I found this in my drafts folder. I wrote it four years ago and it’s a great summary of my late-40s approach to fitness.

Looking back, I had forgotten how many times I recovered from severe injury – three times in my 40s, each one a doozy! That’s about 65 weeks of rehab in the last decade.

Each time, I wondered “is this it?” Each time, I came back, eventually.

Avoid long gaps, rehab your injuries, keep it simple and persist.

Your future self will thank you.

What follows is from Sept 2016…

I finished summer by spending a week riding from Telluride to Moab.

I was coming off the most severe bike crash of the last five years and a summer of unstructured training. As such, I was pleasantly surprised by my fitness.

My current regime is simple…

• get out the door twice a day
• move in nature
• strength train twice a week

The crash had me thinking about why orthopedic intervention often fails my friends.

#1 – Many athletes come to their doctor seeking relief so they can make a rapid return to the lifestyle that injured them in the first place.

#2 – How may of us are willing to undergo a sustained plan to strengthen the area that was hurt?

In my case, I landed hard on my left shoulder. Eight weeks after the crash, and six weeks into rehab, things have settled back to normal. By “normal,” I am a pain-free, slightly weaker, version of my prior self.

I find the lack of pain is reducing my motivation to strengthen myself.

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Real taboos are evidenced by what we don’t talk about. As such, the topic of personal hormone supplementation rarely comes up in a group setting.

But I am asked in private and I share…

#1 – it takes a tremendous amount of effort, time and money to safely override Mother Nature. There are numerous examples of large-scale medical harms being caused with good intentions (interesting read linked). Steer clear of elective medication.

#2 – Separate from the risk of screwing up your health, my friends are at a place where judgement at work, and kindness at home, is a priority. Giving yourself the blood chemistry of a teenager greatly increases the likelihood of a massive unforced error.

Whether it’s sleeping pills, hormones or some other additive. Consider phasing it out.

As I age, what I truly value is time with good friends in nature.

We ended the trip with a nice dinner halfway between Moab and Boulder.

A buddy, in his early 30s, was celebrating his birthday. He’d been listening to the “nearly-50s” all week and asked what all this meant for his racing. Was he wasting his time?

When I was your age, the ONLY thing I cared about was training all day, every day. It cost me a few relationships but I had a blast. You’re doing great and there’s no rush to live like a middle aged man. Just keep your eyes open if things stop working so well.

I then launched into my spiel, which was my article on passion.