I am the oldest member of Cross Fit Run-A-Muck.  

     I think that's kind of cool!

     I'm in my mid-sixties, over weight, out of shape and pre-diabetic.  I huff and puff going up stairs and groan at the pain in my knees going down them.  If I have to get on the floor to do something, I check around to make danged sure there is nothing else that needs doing while I'm down there, because it's such a chore to get back up again.  I've been fighting the same fifty pounds since I was fifty.  I buy my clothes from Omar the Tent Maker.  

     But yesterday I was dead lifting 45 pounds. 

     I know. I know.  That doesn't sound like much.  But...baby steps, baby!  I just embarked on this journey a couple of weeks ago!

      I joined the gym to get a handle on my balance issues.  Like most women my age, I have taken a couple of bad falls. 

     There's something different about falling at this age.  The fall goes on forever.  I have time to think about what it will be like in the nursing home, whether my kids will come visit, how much it will cost and just how much it is going to hurt when I land.  Oh...and of course, whether there's anything else that needs doing while I'm on the floor!  Thus far, I haven't done any major damage to myself.  One advantage to being overweight is that I'm round.   So I bounce!  

     But, after watching my younger and much thinner baby sister go through hip surgery and recovery after a bad fall last year, I realized I'd better get a handle on this thing.  

      Fortunately, my daughter is wise enough to be dating a fine young man who is also the owner of a Cross Fit gym.  He is extremely knowledgeable about such things having studied exercise science and physiology in college and having earned multiple certifications after graduation.  After a couple of visits to the gym and a conversation about my goals, I took the plunge and put my money down.

     So, here I am, the gym's oldest member...the elder stateswoman...the token senior citizen...the crazy old lady with white hair, bat wings, thunder thighs and all...learning to breathe and squat and lift and lock.  I know I look ridiculous.  I'm probably the most UN-fit person who ever walked through the doors of Cross Fit Run-A-Muck.  And I'm definitely the fattest.

     I would have been too embarrassed and self-conscious to do this in my 20's, 30's, 40's or 50's.  But, now I'm in my 60's, and you know what?  I'M TOO OLD TO CARE!

And, yeah...I think that's kind of cool!