Monday, June 8, 2015

"I Notice That I Can't Do X Since I Am Getting Older"

That just doesn't fly with me.  I am healthier at almost 64 than I was when I was 54.  For sure that's true for me since I was probably harboring cancer cells at 54 and hopefully, now those cancer cells have died from old age.  Cancer aside, I am healthier now than when I was at the half century mark.  

There were a lot of things I couldn't do when I was 30, 40 and 50.  I still can't do them.  My inability to do certain athletic feats is unrelated to age.  It is a function of a lack of coordination.  

Several weeks ago, I took a paddle boarding lesson.  When I signed up for the lesson, I was filled with optimism about my future paddle boarding prowess.  The morning of the lesson, I was feeling less optimistic but I thought I would just stick with the plan and my hidden paddle boarding talents would reveal themselves.  It was a windy morning and the tide was coming in on the the May River which is a tidal estuary and not a river at all.  There are oyster beds on the banks of the May and the salty water is from the Atlantic Ocean.  The water at this time of year is 82 degrees so I figured that my inevitable dunk into the drink would be rather pleasant.  

The first chapter of paddle boarding is to ride the board while kneeling.  Yikes!  My knees don't bend.  They wouldn't bend when I was 50 and they were sort of rotten at 45.  I just toughed it out knowing that soon I would be standing up, paddling all around.  In order to stand up, one needs to plant one's feet on the board and rise up.  This requires abdominal strength that I am sorely lacking.  I doubt I had abdominal strength to do this twenty years ago so I don't think this is age related.  

A challenge of stand up paddle boarding in the May River is that when the tide is coming in, it pushes the board toward the bank which is lined with oysters that are razor sharp.  The instructor saw that I was rapidly drifting toward the oysters and that I was not in control of the situation.   He instructed me to crouch down.  I quickly discovered that I do not crouch well when I am hurtling towards a peril.  Is this age related or am I just a bad croucher?  So when I fell off into the oyster bed, I was a bit rattled.  

For some reason, I didn't get cut up when I fell into the oysters, but there were some immediate challenges as soon as I hit the water.  Under the oysters, it is not sand but rather pluff mud.  Pluff mud is unpleasant and slimy.  It is composed of decaying matter, mostly spartina grasses and dead water creatures and it has a gooey, vise-like grip.  As I was sucked into the mud, I started to plan my re-entry onto the board.  I wiggled my pluff mud submerged ankles out without getting significantly cut up by the oysters and swam and pushed the board to a depth where I could tread water.  I think I looked like a sight at that point but since I had no earthly idea how I was going to get back up onto the board,  I didn't dwell on my appearance.  I inched my way back up onto the board but now I couldn't figure out how to get back up on my knees.  I concluded right then and there that stand up paddle boarding is not my next endeavor.  I spent the rest of my lesson perfecting sit-down paddle boarding.  It was never fun.  If one is going to navigate the May River while sitting down, it is far preferable to do it in a kayak.

Speaking of which, I have discovered that I adore kayaking.  My interest in kayaking rivals my interest in tennis.  I can kayak all by myself.  I don't need a tennis partner or any opponents.  I don't need to reserve a court or keep score.  I kayak and play blue grass music on my iPhone and I sing and there is nobody around to complain.  And I am pretty strong.  I can paddle against the tide and against the wind for hours.  I doubt I could have done it at 50.  I certainly couldn't have done it before my back surgery.  But I can do it now. 

It is off-putting when a dolphin jumps up out of the water just in front of the kayak.  After my heart rate normalizes, I just sing all the louder than ever.

I had Herceptin today, but I will have my kayaking to promote my health later this week.  I am much healthier than pluff mud since I am not decomposing now or anytime in the near future.

I Have Been Herceptin Free For One Year!
