Today I turned 60. It’s a day I’ve been dreading for quite some time, it sounds old but I don’t feel old so how do I reconcile the two?
So many people have said, “It’s only a number, embrace it” and they’re right, but it’s not easy when inside your head you re still somewhere in your 20s, but in front of the mirror you’re not.
And then there’s all that comes with others’ perceptions of what a 60 year old woman should look ánd feel like. Without being morbid the numbers don’t stack up for you in terms of having mega long term plans, there are definitely more years behind you, than in front of you, even if you are fortunate enough to live an active, healthy life into your 90s. So, where do I go to from here?
A few weeks ago I decided to set some short and medium-term goals, all of which I’ve achieved, bar one. The main goal was to cover the Ironman distance in the week before turning 60. I wasn’t trained to cover that distance having dropped any formal training once Cairns 70.3 was cancelled for me but it was an interesting journey, if not for the physical achievement but for the way my brain just accepted that 226km of swim/bike/run was a process of putting one foot in front of the other as I’ve done many times before, and thoroughly enjoyable.
The best bit of the challenge was the 3.8km swim. I haven’t swum that far in at least a year, but all the time I was swimming I kept thinking, “I can do this, I’m not going to give up and what’s more I’m almost 60, ” all the time laughing to myself as a group of young boys refused to get in the water because there were jellyfish. I wanted to stop and shout, “You bunch of wimps, I’m nearly 60 and just ploughing through the swarm of jellyfish.”
So, maybe that sense of kicking back at what a 60-year-old woman should do, or be able to do is the way forward. I’m not attempting to prove anything to myself, at 60 I know who I am. I’m confident in what I believe and at last, I’m happy to say, “If you don’t like what you see, get lost!”
However, there are aspects of being 60 that as with any age, particularly as a woman, I want to address.
So what do I want from my 60s?
- Stay fit and healthy, addressing the changes that being 60 bring both physically and mentally.
- Stay ‘with it’. I don’t want to be one of those more mature women who refuse to be aware of what younger generations are experiencing at any given time.
- Keep working, but not full-time and only if I thoroughly enjoy it.
- Age gracefully, but not be afraid to get some help, so long as it doesn’t involve nips and tucks.
- Continue to practice patience – it’s something I’ve been working on for the last year, learning to pick the battles I choose to fight.
- Be grateful for what I have and what I’ve achieved in life.
- Share my wisdom if someone asks for it, without judgement if they choose to ignore it.
- A grandchild, sorry Nicholas, you don’t have to take any notice but I can dream.
- Accept what life throws at me because with every passing year it is a blessing.
- Continue to laugh and cry because both emotions are about as pure as you can get whilst still drawing breath.
Where to from here?
I find it easier to have definite goals and so that’s how I’m going to set the next few months out.
My dear old mum is hanging on in Perth, WA as she lives with the final stages of Alzheimer’s. I can’t be with her because of border closures but get great joy from seeing her over Skype, even if conversation is no longer a possibility. So, I’m going to include mum in one challenge of travelling to Baldivis, WA by March 31st, 2021 swim/bike/run/walk – a total of 3680 virtual kilometres.
I’m signed up for IM Canada 2021 and if that race comes off I’m going to give it a good push, not because I want podiums, but because I owe it to myself to be the best 60-year-old athlete that I can be. Port Macquarie 70.3 is another race on the cards and the same will apply there.
I’ve joined a new triathlon club and will be totally out of my comfort zone trying to make some social connections, but I’m going to do it!
Hopefully, the triathlon season will happen here in Australia in 2021 and I have a new mentor to help me become the best Technical Official I can be.
Having a close relative with Alzheimer’s could leave me vulnerable to the disease in later life. There is a test available that would tell me whether I have the gene that heightens that risk, but as I’m determined to tackle all the external factors that might help prevent the disease, I’m not sure knowing the hereditary bias which currently can’t be cured, will help much.
So, there we go. I’m 60 years old, there’s nothing I can do about that number, but there’s an awful lot I can do about how I act and what I achieve now I’m 60.
Watch this space!