Born to be Mild: Aging Competitors Slow Down

Sometimes to keep going strong, you need to slow down.

Kevin Helliker, a writer at the Wall Street Journal, recently wrote of the joys of slacking off in athletic endeavors: "During Sunday's Chicago Triathlon, I kept my heart rate low, cut my pace at every hint of muscular or cardiovascular pain and crossed the finish line about half an hour behind my personal record in that race. It was exhilarating."

Now that Helliker has "aneurysm in [his] aortic root," he heeds his doctor's admonitions to keep his heart rate below 120 beats per minutes. He admits that doing so has led him to do race without competing--even against his personal record--something he "once considered unreachable, not to mention undesirable."

There's no mention of snowboarding or skiing in the article, which is focused on people who run marathons and compete in triathlons. And face, it, recreational snowboarding (and I suspect, even competitive snowboarding such as SBX) isn't as demanding on the cardiovascular system as running a marathon.

Still, the article may be relevant for older adults who ride snowboards. Helliker quotes Panteleimon Ekkekakis, a professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University: "Evidence shows that feeling worse during exercise translates to doing less exercise in the future."

If you read the comments on the WSJ site, you'll find a range of opinions. Some people think Helliker is right on, others say that he's painting with too broad of a brush. Admittedly, an aneurysm is extreme condition, but it's wise to listen to your body. Push yourself, perhaps, but not too much.

Tony Snow and Snowboarding

Tony Snow, political pundit (print, radio and TV) and most famously, White House press secretary, died today at the age of 53. He had a several-year battle with colon cancer, which he beat once--but could not beat twice.

Since this blog is about snowboarding, you might ask ... OK, so what does he have to do with snowboarding?

I don't know if Tony Snow ever tried riding down a mountain or even a bunny hill on a snowboard (though with a name like that, he should have). I'd like to think so; it would have been consistent with his general outlook on life--at least as I understand it.

See, for example, the commencement address he gave in 2007 to the Catholic University of America.

He tells a story about a time of cycling through the Texas countryside with his boss at the time, George W. Bush. It didn't end up all that well; he crashed into a tree and made a substantial part of his trip with a wobbly front tire.

"The point’s simple," he told graduates at the end of the story. "When a chance presents itself, take a prudent and interesting risk. If it doesn’t work out, that is okay. Don’t worry about that, either. You see, God presents blessings in unexpected packages. Don’t overlook them. Remember: no guts, no glory."

"Take a prudent and interesting risk." I like that.

It's a good attitude to have when considering whether to start snowboarding, and to keep with you once you are a snowboarder. It will help you, as he told the class of 2007, "live boldly. Live a whole life."

Dip Those Triceps

I came across a new (to this season) blog called Snowboard Women. I'm not sure how old Erica (riding since 1999) and the rest of her Southern California-based gang are, so I'm not sure if they'd be comfortable identifying with the Grays on Trays demographic, but they do get "age points" for remembering vinyl records.

Also, I liked the post "Snowboarders Getting Older." At least I plan to be snowboarding while getting older, as are the folks on the Grays on Trays discussion board.

The blog has a post on pre-season conditioning that comes with this twist: strengthen those triceps.

Say what?

"You heard me. Unless you have step-ins, you’re gonna spend a fair amount of time sitting at the top of the run strapping in. Once your gear’s all set, you gotta push yourself up off your seated position… over and over! Getting your arms prepped will prevent you from being too sore the next day."

Not a bad idea to tone those arms, of course. But you could also get some Flow bindings and avoid that sitting on your bum.

Are Adult Riders in Denial?

Are adult snowboarders psychologically underdeveloped? That's the suggestion of Geoff Olson, who writes at CommonGround.ca.

Drawing heavily on Neil Postman, Olson laments the conflation of the generations:

The author held that childhood, as it is commonly understood, is disappearing, in large part because parents have lost control of the information environment in which their children are raised. The flip-side is that adults are becoming increasingly juvenilized through mass media.

Adults, in this viewpoint, are in denial about the inevitable decline of their bodies: "older, amateur athletes ... blow their knees" out on sports because they are "playing something not designed for 40-plus bodies."

Writing in the Sacramento Bee (in an article widely distributed through other papers throughout the nation), Cynthia Hubert picks up on the theme of "boomeritis."

Yet read past the cautionary tales in Hubert's piece, and you find some encouragement as well:

"The benefits of fitness in middle age "far outweigh the risks" of suffering an injury, said Bean, who is 35 and enjoys mountain biking, skiing and running. "The good news is that anyone of any age who is planning on participating in athletic activities can do some conditioning to decrease their risks."

(Dr. Meredith Bean is director of sports medicine at Kaiser Permanente Sacramento.)

There are risks, and then there are risks. Driving to the grocery store carries a risk. So does going to the top of a mountain on a snowboard and plunging down a double-diamond run on your first day.

In other words, you can't eliminate risk. Taking it on can be stupid and ill-advised, or it can be commendable and worthwhile.

"Progression" is a word used a lot in snowboarding. It means always improving, always learning. That's a good word to keep in mind. Take it slowly, take it incrementally, and you'll be fine.