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.