What was she thinking?
Making a note to myself. ‘Do not race 14 yr olds. Not even to the kitchen.’ :)
Yes, you never go full Tom Brady.
Laura was not thinking.
50 and 60 yr olds forget that unlss they’re in top shape there’s certain physical limitations..... you need to think before you do.
K..I am 70 this year. And with heart problems and COPD.
Should I quit the snowshoes doing forestry work at 8000-9000 feet in head high snow?
I croak, I croak. They’ll find me after the buzzards start dropping and dying of poisoning.
60? I figured she was in her 40s. She looks great.
I was watching her that night. She’s gonna be on crutches for a while.
Get a Canemaster cane, Laura, for your recovery.
One thing I learned that helped a LOT, whatever physical therapy exercises you are doing, do them entirely at random. Surprise the body. I had far better results after doing that. My MCL and ACL had been totally ripped apart.. Healed better than new. I kept a chart and checked them off to be sure I did everything.
Whatever physical therapy you do, perhaps do it at random times and random order. When I ripped my left knee ACL and MCL completely apart, I did the physical therapy on a schedule daily. From November to February, no results (no healing), no pain.
Then I remembered an Arnold Schwarzenegger biography I had listened to, where he said for any exercise to have the most effect, to "surprise" the body. Do them in random orders at random times. I made a checklist to ensure I did everything.
Now the pain started, but not bad. By April both ACL and MCL had completely healed. The doctors' plan had been for the physical therapy to heal the MCL, then operate on the ACL in August or so. ACLs generally don't heal back when completely severed.
I went to the doc to get signed off to go back to work in April. He twisted my leg every which way. He couldn't believe it was stronger than "normal" and signed me off. He kind of poo-pooed the random thing, but I didn't care. All was well. Good luck with your fix.
I began to wonder if going to physical therapy was worth it. The first time or two, definitely worth it so I knew how to do the exercises right. After that, it was just the same exercises as I was doing at home. I think it is for the lazy folks who don't do what they should so they will at least do something.
.... it’s all down hill from here.....
Exactly. These elites are just plain stupid. They think they can sit on their asses 51 weeks a year and all of a sudden become a skier. Skiing is for folks who live in ski country all season.
After working out since I was 16, once I turned 50 I turned to glass. The workouts had to be totally changed or I’d be like Laura.
What was she thinking?
I’ll be 60 next month and I still ski (though admittedly not very often these days). One thing that I think has made it much easier to keep skiing at an older age is the advent years ago of shaped skis. I learned to ski in the late-70s on what they call “straight skis” today (I know there’s an obvious joke there, but I’ll be good for now). Those older skis had to be flexed to create the radius needed to make turns. That required the skier to put pressure on the ski to make it turn. Those skis were also quite a bit longer on average than today’s shaped skis as well, which made them faster and contributed to the effort needed to make them turn. It took more skill and physical effort to ski on those older skis.
But today’s shaped skis are narrow near the center and are much wider at the tip and tail. That shape creates a built-in turning radius, and only requires the skier to tip them up on edge to initiate a turn. It takes much less pressure and physical effort to turn the newer skis and I think that helps keep skiing viable for older skiers. It also helps beginners learn faster as well.
I remember when I transitioned from the traditional ski design to the new shaped skis. I had heard how much easier they were to turn, and I was going from 195 cm Atomic Arcs to a shaped 176 cm ski. Being so much shorter I figured it would be quicker to turn, but when I instinctively applied my old technique to the shapes skis they turned so quickly that they instantly wrapped around and I about wiped out. I was still putting pressure into them to try to get them to flex, without even thinking about it, and that just wasn’t necessary. I eventually figured them out and have had some of the most rewarding runs just getting into the groove on those skis by tipping them on edge and just feeling the initiation and release of the very slight pressure that is needed to make them carve instead of skid. When it’s working right it takes amazingly little effort, and you can feel a slight spring sensation as you go from one turn to the next. On shaped skis if you’re working hard then you’re not doing it right. Anyone who has made a perfect series of turns on them knows what I mean when I mention that slight springing sensation as you let the edge of the ski do it’s job and apply and release just the right amount of pressure to transition between turns. It’s very subtle.
My circle of friends are all senior softball players. We're talking knee replacements, hip replacements, torn ACL's, rotator cuff surgeries (me, two years ago), and the list goes on...
I guess playing softball and risking injury at our age is better than vegetating at home and baby sitting the grand kids........LOL!
Thinking she wanted to go skiing I guess.
“She’s going to be 60 in June.
What was she thinking?“
Exactly! Has she never heard the name - Sonny Bono?!?
I am going to be 60 in April. I was skiing yesterday. I don’t race 14 year olds though.