First 5K race!

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

At nearly 75, my daughter talked me into doing a 5K charity run/walk - No Gnome walks Alone. She ran, I walked. My grandson, Zeph joined us. He is a good runner. He placed first as a runner, and though they don't designate walking winners, I was first across the finish line well in front of the walkers. Photo was about halfway around when I had passed everyone. By the finish there was no one in sight behind me. Nothing to brag about, but I walked a steady 4+mph. I even jogged across the finish line.
Great day and I am ready to do more.

 

[tattooedfreak]

I was going to say all that matters is there was someone behind you when you finished but honestly it doesnt matter, as long as you finish, you already went further than the person sitting on the couch. Keep it up and have fun.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

My daughter is working on me to do more. We have taken 5K to 8K walks so far, and I can hold a solid 19-20 (minutes per mile = 3MPH) on 5K. She has me in an 8K in June.
She ran the Shamrock marathon as a half-marathon this year and hopes to be running the full marathon next year. She says I can walk it as a runner as long as I finish in the time limit. If I can get my walking speed up to 18, I could do the 1/2 marathon in the 4-hour time limit. That is a steady 3.5MPH for 13.1 miles. I am sure I can do the distance, and hope I can build speed to do the time. If not, I'll do the 8K.
Just as a gauge for how fast I would need to walk, most average runners do an 8K at 12-13. I would have to walk it at 2/3 their running speed ... no slowing down allowed.

She also has us booked to run in "Wicked" which is a fun Halloween charity race where everyone wears some sort of superhero or other outfit. Last year the theme was unicorns and princesses.

My son, Chris, who passed away 11 years ago, did the Polar Plunge every year with all his buddies. He went by "Slu" to most folks who knew him. He called his crazy crew "Team Freezy for Sheezy - Does it in the COLD!" (see pictures of him and his crew in the below video)
I made a deal with his son, Zeph, and Sister Tina (the ones above in the 5K photos) that if I ran their races, they had to join me for my 75th birthday craziness. I have them doing the Polar Plunge with me in Virginia Beach. It is held right after my birthday. Maybe I'll get up with his old gang and we can all do it with shirts with Chris' photo on them and "Chillin' with Slu" on the back.
Chris was on/in the water most of the time - surfing around the world, kayaking, fishing, diving, sailing, etc. He ran marathons, raced bikes, played adult dodgeball, climbed mountains, loved a lot of women, bartended, played a mean guitar (couldn't read music but played many instruments and piano), wrote and sang deep songs, and always had FUN!

Take a few minutes with a beer, a glass of good wine, or a scotch ... and watch his memorial video. Watch it all, because it gets better as it goes. The last scene gets a tear from a lot of folks. This video was put together by a few of his closest friends

 

[tattooedfreak]

As long as your knees hold up, walking that distance should be fine. Enough practice and you can cut your time down. I do a half in about 1'50" depending on how my toes and knees are holding up..25 years of sailing will get to you.

I think of doing a polar dunk every now and then but I just don't like cold water. It is a good Memorial though, not something most people do.

 

[David Mary]

Stacy you look fifty nine years old and you’re a tank! Hope I can do half as well at your age.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Stacy you look fifty nine years old and you’re a tank! Hope I can do half as well at your age.

Thanks David.
I try to work hard every day. I am almost done re-doing the landscaping the yards and now starting on rebuilding the smithy. Then I'll remodel the kitchen and baths in the house. I eat pretty healthy food and get a good night's rest. I enjoy a good single malt in the evening but rarely drink more than one or two drinks in a day. A really good cigar every month or two is my only tobacco. I haven't smoked cigarettes in 55 years. A lot of it is good genes. My father and grandfather were strong, active, and looked 20 years under their age. Dad looked like my older brother.

Funny story about walking:
My daughter was coming over for us to walk. Her farther-in-law was in town, and he decided to join us. He is 10 years my junior and brags about what great shape he is in. We were barely 2 miles into a 5-mile walk when he started lagging behind. We were walking at a steady 18 (min/mile ... which is a fast walk). He told us to go on and he would catch up later. We changed the route to get him back in another mile, and then the two of us did another 3 miles without him. Even with the slowdown to get him back to the house, we did the entire 6 miles in less than 2 hours.

Not so funny story about others my age:
I was MC at my 1968 High school reunion Saturday. I was looking at the photos this morning and realized that most every guy was bald, had a terrible pocked or wrinkled face, was bent and limping ,.. or had a cane. They were either overweight or looked frail and thin. There was my lovely wife Judy (who outshone the others by a lot) and one other lady who was still reasonably attractive. The other women were all in the same shape as the men or worse. I was the only person who could go up and down the 7" ladder to put the decorations up and take them down. I had to carry in the cake because the lady and her husband who picked it up at the bakers couldn't lift it. Judy commented that I had twice the hair as any man in the room that still had hair.

 

[A.McPherson]

Use it or, loose it! no doubt!
I lived over in S. Korea for a couple years and I was always astounded at the mobility of their elderly population.
Every time i'd go climb a mountain or go for a walk by the river there was an old guy and his wife (in their late 70's to 80's) trekking up the hill or doing body weight exercises.
Sit in a chair and it's a steady slide till you're on your back in a box!