Carpe Diem, The Series: An Exclusive Look at How One Coach Stays Active

Author: Paul Stevens, FastTwitchGrandpa

Carpe Diem was the motto at our high school and of course means “Seize the Day”.  Not a bad way to approach our daily lives as we all only get one shot at it.   As we age however, the fire hopefully still burns to grab what life has to offer but at the same time, I think we see that we can temper the enthusiasm to experience the opportunities that surround us while still taking the time to smell the roses every now and then.

In this continuing series of articles, I am going to tell you what I do to keep myself busy while trying to enjoy as much of life that I can and invite your thoughts and comments about what you do to enhance the enjoyment of your life and those around you.

Let me start off by telling you a bit about myself.  I turned 60 years old in 2015 and so only from the  most optimistic point of view can I consider myself middle aged.  Realistically, I just turned the corner at third base and am chugging towards home plate.  Never felt better however.

We recently moved from our long-time home in the Toronto area to the smaller city of Sarnia which is located at the south end of Lake Huron.  Sarnia is a town of about 73,000 so it’s big enough to provide whatever you need without the big city hassles of constant and unrelenting traffic.  Everything we want to do around here is within walking distance or no more than 10 minutes by car. Did I mention no traffic?   

I enjoy good health as I have no known health issues to manage and the only medication I take is an ASA tablet or two once or twice a week if the joints are a bit creaky after one of my activities and or the work I do around the house would have been better placed with a contractor.

I do not consider myself to be an exceptional athlete or anything close to that but I have always gained enjoyment by being active.  I’m not a big guy (I’m only 5’6”) and weigh in at a pretty steady 150 lbs – about three pounds over my weight when I graduated from university.  The weight has been redistributed a bit due to what I tell myself are age related issues but other than that, I think I’m holding together reasonably well.

OK, so what do I do to keep myself physically active?  Well, I live in Canada so therefore I play hockey, currently once a week but I’m looking for a second game.  I’m not as quick on the blades as I once was but I have learned the benefit of passing the puck up to those younger guys who can still fly.  That’s a relative term since the group I am currently playing with range in age from 40 and up so you can take the expression ‘fly’ with a grain of salt.

In all but the dead of winter (around here that means the stretch from about mid December to mid March), I like to hop on my road bike a go for a cruise covering 20 – 70 km, depending on time availability and energy level.  I’ll try to do this twice a week, either on my own or in a group.  I’ll make use of our stationary bike if the weather doesn’t permit an outdoor ride.  Not my preferred choice but I’ll put on the headphones and get some blood-pumping music going to take the edge off what I consider to be  a fairly dreary activity.

If I’m doing a shorter ride, I’ll try breaking it up in to faster and slower intervals to help me build and maintain my cardio capacity and I have found this to be a very useful compliment to the short bursts that are required playing hockey. If it’s a longer ride,  I’ll try to maintain a steady cadence for as long as is comfortable.  I’m not out to kill myself but I do try to push the comfort level.  I respect the ‘no pain, no gain’ mantra, but I try to do this in what I think is in a responsible way.  I try to listen to what my body is telling me and act accordingly.  Some days, the energy level is really good so I can bump the tempo a bit; other days,  I’m operating at a lower level so I try to adjust accordingly.  Riding the bike is also a low impact activity that I find really helps smooth out the bumps (aka creaky joints) that might be barking a bit after a spirited hockey game. 

From playing hockey to bike riding, that gives me about three days of physical activity.  I’ll go for a run about twice a week and it helps tremendously that we have a dog that will stare you down until you take her out.  Have you ever been the subject of the laser-like stare from our canine friends? They are absolute masters of non-verbal communication.  My four-legged companion and I will do about 5 km on each run at a pace that is comfortable for both of us.  I don’t mind it too much when our dog decides that stopping to sniff a particular spot is more important than keeping up a steady cadence.  Who am I to argue with a million or so years of in-bred instinct?  No argument with occasional breaks.

I must admit that my running has been cut back over the past few years as doing it to excess, either by frequency or distance, was causing my neck some issues.  I could push it further but I find it’s not worth the ensuing discomfort.

So that’s a typical week for me;  a bit of this and a bit of that.  That’s about five days a week of some activity and that gives me enough time to attack the ‘honey-do’ list which is an unavoidable necessity when you live in an older house.  There is always something that needs your attention.

As I mentioned above,  I’ll be providing further comments on what I do to keep myself off the streets and enjoying life.  Let’s remember that the raison d’etre of Fast Twitch Grandma is to ‘get the conversation going’ so your comments about what you do to keep active are paramount.  Let’s make sure the distant shore doesn’t creep up on us any sooner than is necessary!

Your friend, Paul.

Carpe diem! (but in a relaxed sort of way)

Author: Paul Stevens, FastTwitchGrandpa