Let me be clear about one thing. I am not a “clickbait” person. I am rabid in my skepticism of headlines that seem too good to be true, especially from unknown websites. But this one caught my eye: “Five things I do to run injury-free as I get older,” on The Globe & Mail website (of which I am a subscriber and know it is a reliable news source).
Now that the sidewalks are mostly bare and the blizzards are hopefully more monthly than daily occurrences, I am getting close to maybe, possibly, if the spirit moves me, starting my spring runs. In my opinion, there is nothing better than declaring that winter has been slayed than hitting the sidewalk for a handful of random kilometers, usually wearing fewer layers than advisable. So I don’t think anyone would blame me for eagerly delving into the G&M article.
This is what it said:
“I used to think ‘running injury-free’ meant one of two things: Either you were blessed by the running gods at birth, or you were lying. In my 20s, I ran hard, skipped warm-ups, barely slept and treated strength training like an optional hobby. Somehow, I survived, but not without needing to step away from running for years at a time. I turned 30 last summer. Here are the five things I actually do to keep running relatively pain-free in my 30s.”
Despite my better judgement, with respect to the apparent demographic target (WTAF?), I did indeed read on. This is what I am told I’m supposed to do to make sure I can continue to run, relatively pain-free, currently way, way, past my 30s, along with my assessment of my performance:
- Lift weights. Exceeded expectations. I lift the weight of the world every single day, completing the mental labour required to keep the household boat afloat. Remembering appointments, keeping track of the status of the milk in the fridge, making sure there is clean underwear in the drawer.
- Stretch. Once again, the expectation bar has been surpassed. I have very high kitchen cabinets. I routinely heft the contents of the dishwasher up into their houses in the sky. Only to bring them back down to earth several times a day. And I also bend down to fill the cat dishes more than several times a day. Not to mention stooping to scoop the litter. More than several times a day.
- Sleep. I clearly win the gold medal here. I have two modes: sleep and wake. The problem is when the cat’s sleep/wake state is not necessarily contiguous on any given night.
Wish me luck when I hit the pavement. I will do it in good geriatric health. Namaste.