In any case, good ole Patrick was at said presentation and was full of questions for me. I mean chalk full! We had ourselves a good chat, a few come-to-Jesus moments, and were fast friends. A few days later I got a call from Patrick and here is how it went down...
At the time, he was a springy and fresh 65 years old. He had some expected concerns for doing such a tough ride for the first time, but was interested in seeing me individually because he had learned, most likely the hard way, that he was unable to get his bottle out of the cage while riding without feeling certain doom impending. Our friend Patrick had lived his whole life and never been introduced to his core or functional training. What's a fella to do?
I'll tell you what we did. I beat the snot out of him twice a week! We worked everything from proprioception, functional stability, strength integration, and how to tell a good ghost story. Here's a picture from about a year ago:
More hunk o' burnin' love-like, right? This dude was getting stronger, leaner, and could scare the socks right off of you with his ghost stories.
Not only that, but he had achieved his original goal of being stable enough on a bike to get his bottle while riding and not face plant onto the pretty asphalt. Progress!
Funny thing about original goals is you just seem to keep modifying and adding to them. Once we mastered the water bottle, it was to get faster, leaner, safer. Then one day, dear reader, Patrick started talking dirty to me. He started using a magic word that gets me all hot under the collar every time.
Triathlon...
That's right! Here he was, now 66 years young, and had signed up for his first indoor sprint distance tri. I was like a weepy mother sending of her baby for the first day of school. Well, at least I was weepy.
I am reminded when I look at Patrick how sexy you can be in your golden years, but also that it is down right absurd to hear people say they are too old to try new things. I am amazed by what he has accomplished, and better yet, but what he continues to reach for. If I had half of his determination, drive, and biceps, I'm sure I'd be a better man.
Here, check out our latest pic. Ladies and gents, welcome to the gun show.
Rarely do I get the opportunity to work with such an amazing person, and even more rare yet do I get to learn so much about who I hope to be later in life. I guess I'm still that proud weepy Momma!
Congrats Patrick!
Here is his story in his own words (and I didn't even have to bribe him to write it):
"Chad helped me train for my first long bike ride, a Boston to New York charity ride. My goal was to be able to reach for my water bottle while riding; not so simple a task for me then. After the ride I realized that my 65th birthday was approaching. I want my senior years to be as active as possible. My birthday present to myself for my 65th and 66th birthdays was to continue training with Chad. We initially focused on balance and coordination training. Chad called it propioception—I call it fall prevention. I then met my core, never knew I had one. My goals expanded to triathlons. I am now training for an Olympic distance event. To be honest, I did not even dream that the improvements in my conditioning and appearance could be possible at my age."
BOOM!
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| At the ride, post-breakfast, pre-KILLING IT |
Great article!
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