing steep stuff with the trailer and when I'm above tree line.
Don't use a high-end road bike with thin walled tubes – there is additional torque that runs through the system that can ruin your frame.
If you're doing a long mountain descent then the disc brakes are essential to control speed and avoid overheating the braking system.
I'm mainly on pavement but we will do some hard packed dirt occasionally.
Overall, the trailer is an excellent workout. I can blast myself with a 30-45 minute climb and be home in under an hour.