What Are You Training For?

During one of my Tribe Training classes, our instructor asked us what we were training for – Hyrox? Redline? Prior to the pandemic, I would have said I was training to do better in my next Spartan race. These days, my answer is this: “I am just around the corner from turning half a century. I currently train to keep medical problems under control.” While it may have been intended to be a tongue in cheek remark, the harsh reality is that it isn’t far from the truth.

So here’s the grandmother story…

I grew up with aging relatives who lived with diminishing mobility. Rather than working to prevent it, or even to delay it’s progression, they accepted it as an inevitable part of “growing old”. Having studied the health sciences, I believed I knew better but no matter what I said, the reply would always be something along the lines of: “You are young, you don’t know what it’s like. Wait until you get to my age and you will see.” So I stilled my tongue and vowed that even if I might not be able to make a difference for them, I could make a difference for me.

Training went pretty well until I hit my mid-forties. I had that mini stroke followed by hyperthyroidism and it derailed me. While I dislike making excuses for underperforming, I would be lying if I said that these conditions have not affected me. It felt like I was in someone else’s body because my body would not (could not) do the things I wanted it to. I finally understood what it was like to struggle to walk long distances; to need the seat on the train because my lower back was aching too much; to feel my arms shake because they could not support weights I used to handle without batting an eye. If there was a time when I was starting to get lax about training my healthspan, these conditions were my wake up call.

My medical conditions are now stable and I am starting to get back some strength, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness. Is this sufficient to function on a daily basis? Sure, it is enough. Am I as strong or as fit as I was before? Not by long shot. I could hover at this point and say that this will do so why should I push harder?

What is Your Why?

Our instructor took a step further, challenging us to dig deeper for the “why” we train. If staying functional in old age is all I’m after, then haven’t I done enough? Well, I guess that depends on the definition of “functional in old age” and this is going to differ for everyone.

Last year, I went to China to climb the Great Wall for the first time in my life. I visited the beautiful Gubei Water Town, located at the base of Simatai Great Wall. There was a hiking trail that allowed us to hike along that section of the Great Wall. As I studied the map, I knew that 30-year-old me would have hiked the entire trail without a second thought. Unfortunately, 48-year-old me knew that if I attempted it, the rest of my trip would be ruined because my legs would be done for. Despite knowing all this, my heart went to war with my head as I wrestled with the decision to be reckless or sensible. My head won the battle and I stuck to the abbreviated trail from Tower 5 to Tower 7 and back again. Even attempting that short segment was a challenge and I felt bitterly disappointed with my body.

A couple of weeks ago, I went rock climbing for the first time in a long while. Nothing happened while I was on the wall, but I woke up the next day with an injured shoulder. This happened because older ligaments are less elastic and recovery is slowing down. Reality is on my doorstep and this slippery descent into senescence is only just beginning. Every ache I wake up with and every wobble in my step is a warning that I am losing ground. So “no” – I haven’t done enough. My goal is not to add years to my life but to preserve the quality of it. That means I need to train harder if I intend to stay ahead of the aging curve, or at least, keep up with it.

And that’s my “why”: so I can live each day without having to make concessions because of diminishing physical ability.

What’s your “why”? What are you training for?