Breaking 1:46 in my 46th Year

Every four years I get the Olympics for my birthday. This year the technological and athletic precision that goes into many of the events had me in awe. The bobsled and the skiers 17 degree angles to the ground have me in awe. The personal bests of skiers Bode Miller and Tim Leit are inspiring me. And the determination of older athletes like Bode and Tim prove to us all that we can keep pushing ourselves beyond previously thought retirement "deadlines".

On my 46th birthday I headed to the pool for a session with Coach Matt. We've been focusing a lot on my technique this winter season. Now that I'm a competent swimmer, I've decided I have more to gain by balancing out my swim, bike, run workouts rather than emphasizing the quantity of pool time. So in each swim workout, I'm really going for quality and focus on technique - and it seems to be working. A few weeks ago I broke my previous 100 yard personal best.

A few weeks prior I had managed to get a personal best, knocking down my time to 1:46:15. So close to 1:45 I told myself. So I showed up the pool on my birthday with energy and determination. I knew I would need to do it early in my set before fatigue set in so I was happy when after some drills, Matt established we would start with 3 x 100. I didn't tell him about my intended drive for a PB but surely as I took off with the first 100, he could see I was on a mission.

When I had a less than perfect wall turn, I thought, oh no, maybe it won't happen on this one. Perhaps it made me push harder. I got to the finish thinking if anything, I would be within a thousandth of a second from my PB, and I thought I heard Matt wrong when he blurted out 1:44:75!!!!

And so, I've proved once again, we can get better with age.

The Exercise Cure

Hello, my name is Cathy and I’m addicted to exercise.  That may as well have been the introduction for those of us who attended the launch of Dr. Jordan Metzl’s latest book, The Exercise Cure.  As I scanned the room and spoke with those in line for the book signing, Dr. Metzl is most likely preaching to the choir with this crowd.  I also ran into my good friend Will, who was my first inspiration to contemplate doing a triathlon.  “Boy, you really got hooked!” he exclaimed as I rattled off this years’ races.

I’m not only hooked on exercise, but these days I devour reading anything about its benefits so I frequently consume the Phys Ed column in the NY Times (I guess there was a reason why Phys Ed teacher was on my 6^th grade list of “what I want to do when I grow up”).  The Exercise Cure gives great evidence on the need for people to exercise.  I had to have this book!

Getting my signed copy at the book launch

 The book cites many of the clinical studies I’ve been reading about the last few years such as:

• Exercise lengthens life – just 2.5 hours of moderate exercise per week can increase your life expectancy by 3.5 years (2012 study in the journal PLOS Medicine)
• Low fitness is the single strongest predictor of death – highly fit 80 year olds are less likely to die than unfit 60 year olds. (Dr. Steven Blair, University of South Carolina Arnold School for Public Health)
• Being fit is key to work performance – and fit people out-earn their peers

The Exercise Cure provides various exercises that address specific health issues.  A few days after the book launch, my normally energetic colleague was clearly in pain from a back issue.  “I have just the book for you!” I proclaimed.  I went on to tell her how 5 years ago my husband was experiencing even worse symptoms.  The doctor told him there was a 70% chance he would need surgery.  Our physical therapist brother-in-law confirmed the chances – but pointed him to some exercises that gave him hope for curing his ailment with exercise.  He diligently followed the exercises and overcame the issue.  Anecdotally, I’ve heard stories of people who underwent the surgery and found themselves in worse or no better shape than before the surgery.  As the book points out, in the US, we spend 17% of our GDP on healthcare to the tune of $8,300 and yet we only rank 28^th in the world for life expectancy.

If the evidence is there, why don’t people exercise more and what can we do about it?  In my professional life, we study a lot about human behaviors related to health.  It often comes down to habits – both good and bad.  Everyone knows cigarettes are bad for you, many desire to quit, but knowledge and desire are not enough for many to kick the habit.

If you are reading this blog, chances are I’m also preaching to the choir.  And chances are, if you are in “my choir”, you are middle aged like me.  So here’s my idea – we fitness prone, middle aged folks need to rally the rest of the population.

We are the sandwich generation who can influence both the younger and older generations (ever notice how families fit levels are clearly mirrored?  Make it fun – e.g. see my “natural StairMaster” Paris workout which will save you money and time seeing the Eiffel Tower).

We are the bosses who can encourage healthy habits and sponsor active team outings (our company sponsors a regular healthy lunch, participation in events like 10K and 5K walks/runs, gym memberships, and a WebMD health and wellness program).

We are the healthcare professionals who can influence our patients (read The Exercise Cure for the one simple test he recommends all physicians do).

We are government officials and teachers who are impacting this country’s fitness levels (I can point to the government sponsored Presidential Physical Fitness tests as a source of my early enthusiasm – while I wasn’t necessarily good at all of the gym team sports, I still have a fond memory of my gym teacher challenging one of the jocks to beat my record breaking chin hang, which he could not do!).

Remember these patches?  I wore mine proudly!

Make it your New Years’ Resolution not just to get yourself healthy, but those around you!

P.S. Thanks Will for that early inspiration!  While I’ve always been an active person, triathlon training provides a whole new level of commitment and here I am, 3 years later and still committed with even better habits!  And…isn’t it interesting to see the web of influence of those I’ve influenced who are now influencing others.

 
Dr. Metzl is my sports medicine physician.  His first book, The Athlete’s Book of Home Remedies, that I wrote about made me a successful patient – but perhaps not a successful “customer” since I’ve since been able to stay out of his office!

A Paris Run

Climbing the 600 steps to the Eiffel Tower's 2nd floor

Mike and I spent our Thanksgiving week in Paris.  Having been many times, this trip was about showing our godson and nieces this beautiful city.  This was the first vacation in the last few years that we left the swim gear behind as there were better things to do than look at the black line on the pool bottom.  So, ascending the first two floors of the Eiffel Tower via the stairs and the 300 stairs up to Sacre Coeur’s dome became our natural StairMaster.  And, we logged about 30 miles of walking during our stay as we explored the streets of Paris and the grounds of Versailles.

Climbing Sacre Coeur's 300 steps

On the last morning, with not much time to spare, we decided to go for a run.  While we had seen a few new corners of Paris this trip, nothing had given me that newly discovered sense of awe…until this run.  We set out from our Saint Honore apartment dodging people and “merde de chien” (it seems Parisians don’t clean up after their dogs), and made our way over to Parc Monceau when what to our wondering eyes did appear but a flock of fellow runners (apparently a growing sport in France although not to the same numbers of the US) and a handful of people doing the Parisian version of bootcamp.

As we made our way around the outer circular path, we came upon an interesting array of monuments – had we stumbled upon some ancient Roman ruins???  During my travels home I researched the history of the park – Wikipedia satisfied my curiosity:

The park was established by Phillippe d'Orleans, Duke of Chartres, a cousin of King Louis XVI, fabulously wealthy, and active in court politics and society. In 1769 he had begun purchasing the land where the park is located. In 1778, he decided to create a public park, and employed the writer and painter Louis Carrogis Carmontelle to design the gardens, which was was finished in 1779. It contained a miniature Egyptian pyramid, a Roman colonnade, antique statues, a pond of water lilies, a tatar tent, a farmhouse, a Dutch windmill, a temple of Mars, a minaret, an Italian vineyard, an enchanted grotto, and "a gothic building serving as a chemistry laboratory," as described by Carmontelle.

While The Duke was a supporter of the ideas of the French Revolution, and even voted, as a member of the Assembly, for the execution of his own cousin, Louis XVI, it did not save him. He was guillotined during the Reign of Terror in 1793, and the park was nationalized.

After the monarchy was restored, the park was restored to the family of the Duke.  In 1860 the park was purchased by the city, and in August 1861 Parc Monceau became the first new public park in Paris to be remade by Baron Haussmann as part of the grand transformation of Paris begun by Emperor Louis Napoleon.

There have been some remarkable events at this site.  In 1797, it was the site of the first silk parachute jump, when Andre-Jacque Garnerin jumped from a Montgolfier hot air balloon, landing in the park where a large crowd was gathered.  In 1871, following the downfall of Louis Napoleon, and the subsequent uprising and then crushing of the Paris Commune, the park was the site of a massacre of Communards by army troops. Claude Monet painted a series of three paintings of the park in the spring of 1876 and two further paintings in 1878.

So, on this morning Paris run, I was in awe.  I didn’t know the whole history but I had sixth sense that this was a “place magnifique”.  This “petit coin de Paris” (small corner of Paris) somehow brought our whole trip together…the stories of the French Revolution at Versailles, the guillotining in the Place de la Concorde, the Monet paintings in the Musee d’Orsay, and learning more about this guy “Haussmann” whose name surrounded our 8th arrondissement apartment.  This is why we travel – and run.

MarcUS for Change 5K

Me with my fellow book club clan

I have several friends who have adopted older children who would not be able to reach their full potential without the loving support of a structured family environment.  This is the story of one of those situations.   When Marcus Dixon McInerney no longer had a stable family environment, he was bouncing around friends’ homes and sleeping on their couches.  My book club friend Rose McInerney and her family took Marcus into their home when he was a sophomore at Stamford High School.  While Marcus excelled on the football field, he struggled with his academics but through the support of his new family and the community, he progressed and ultimately was accepted at West Point.  Unfortunately, Marcus died last year in a very tragic accident.

The McInerney family has started a non-profit organization, MarcUS for Change, with a mission to improve the academic, social, and mental well being of at-risk middle school boys.  They are partnering with many organizations in the community who already offer services that can help, including the Stamford Public Education Foundation (SPEF).  Judging by the turnout of this weekend’s inaugural 5K run / walk fundraiser, they are off to a good start.

Angelica Salem

I’ve now been part of a number of races and I have to say that this event excelled in so many ways.  Even Stamford Mayor Mike Pavia said so as he kicked off the event and expressed his surprise for the turnout, organization, and enthusiasm for a first year race.  A local radio station energized the crowd with music.  Stamford native and emerging pop star Angelica Salem sang the national anthem and performed post race.  And, there was abundant food post race.

Oh, yes, there was a race too!  Cove Island Park served as a great venue for the race.  The nice, flat course around the Park and the surrounding streets made for a pleasant run.  Not wanting to be tackled, I started about 10 rows back behind the football players (well spotted in uniform) and Army dudes.  I did actually pass at least one of the football players as well as the teenage girls who I could tell were starting way too fast (ha, wisdom before age).  Since I haven’t really been running much lately, I was just treating this as my workout for the day but I was happy with my 9:30 pace for a 29:35 finish and actually finished 3rd place in my age group!  While it certainly wasn’t by best 5K (which is 27:47), I still beat my early 30-something self (as I described back in a prior post, I ran my very first 5K in 33:21).   Mike had one of his better 5Ks at 23:25, placing 12th overall and 2nd in his age group. 

Marcus McInerney’s life ended way too short, but we could all feel his spirit with us today.  He was speaking to Stamford’s youth, saying you can change your life.  He was speaking to all of us, saying you can do anything you put your mind to.

For more information about Marcus’ story and the organization that has been founded in his memory, visit http://www.marcusforchange.org/