"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Dylan ThomasI've never quite managed to wrap my head around the idea of aging. There is a part of me which is ageless, eternally curious and growing and it doesn't like the idea of limitation or physical deterioriation.
I think a lot of people age badly because they become old in their thinking, they hold on to the past, they stop learning, they don't exercise and they eat crap. I've met people in their twenties who are already old.
"If you start thinking you're old subconsciously, your conscious mind is going to take hold of that and your body is going to start acting old, feeling old, then you're old."
Sam Bryant Jr
Thankfully there are many who exemplify my unwillingness to "go gentle into that good night". Here are three living breathing reasons why I will not be using age as an excuse for anything...
1. Sister Madonna Buder "The Iron Nun" is 84 (Born 24th July 1930)
-set new world record for oldest person to finish an Ironman Triathlon at age 82.
NB. The Ironman Triathlon is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bicycle ride & 26.2 mile run
"If life doesn't have some challenges it's not worth living, right?"
Sister Madonna Buder
2. Sam "Sonny" Bryant Jr at 70 (Born in 1943)
-placed 3rd in first contest a year later
-still bodybuilding 27 years later
"People think its age that makes you old, but I believe it's your state of mind that makes you old. Age is just a number. It gives most people a reason to be lazy and not do anything. I meet a lot of people who say, "wait till I get to that age." Then I tell them how old I am and they are embarassed. And I tell them that to make a point - it's inactivity and your state of mind that make you old."
Sam Bryant Jr
3. Bernard "The Alien" Hopkins is 49 (Born Jan 15th 1965)
-sentenced to 17 years at age 18 for 9 felonies, focused on boxing while in Graterford Prison, released age 23
-at age 49 became the oldest boxer to ever win a world title
"Now I'm in this world but I'm not of this world. There is no aging process for me. The breaking news is that I'm an alien."
Bernard Hopkins
It's easy to say that these people are anomalies, but I think that is a convenient excuse and as Les Brown said: "when we argue for our limitations we get to keep them." I read an article once which said the average at which most people stop regular exercise is 34 after this they put on about 1 pound of weight each year. This is the norm.
Nowadays there are people all over the world challenging this norm; rejecting the idea of going downhill after 40, people running marathons, ultramarathons, triathlons and even Ironman Triathlons. I'm reading a book at the moment by George Sheehan called Running and Being. Sheehan also argued that age is a myth. He started running at age 45 and ran his personal best for the marathon (3 hours 1 minute) at the age of 61.
I decided long ago I'd never get out of shape or sloppy but learning about these people has made me realise that not having a beer belly is not enough. They have changed my concept of what is possible. I hope they have inspired you too.
Special thanks to Andrea Krug, your speech last week about aging where you introduced me to Sam Bryant Jr inspired this post.
PS. 99 year old Ida Keeling setting world record for 100m sprint on 12 August 2014
Interview with Sister Madonna Buder
Sam Bryant Jr Facebook & Augusta Chronicle Article
Bernard Hopkins Facebook
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