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Aging & Performance

The Kids Are Alright!

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This past weekend I had something of a bookends experience.  

On Friday, I helped my friend and Cambridge Sports Union (CSU) teammate Jon Waldron with the Eastern Independent League (EIL) XC championships at Great Brook State Park in Carlisle MA.  Jon has coached for 17 years at Concord Academy and his school was hosting this year’s meet, meaning the heavy lifting fell to Jon and his coaching staff.  There were 275 high school kids from 11 schools running the 5K course, split between separate girls and boys races on a particularly gorgeous fall afternoon.  

The enthusiasm of the teams and support for each other was palpable.  Being a three-lap race, as runners came around the first two laps, families and the other team members yelled encouragement.  The boys race was wide open, with only nine points separating the top five teams.  Concord Academy won by just two points, 83 to 85!  Afterwards, the teams congregated in a large circle with awards given out as the sun went down and the temperature dropped.  But that didn’t deter the loud, spirited applause for and from all the teams. I couldn’t help but be inspired by the positive energy.  Yes, some runners were really fast, but all were pushing as hard and far as they were able.  The last boy’s finisher sprained his ankle during the race but mustered the resolve to hop in on one leg the last 200 meters.  I helped at the finish line, trying to ensure runners stayed in their order of finish.  I found myself thinking this is the type of experience that helps shape the hopes, grit, and values of teens.  With so many distractions and destructive behaviors’ that kids can engage in, right here was an example of something else.  And I was glad to be part of it!

On Saturday I ran in New England 65+’s Run for All Ages 5K, held in Wakefield MA.  By its name, it’s obvious this club, of which I am a member even though I race for CSU, caters to the older set.  The race has been held for many years and typically attracts over 200 runners.  The focus is on age-grading with the top cash awards going to those with the highest age grade percentage.  While there were some younger runners, a scan of the results suggested the median age was well north of 65.  Compared to the Friday race, this one showcased runners at the opposite end of the age spectrum.  

But one thing was the same – a super high level of enthusiasm – before, during, and after the race!  A few folks were walking, but those who were racing were putting the hammer down.  As we age, our times slow but the effort remains.  If anything, it’s tougher and the payback often harder to discern.  We might recall (I know I can!) the relaxed feeling of “floating” during races in our 40s in spite of being near top-end speed for up to a half marathon.  Yes, it was work, but that sense of being off the ground for 80%+ of the time was exhilarating.  It’s not like that now.  But I nevertheless found myself thinking during the race how fortunate I am to still be at it.       

The title of this post was inspired by the joy exhibited by those high school cross country runners. But the kid that remains in all of us is alright too!  In his just-released book, Master of Change, Brad Stulberg suggests a “rugged and flexible” outlook enables us to experience deep meaning “amidst the inherent impermanence of life.”  My takeaway is we are never too old to choose to enjoy and celebrate what is right at our fingertips.  For those of us still running, that includes lacing it up and not feeling cheated that we’re not as spry as we were 30 years ago.  Rather, we may see ourselves on a journey, willing to put it on the line and let things be what they are. 

On a Path

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I just purchased Brad Stulberg’s new book, Master of Change.   Stulberg was a guest on the most recent episode of The Morning Shakeout podcast, hosted by Mario Fraioli.  This was his fourth appearance on that podcast and all have been insightful and thought provoking.  Stulberg writes about stuff that relates to our everyday lives, applying his own learnings.

He ends the Introduction with a section entitled A Road Versus a Path.  Not a new concept or metaphor, but he presents it in a way that helped me better understand my process both with developing the Senior Distance Running Essentials series and recovering from a torn proximal hamstring injury.  Stulberg borrowed from Wendall Berry’s description of landscapes in “A Native Hill,” suggesting a “road” is a linear concept, a route that gets you from here to there in as short a time and least amount of effort as possible.  Building a road often reshapes the landscape to meet that objective.  A “path,” on the other hand, is in harmony with the landscape.  It twists and turns, often leaving us disoriented.  But if we stick with it, the path leads somewhere, and wherever that is, it is a place from which next steps can be made.  Stulberg feels we make a huge mistake thinking life is a linear road rather than a circuitous path, where we anticipate change rather than fight it. 

I mention this since a year ago, I reserved TheSeniorRunner.com URL and started drafting plans for the Senior Distance Running Essentials YouTube series.  It seemed pretty straightforward: repurpose things I had in RunStrategies.com, a site I had blogged on since 2015, and begin building a YouTube series on senior running. While the content of Run Strategies related largely to my experience as a senior runner, I felt TheSeniorRunner (TSR) would better describe what I was looking to do going forward and help those interested find the site. I created something of a roadmap – a basic to-do list. 

The first things were pretty easy: reserving the URL, reaching out to potential IT providers to help build the site, and creating an index of topics I saw fit an “A to Z” presentation of senior running.  I contacted potential collaborators and got the sense they felt this was a worthy venture.  Then I started writing scripts for 13 episodes, pulling from everything I knew and learned over the past 45 years of running, racing, and study.  

It took four months, 25-30 hours per week, to create the drafts.  As I developed these scripts, it became clear what I thought was a road was turning into a path.  The number of revisions mounted, as subsequent episodes made me realize the first ones included either too much or too little content.  I contracted with a videographer, shot both a 4-minute intro to the TSR site and an 8-minute Episode #1 and put them up. In a way, the project was launched.  But I knew it was not ready for prime time, meaning I was not comfortable marketing it to attract an audience.  I needed further input.

So, I reached out to nine senior runners who agreed to be reviewers of the drafts.  The path continued to wind as these focus groups met in July, one in-person and one by Zoom.  While feedback was generally favorable, I heard lots of concerns about how material was presented and it sent me back to the drawing board (computer!) with two more rounds of drafts that are now nearly completed.  At times, it has seemed the path morphed into a labyrinth!  In the next couple of weeks, I’ll meet with the videographer to map out a schedule for shooting the now 14 videos.  Of larger concern, is how to engage others in owning and promoting this series, as it never has been intended to be about me.  This is yet another side path that hopefully connects with the main one!

The second part of this post is about my recovery from a partially-torn proximal hamstring tendon.  I’ve blogged on this several times and am now five months post a platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) injection.  In the past two months, I’ve run five races from 5K to 10K.  For sure, there has been a progression but I’m still a ways off from being at the level I think I can and should be. Originally, I had planned to run a half marathon in November but have concluded that road was not to be followed.  Rather a path focusing on regaining speed and shorter races was the was best approach, leaving longer race distances alone until 2024. 

Stulberg suggests we can be stronger as a result of these side trips if we pay attention to what is right before us.  In my case, aiming toward increasing speed over distance has led to more enjoyable fast, downhill training runs as well as snappy track workouts.  I have now run three 10-mile runs but have not pushed it and am consistently running 23-25 mile weeks, generally on four runs a week.  It seems, for now, this is working.  So, I’ll stay on this path and see where it leads.

Perhaps I’ll see you on the path!

Our Brains on the Run!

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It’s old news that moderate to intense exercise is good for our hearts, muscles. skeleton, and lungs.  Running is particularly good since it’s weight-bearing and stresses the joints.  Some feel that creates wear and tear.  But the research is clear that a reasonable training load combined with strength-training, stretching, adequate rest and recovery builds cartilage at joint surfaces rather than wearing it away.  This is due, in part, to nutrients being drawn into our joint capsules from physical activity.  Otherwise, the avascular (no blood vessels) cartilage is left to fend for itself and it’s not a fair fight.  

But what’s happening above our necks when we run, i.e., does running benefit our brains? The American College of Sports Medicine published a paper in October 2018 entitled Exercise Protective Effects on the Brain.  The article noted that without consistent, moderately intense exercise, there is a body-wide increase in low-grade inflammation as we age.  There are several mechanisms in play, but one key effect is that inflammation reduces circulation to the brain, which in turn results in brain cell death. This is, essentially, brain aging.  And we don’t have to wait to get into our 50s, 60s or beyond for this to happen.  It can begin early in adult life.

While the brain only accounts for 2% of our bodyweight, it uses about 25% of our energy.  However, unlike muscles it has no energy reserves – it draws in real time!  So, it’s no surprise that elevating our heart rate results in more blood flowing to the brain.  No wonder we can have eureka moments while on the run!  To boot, without regular exercise, the data indicates over time total brain size decreases, in particular the hippocampus, the site of memory function.  

The good news is research shows vigorous exercise, (with running near the top of the list!) can mitigate, reverse, and at least hold at bay brain cell loss.  In addition, there is strong evidence that vigorous exercise helps us sleep better while increasing memory, attention, and overall executive function.

We probably don’t really need more reasons to run than we already have.  Most of us feel the intrinsic benefits in our daily lives.  But it doesn’t hurt to know there are clinical reasons why we feel good, not only when we run but also in the hours that follow.  If our brain could talk (and maybe it does to some of us!) it might thank us for taking it along on those heady runs!   

Baby Steps

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The next race in my recovery process from a proximal hamstring tear is in the books: a 25:43 5K, which by my Garmin was an 8:08 pace resulting in a 72.9% age grading.  An incremental gain from the 5 Miler two weeks prior (8:23 pace, 72.5% AG).  

However, this one did not feel good, though the hamstring was gratefully not “talking” too much, in part thanks to deep PT massage on the prior Thursday, which loosened it up.  The limits were more in the form of nausea and just not having much gas as the race progressed.  It was a fair course with a downhill finish – some easy rollers but nothing extreme.  This served as an additional reminder that you can’t race fast if you don’t train fast.  How can I expect to run even an 8:00 pace if my 800 repeats are just under that?  Plus, one long run of 7 miles three weeks prior and another of 8 miles just a week ago is hardly enough base to build the stamina needed for sustained racing.

There is work to do!  Especially if I am to have any chance of approaching an 8:00 pace for the USATF Lone Gull 10K in four weeks. 

First, the 800s pace must improve — approaching at least 3:45 (7:30 pace).  This will be a push for sure.  Increased speed work, at whatever level, is hard.  Second, weekly longer runs must be a priority.  I’m thinking 9 miles next weekend, followed by 10 miles a week later.  My cardiorespiratory system is essentially being retooled – building back up after eight months of not being stressed at race pace.  And it takes time for an increased training load to bear results – probably two to three weeks.   Then, let’s not forget the importance of tapering so that on race day we’re fresh and raring to go.  It’s a package deal for sure.

So, not only is it unlikely I’ll improve much for the USATF 10K in four weeks, but I should also keep open the possibility, maybe even the probability, that a full comeback to pre-injury level is not assured.   But optimism is the trademark of runners of all ages!  What’s the point if we can’t hold onto the notion that we can hold our own, be willing to push the pedal down and feel increased movement?  This is where we each find ourselves, whatever our place in the race or age class.  It’s what makes a race an event – something that brings us together as we support each other in this vital aspect of our lives.  

Moving On

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This is a continuation of my account recovering from a torn proximal (upper) hamstring attachment.  It follows the content of the Senior Distance Running Essentials (SDRE) series, which explores how our bodies function as we age.  The watchword of the series is we are each “Experiments of One”.  In that spirit, I’ll continue to observe and learn about what it’s like to return to competition after nearly 10 months of not putting the hammer down. 

The facts are the facts: I am 75; have logged just 350 miles since January 1; and have only begun running anything approaching race pace during the past month. It feels like being at Square One in spite of not having missed even one day of aerobic exercise (mostly water running) during the time away from racing. In this post, I will include times and pace, not to call attention to my own running, but to provide context.  Your starting point (plus or minus) may differ, but the challenges we each face are probably more similar than different.

First, most of us seniors find a disruption in our running seems inevitable.  Thinking back, I’m not sure I’m injured more now than in my 40s and 50s, but I do find the recovery is longer.  I expect we all find that, and exercise science research supports this notion.  The two key reasons cited are cumulative damage to tissues and longer time for repair processes to unfold.  As with many runners, my hamstrings (alternating between sides) have had recurring issues.  For years, I have stretched and done the basic strength training prescribed in SDRE.  Nevertheless, this has been a returning cycle.  I can try to deny that or accept and work with it.  The prudent approach is the latter.

So, as planned and noted in my August 9th post, In Our Blood, I did run the Bobby Doyle 5 Miler last week.  This was a USATF-NE Grand Prix race so the best runners of all ages were there. My stretch goal was an 8:00 pace, a 76% age grading.  After many months away from racing, that seemed feasible.  It was not to be!  After the first 7:48 downhill mile, which we gradually gave back, reality set in.  In part, this was due to feeling the hamstring a bit from the start, leading to an ongoing tug-of-war between picking it up (not that I wasn’t feeling the pace – I was!) and not wanting to aggravate the hamstring.  My best mile over the next four was 8:25 and I finished with an 8:23 average pace, a 72.5% age grade result, finishing third in my age class.  Granted, it was in the mid-70s with 98% humidity but, nevertheless, this race was a good wake-up call.    

The question I am asking myself and which many of you may have or will have to ask, is how much and how fast I can expect to come back.  I am using age grading to gauge this.  Since my early 60s I have used an 80% age-grading as a benchmark.  Since 80% is considered “national-class,” I see this as a laudable goal.  In 2019, my last year full year of racing before the pandemic, I ran at least 80% in 12 of my 14 races.  The pandemic of course set everyone back, though I still averaged 25 miles per week in 2020, 2021, and much of 2022.

The current age-grade tables, last updated in 2020, are based on the most recent world records for each age at a particular distance, with some interpolation to eliminate outliers.  This, then, is considered a 100% performance, with 80% essentially eight-tenths of that.  Thus, if 100% for a given distance and age is a 6:00 pace, then 80% would be a 7:30 pace.  Pretty straightforward.  But the tables used to calculate age grading percentages do not shed light on the injury history of those who were responsible for establishing the 100% standard.  Maybe they had avoided injuries for the months or years preceding their record runs.  No way to know.

It gets back to the golfing analogy – “playing the ball where it lies.”  In my case, I have another test coming this weekend at the BHZ 5K in Weymouth.  It’s a Pub Series race, presented by New England Runner magazine, ensuring a strong contingent of runners of all ages.   My goal, once again, is an 8:00 pace, which would be a 75% age-grading — an improvement from the 72.5% at Bobby Doyle.  We shall see.  Regardless, it’s good to be back out there giving it a go.  Maybe 80% performances will happen again, if not in 2023, then in 2024.  Maybe not.  That is the conundrum we senior runners face as we move through the maze of injury and rehab in our advancing years.

In Our Blood

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It has been six months since I’ve run a race and nine months from when I’ve been able to put the hammer down and run hard.  The nemesis has been my right hamstring, which I have written about several times, and for which I had a PRP injection in May.  It’s been a long road and there’s more to travel.  A slow, progressive process!

But with the USATF-NE 5 Miler on tap this weekend, I finally put on my racing flats and ran some 800s at a sub-8:00 pace.  The aim on Sunday is to run five miles at that pace.  We’ll see.  The important thing is to be there, stand at the start line once again, hear the gun go off and take off with those I have run and raced with for many years.  Whatever the result, it will be an important first step. 

I started running again eight weeks ago, with two-mile run/walks, slowly building up.  My long run is now seven miles with 23 total miles last week. On Sunday, I did four 800s at the UVM track and coming out of the last curve on each repeat, I thought about how it will feel to see the finish line and drive toward it.  I can’t wait!

These past months, I’ve stayed in the game by helping at races – one or two a month. Some of these I would normally have run.   Surprisingly, I didn’t feel that bad about not being in the races.  Rather, I enjoyed supporting those running and in some way vicariously experienced their effort, joy and pain!

There will come a time when I can no longer run and race.  I hope it’s a good ways down the road.  Time will tell how much I can return to prior form after this time off.  I will have a better idea about that, assuming the hamstring holds up, after this race and then two more planned in the following six weeks.  As we age, there is, increasingly, a use-it-or-lose-it phenomenon at play.  In spite of not having missed even one day of aerobic activity during this time, mostly water running and StairMaster, I know every part of my body is eight months older and has not been subjected to the stress of running at a sustained pace. I’m frankly on the edge of my seat to see how this plays out!

One takeaway from this time off is a reassurance that running will continue to be a big part of my life, whatever role I play in it.  Those of us who have been blessed to discover distance running know its many benefits.  In some manner, we have organized our lives around this sport, and I would suggest we are richer for that.   It may be hard to explain this affinity to non-runners just as it might be hard for someone who is passionate about some other activity to convey their love for it.  They might say it is in their blood.  And I, and many of us, might say that about running!

Patience!

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As we age, shouldn’t we become better at exhibiting patience?  Afterall, we’ve had years of practice!  But, of course, it’s not that simple or easy, and we will likely be challenged in this domain for the rest of our lives.

It has now been seven months since I’ve been able to train and race at a competitive level.  It all relates to my proximal (upper) hamstring where it attaches to the bone, which an MRI showed was partially torn.  There’s not much blood in that area and thus healing is really slow.  So, four weeks ago I had a platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) injection in hopes of spurring the process.  I may be able to do some light jogging soon but it will certainly be a number of weeks before I can expect to pick up much pace.  Meanwhile, the charge is to exercise patience.

Patience is defined by various words, including tolerance, restraint, resignation, serenity, diligence, and resolve.  In various degrees I would say I’ve incorporated a bit of each.  But if truth be told, my acceptance has not been stellar.  It’s not my nature to hold back on running.  Yes, I’ve been able to water-run and StairMaster, almost at full bore.  But it’s not the same.  There is something about moving along the road or trail under our own power that is exhilarating, empowering, and downright fun.  While my trusty Air Pods have allowed me to listen to a bunch of very cool podcasts while in the pool and gym, it’s still a substitute pattern – a diversion from the “real thing.”  

There will be a time when I become barely ambulatory – hardly something I look forward to.  But for now, I still see myself as a runner, eager to lace up, hit the road, mix it up with fellow senior runners and count myself among the survivors of this great sport.  Realistically, even if I can begin to train harder in a month or so, it will have been an eight-month gap.  If I try to regain my prior racing form too quickly it will be a prescription for more injury.  It will likely be four to six months to get there, assuming I do this in a progressive, measured way.  Will I be able to exercise the needed patience or will I find myself back on the IL?  Time will tell, but I’d like to think that as much as I’ve missed “real” running that I will find the tolerance, restraint, diligence, and resolve to persevere and be able to have a strong 2024, knowing that the rest of 2023 will be largely a time of build-up.  

So, this is how it works at any age.  But especially for us senior runners, patience is as essential as being willing to put the hammer down.  I am optimistic I can successfully rebound.  But with age there are unknowns.  And my own penchant to push it may work against me.  Patience!  It seems so easy to think and say it.  It’s another thing to actually employ it!

Inching Along

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I tweaked my right hamstring last October 27th.  It didn’t seem that serious.  I stopped immediately, then took it easy for two weeks leading up to the Grand Prix 5K, on November 13 which I essentially did at a fast jog.  I have a great PT and working together we’ve seen the recovery progress, then regress, then progress again.  At a fundamental level, it’s frustrating. But it serves to bring home the fact that with age recovery happens in new and mysterious ways.  As is important at any age, we go one step at a time and take what the body gives us.

I had no idea three and half months later I’d still be dealing with this issue.  My training runs are slow, yet I feel the hamstring with every step.  Some days it’s better than others but always there.  Now, I’m looking at the first 2023 Grand Prix race this Super Sunday, a 5K in Cambridge, knowing I am not at my best.  It will once again be akin to a fast jog.  But I decided to go ahead.  It’s always good to see the array of club colors and catch up with folks who live four hours away from the reaches of northern Vermont.  I’m better understanding the adage of “just showing up” as we age.  For sure, many (most!) of those I’ve run and raced with over the past 30 or so years won’t be there. The cohort keeps shrinking.  And it frankly feels a bit hollow. Many of these fellow competitors became good friends, even if they ran for other clubs. We shared a lot about our lives outside of running. There’s a camaraderie that is tangible, even if it’s hard to describe.  In a strange way, I feel like I’m representing that cadre and I suspect if they still follow the Grand Prix series, they wish they were there.

Another reason I’m doing the race is it’s the Race to Kick Cancer.  Ten years ago, in February 2013, I lined up and raised my hand when Alain Ferry asked who in the crowd was a cancer survivor.  On December 17th, just seven weeks prior, I had my prostate removed.  I had learned in October about the condition and did a flurry of research and consultations about the options.  In the end, I didn’t want to worry about how fast the cancer was growing and opted for a complete removal. Fortunately, my surgeon, Graeme Steele at Brigham and Women’s, an accomplished runner who knew of my passion for the sport, gave me the green light to start running (easily to start!) three weeks post-surgery.  I remember just before going under thinking – “I’m running (the 5-Mile version of that race) in seven weeks!”  And it happened – not at a jog but a respectable 6:30 pace. So, this year, at the start I can raise my hand as a 10-year survivor, which statistically means the cancer has been beaten.   

Getting back to the current hamstring woes, there is an element of patience that must prevail as we age.  We can remember when such injuries would resolve in a few weeks and then we were back full bore.  Sometimes that still happens depending on the injury.  But I know at least two other senior (age 60+) runners who have had Achilles and plantar fascia injuries that have been going on for many months.

So, we inch along.  Taking baby steps, perhaps, to return to full action.  But hope springs eternal – and return we will!     

Focus on the Process

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I’ve been reading The Passion Paradox by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness.   It’s not a long book – 164 pages – but it’s packed with practical ideas and analogies.  Not a quick read.  In fact, after reading it once and putting it down for a few weeks, I picked it back up and am reading it again.  Am seeing more the second time through for sure!  That’s often the case with good books.  For the record, the authors are accomplished runners and coaches.  Magness ran a 4:01 mile in high school.  I’ve heard conversations with each of them on The Morning Shakeout Podcast with Mario Fraioli.  Both really solid, thoughtful guys, which led me to buying the book.

The essence of the book is that passion can be the fuel to do great things.  It can also lead us off a cliff.  Rather than seeking a balanced life, when we are driven by passion things can be great – we’re focused and full of energy – things get done – but we need to watch for signs we’re approaching the cliff.  One of the dangers of passion is it is often results oriented: “I do this so I can accomplish that.”  And it may happen, but it may not. They use an example of Brenda Martinez leading the 800-meter Rio Olympics Trials with 100 meters to go being tripped and not placing.  Rather than moping, she put her energies into the 1,500 four days later, which she had not planned to run.  While not her best event, she placed third and went to Rio.  The authors suggest she was focused on the process of preparing for the Trials, to be as ready as possible, rather than on the outcome of qualifying.  Thus, she didn’t let her disappointment with the 800 deter her from giving it her all in the 1,500.

Suffice it to say, very few of us will have this type of opportunity!  But we all face challenges in our daily lives, things we might consider failures or disappointments, even after putting 110% into them.   Here’s a quote from the book: “Focusing on the process creates daily opportunities for little victories…that serve as waypoints on the path of mastery, helping to sustain our motivation over the long haul.  Process spurs progress, and progress, on a deep neurochemical level, primes us to persist.” In a sense, this is the story of our lives, be it running or otherwise.  Pro-cess has two parts: “Pro” is being for something and “cess” among other things means contribution.  Thus, by staying with the process we are concerned with contributing towards some larger goal.  When we’re on a path, we know it, we feel it.  Even when a spur in that path leads us astray for a time, we collect ourselves, and get back on the path.

Running as a senior is like this.  There was a time in our 30s, 40s, and maybe our 50s perhaps, when we could stake out target races, train for them and show up on race day primed to perform.  But as the years pass, certainty of performance wanes.  The passion may be there, but the hamstring or Achilles may be holding us back, maybe even keeping us from training. We all know runners in our cohort that have dropped out of the sport.  There are many reasons for sure.  But I suspect a key one is focusing on the outcome: showing up at races and doing well – rather than the process: allowing for whatever is disrupting our training and doing the things we can to stay fit while we recover.  It’s frankly not very exciting to do pool running and StairMaster – although I’ve found that a great time to catch up on podcasts.  But that is the price, the process, required to get us back on the roads and training at a high level.  If we can master the process, we have the best chance of moving towards our goal of regular racing. Or as Stulberg and Magness suggest, “helping to sustain our motivation over the long haul.”

Why We Age

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We’re all getting older.  So, what else isn’t new?  Recently I was reviewing Peter Reaburn’s The Masters Athlete.  The first chapter sets the stage for the rest of the book by describing the aging mechanism.  Ultimately, it comes down to what is happening in our cells, the building blocks of our bodies.  I thought it might be of interest to readers to review the major theories of cellular aging and function.  The caveat is we are each somewhat unique individuals and as we age our differences are increasingly revealed.  Also, the factors discussed are interactive and some may be more dominant in one part of our lives than others.  Full disclosure, I have drawn liberally from Peter’s book in writing this post.

So, here are six theories of aging impacting the senior runner listed in The Masters Athlete:

  • Cellular Degeneration.  Cells respond variably to free-radical oxidation, which is essentially an unstable oxygen molecule reacting with other molecules. This process essentially destroys the cell. Not necessarily to be avoided, free-radicals present themselves when we do intense workouts. The guardian response is healthy cells produce oxidases, which essentially neutralize the free-radicals. However, as we age oxidase production declines, thus free-radicals have greater opportunity to do their damage.  When a cell dies, its DNA, the blueprint for new cells, is destroyed.  Since cells normally die at a rapid rate, cell regeneration is essential.  If this process is damped, we go downhill!
  • Genetics. Reaburn suggests this is probably the major determinant.  Somewhat jokingly he suggests we pick our parents well!  In any event, our genes influence the other five factors discussed in terms of timing and degree.  Also, the expression of genes is affected by environmental factors, such as whether we smoke or live high-stress lives. Bottom line, genes guide our immune response, the function that helps keeps us healthy.
  • Hormonal Control.  With age, secretion of growth hormone and testosterone decreases.  These hormones fuel regeneration of muscle, tendons, cartilage and connective tissue, collectively the essential network for movement.
  • Wear and Tear. This is something of a use-it-and-lose it corollary.  Cars driven hard, even when regularly serviced, begin to fail.  Our bodies are like that too!  Added to this, aging is often accompanied by a decrease in the rate of protein formation, a vital function in keeping our chassis up to snuff.
  • Waste-Product Accumulation.  This one is a little gross.  Imagine if we had incomplete elimination over a period of time.  Things would build up and maybe back-up. At the cellular level a substance called lipofuscin can infiltrate various types of cells.  Lipofuscin is yellow-brown lipid byproduct of free-radical oxidation that accumulates in heart, kidney, liver, and nerve cells.  By the time we’re 90 some cells can be 7% filled with this stuff, affecting their function and vitality.
  • Cross-Linkage. Some linkage among cells is critical. The interconnections in our body are pervasive. However, with aging some linkages form larger molecules that resist repair processes.  The result is tighter ligaments, tendons, and muscle coverings, reducing our flexibility and thus performance.    

This is a lot to take in and it might be depressing at first.  In our 40s and even 50s, we didn’t think about this stuff.  But things are what they are. The good news is we do have a fair bit of control, or at least influence, over the pace of some of these impacts.  Diet, exercise, sleep/rest, and proper recovery give us the best chance to delay or ward them off.  Let’s do what we can!

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