It's never too late
to make dreams come true - even at the age of 70.
At the age of 68 Dr. Zeev Gilkis, a
cancer survivor, decided to gift himself an unusual present for his 70th
birthday – to run his first full marathon.
The Beautiful Addiction is his journey to achieve this goal
while sharing his thoughts about life and becoming ageless.
Some quotes from the book:
Setting clear goals enables us to push
ourselves to perform at our best. To be practical, it is good to set goals for
the day, the week, the month, the year and beyond. Goals should be written down
and clearly defined. They should not be set too low, so that the achievement of
the objective will have merit, but at the same time, not too high, so that it
will be achievable. Advancement toward goals, even if progress is slow, is a
great source of positive feelings and happiness. Defining goals is an important
technique. In a once popular strategic management model, Management by
Objectives, a mnemonic acronym—SMART - was broadly used as a guide for setting objectives.
Coordinating expectations is relevant
to everybody and for almost everything, but the most important thing is
coordinating expectations with ourselves. Failing to meet our own expectations
causes frustration and impairs motivation.
The first 10 km are okay. I’ve run this
distance many times. But the brain knows by now, that this time the 10 km are
only a fraction of today’s journey. This could explain why I’m running so
slowly. It is as though the brain is planning a wise and “economical” use of my
energy. It takes me over an hour to finish the 10 km. Slow. Twelve kilometers,
half of the distance planned for today, takes me 75 minutes. Slow, but still
alright. My goal is to run the 24 km in three hours. So far, I’m “on time.” I
like my path, and the quiet of the early morning.
By accurate, I mean not splaying
the foot, not pushing off the toes, and “throwing” the foot back. The idea is
to minimize the contact between the foot and the ground, just touching the
ground gently and immediately lifting the ankle. All of these efforts enable me
to finish the 24 km. It took me three hours and eight minutes, a pace of 7:50.
All in all, I liked the experience. If not for the pain in my knee, I could run
more. At this pace, I figure, I would finish a full marathon in 5 hours and 30
minutes. Still okay, as the official marathon cut-off is six hours (i.e., a
pace of up to 8:30 min/km).
Seventy-two hours after my 24 km
run, I am running again – 7 km. But the knee hasn’t felt right from the
beginning of this short run. Maybe it was too early and I should have waited
another day? But after two kilometers, the pain has gone (“gone with the
wind”…) and I am happy. The plan will continue unchanged; I extend the distance
by two kilometers every four weeks, while between these 20+ km runs, I add a
15+ km run, and of course several 7-10 km runs.
The next steps:
June 10th – 17 km
June 24th – 26 km
June 28th – June 30th – a
surprise
July 8th – 18 km
July 22nd – 28 km
And then we’ll see…
But for the long runs, I have a
few mantras reminding me some of key principles of good running. I will
definitely share these with you and will describe them here. Maybe some will be
to your taste as well. Or, you can create your own mantras. A mantra should
be short, one word is best; it could be a three-to-four word phrase
representing an idea. The mantra for meditation is a word in Sanskrit and has
no meaning (for me…), but this is a different story. Here is the list.
Explanations will follow: Be tall and then fall, be tall and then fall Rotate
pelvis, rotate pelvis… Iliopsoas, iliopsoas, iliopsoas Brush the road, brush
the road Like a cat, like a cat…
It’s worth mentioning a few of the most important fundamentals about swimming; The first one is to be aware of the critical impact of the body position. If we don’t move our legs, they will sink and the body will become quite vertical – this will create the maximal resistance. And even if our arms work very hard, swimming will become difficult and slow. In contrast, the more horizontal is the body position, the easier and faster will be the swimming. The longer the glides and the smaller the number of strokes per lap, the more efficient the swimming.
When I was 65 and made my first attempt to surf waves, it was quite unusual. The best way to begin is to catch white water waves. The advantage is that you become familiar with the feeling – how it feels to pop-up, stand and ride a wave, even if it is for five seconds only.
"I am running easily, watching the accuracy of
each stride; don’t splay, don’t toe-off, do not bend at the waist, feel tall,
feel light etc."
"During the run I treated myself with three
dates and three energy gels – a picnic. When I run less than 10 km, I do not
eat."
Review:
Beautiful addiction
is a wonderful addition to the series, Younger than ever. This book delves
deeper into the scientific results of the author’s experience as he prepares to
run a full marathon at 70. Yes, you read correctly—seventy. The age that many
sit down and say they are too old or too tired. By learning his body and what
works for him, he has proof that age is really just a number to be
overturned by your habits and thought process.
Just looking at
some pictures in the book, you will know this man is in a class of his
own. Swimming, surfing, and diving are just part of his training, each a
definite role to help him breathe better, learn to balance correctly, and build
his strength to run the perfect race. The reason he calls it a beautiful
addiction.
I found this book
most engaging, the fluency clear and to the point. Not sure why, but I found
this book easier to read. Maybe it is because I am familiar with the author’s
writing, but it does not take away the inspiration I receive while reading this
book. He challenges and guides the reader to become better, a disciplined human
being that can reach its best potential by knowing oneself.
Though its scientific
approach could bore some, I found the author’s approach honest as
he gives a report of his good and bad days. Hiding nothing as he masters his
body’s limitations gets stronger in mind and more focused in spirit.
His program is
hectic. Beginning at five on a regular day, it can go earlier depending on where
he runs and the distance he has to travel. His energy an inspiration for every
person who wishes to enter running at this level or do it just to get fit.
No matter the
reason, you will learn much through this entire series. Learning how to cope
during pain, push through the doubts and master your body as you find your own
rhythm in this world. Truly a gem to read again and again.
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