Another year older!

Monday, February 20, 2012 · Mike Davis

Almost 50!

Today I turn 49 years of age and now counting down to 50. I can seriously remember when I thought 49 was old and now that’s me. The other day Justin said something about someone turning 30 and I commented that I would not want to be turning 30 and he was surprised. I have learned so much since turning 30 and I enjoy life far more knowing what I know now. Cliché for sure, but it goes back to this quote in a book that my daughter gave me:

“It’s not whether running or exercising will help you live longer, but whether running or exercising will help you get more out of your life longer” (unknown author)

I probably butchered the quote, but you get the point. Age 30 for me was fine, I had young children, a job and doing okay. When I hit 39 I really struggled as I felt the best years available were behind me. My forty’s came and I was a happy semi content chubby guy settling into midlife. My wife and I were running some doing a 5K races here and there; despite my extra weight I was doing okay. As my clothes got tighter, my frustration finally reached a point where I was ready to make some changes. Soda and white bread were the first victims of my new diet as well as my junk food habits. The weight started to come off and my awareness of bad calories increased.

Then comes the real life changing impact of my life, by chance my wife was reading the local paper and saw an ad for a half marathon training group. My first response was; “no way, I don’t think we could ever run that far”! Because Kathy was interested, I was open to at least considering it. I still remember her say: “We can give it a try and if we can’t do it, we can at least get in better shape”. I agreed with that idea and so we signed up. Amazingly, once we started, we knew that we were going to finish. We not only finished, but everything changed in our life. We made some great friends, we found a running community of wonderful people and running became a passion for us.

A few years later and I’m nearly 50 years old, yet I’m stronger, fitter and enjoying the benefits that running has brought me. Friendships have grown through such events as; coaching 2 groups for the Seacoast Half, running numerous races with friends and spending over 24 hours in a van with strangers running Reach the Beach. Another joy that has come out of running is that my daughter Jennifer has taken to it as well. She has found value in running outside of her father’s ideas and thoughts and discovered her own motivation. Together we have created a website that we are using to bring passion and empowerment to others. I observe so many people who just go back and forth to work each day and the only thing they have to talk about is a ball game or American Idol. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but for me, running has opened the door to friendships and fulfillment.

Turning 49 is not a bad thing in my mind, in fact, thanks to my wife’s willingness to step out and take on the challenge a few ago, 49 feels great! My plan is to challenge myself instead of waiting to grow old, hopefully in May I will complete a successful run at the Vermont marathon, after that I’m not sure, but I will continue to challenge myself. Through it all, I will cherish the friendships and enjoy each and every run. The nice thing is next year I’ll be 50 and in a different race age category. LOL

Hope you have a great week!