Yea, yea, none of us are getting any younger ... not exactly a newsflash. As a triathlete sort back in the day (my late 20's/early 30's), I was always mildly mindful of the ageing process as the "older" guys seemed to have more than their fair share of various aches and issues (i.e., back, knees, feet, etc.). Of course they always reminded me of my mortality by noting, "wait 'til you get to be my age" or "wait 'til you hit 40" or other similar prediction of what was to come. And if you didn't hear it from your older peers, you probably heard it from your parents and/or grandparents (even if they were not doing an Ironman).
Now here I am in my mid 40's and yup, major back issue last year. Over the past few years I have definitely noticed that while I generally haven't slowed down much (at least it doesn't seem like it), I cannot thrash myself all week and expect to be in any kind of condition to race on the weekend.
So I completed the Black Fly this past weekend and unsurprisingly, was fairly beat up afterwards. This year seemed extra hard with the course conditions as they were. A review of the finishing times over the past few years showed a considerably slower race this year which was definitely attributable to the "tougher" conditions.
Now the being a bit beat up post race was expected -- you probably know the drill .. heavy legs, maybe a little soreness in the quads or calves, or maybe a tight back and probably sore hands (especially if you were on a CX bike). These post race aches and soreness, while perhaps a little more pronounced to an "older dude", are quite manageable and in some ways, are almost a badge of honour in knowing you rode your a$$ off. This all comes with the territory -- 40+ miles of a beating on a CX bike for over 2 hours at 40+ yrs of age = sore.
But the soreness & aches story doesn't stop there, the ageing thing has revealed another post race situation that until now, had never been encountered ... and dare I say it did not reveal itself until I got home and hopped in the shower. I had just rinsed the pound of sand out of my hair and then stood up and turned to face the shower and realized my little man nips were on fire. Being a bit concerned and confused, I examined a bit closer and hmmm, looks like a frictional issue. Now I had worn the same baselayer as I had countless times previously with no issues (CX, MTB, etc.) but apparently there was more, umm movement (i.e., bouncing) here than in the past. So I am a bit demoralized to have discovered, thanks to ageing, my boobs have grown and/or gone mushy and must now be bouncing when I ride over rough terrain. It is bad enough seeing your middle section get mushier as you age but c'mon, I got freaking little scabs on my nippies that hurt again today when I showered. How the he!! did that happen? When did it happen? A quick internet search and I am faced with "he-teets", "man-mammaries", ads for reduction surgery, and this .... www.marvelousmanboobs.com/ ...... AUGHHHHHHHHH
All I know is that if you call me "A-cup" at the next race, I will kick you in the nuts -- and when you get to be my age, that still hurts too.
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