The voice in my head sometimes reminds me “you are 42, mother of two, a bit old to be out there trying to race against gals half your age, hmmm?” Fourty-two, FOURTY-TWO?! How did I become fourty-two?! Wasn’t I just 32 last year?
Dara Torres, the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympics and the oldest female swimmer in the history of the Olympic games, wrote a book with that title Age Is Just a Number. Written after she launched her Olympic comeback as a new mother at the age of forty-one. I have yet to read it but even the title encourages me! Age is just a number, at 42 I feel physically (and mentally) stronger and faster than my younger self.
I am encouraged by Dara when she says “You don’t have to put an age limit on your dreams” and “The water doesn’t know how old you are.” I was reminded of this at my race last weekend at the Sacramento Running Association’s Super Sunday Run. In the top 10 (out of 684) of the female finishers in the 10K, 4 were over the age of 40:
2nd Molly Friel, 47
3rd Jenny Hitchings, 50
7th me, 32 (whoops I mean 42)
9th Allison Orofino, 53
Molly Friel (2nd place above) recently ran a marathon PR at CIM this past December of 2:41:30 and qualified for 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. At 47! (Read some of her tips here)
So I’ve decided, to paraphrase Dara, “The water, my bike, and my running shoes, don’t know how old I am.” I plan to keep it that way. Looking forward to a great 2015 season.
Elise
