Ladies of a Certain Age ~ for those invisible powerful, dynamic, vital women

I got a little scared last September when I realized that in less than a month I would be tramping all over London with my 10-year-old grandson.  Boy, lately, I had been getting winded just hauling out my trash cans to the street.

“What’s up, Elizabeth? “ I said to myself. “The last time you noticed you were out of breath doing an easy thing was 50 years ago or so. You were climbing the stairs of University of Colorado at Denver (now Hotel Monaco) to get to an accounting class.  That little experience, along with your teeth turning brown, convinced you to stop smoking.  Remember?”

Then, it dawned on me. I thought because I did a slow, concise, controlled yoga class three times a week, I did not have to exercise.  Sure, I walked my 80-plus pound Airedale Terrier, Bonnie Buttercup, everyday.  But, walking a dog has never given me much exercise. Twenty years ago, running with my 60-plus pound Airedale Terrier, Sir Sport Edwards, “Eddie” for short, was a different matter.

I was short of breath simply because I have not been exerting myself aerobically, like I have most of my life for the simple reason that I did not want to get fat.  Well, now close to 70 years old, I don’t worry about being fat.  But, I had gained health benefits by my frenetic exercising all those years.  I was slim and fit and had low cholesterol.

Also, in September, I had coffee with two women who had been peers of mine in the mid 1980s.  They used to comment all the time about how skinny I was. “Must have good genes,” they would say to me.  I wanted to reply, “What are you doing after work?  I’m going to the gym to work out.”  Of course, I never said that to them.  Well, unfortunately, both of these women have serious health problems now.  Guess what?  Their doctors have them exercising every day.

My solution to my problem was easy.  I just needed to exert myself on a regular basis.  Thanks to the Silver Snickers Program, I don’t have to pay anything to go to my local YMCA and recreation center. Because of snowy and icy sidewalks, I’ve been scheduling time each week when I don’t have a yoga class to go for about a half hour.  I hop on a stationary bike or elliptical machine and zone out or watch TV.  Recently, I watched a PBS special about the Tower of London, one of my favorite places and one where I have fond memories of being there with my grandson.

At the end of my half-hour session, I could feel a little flush on my face.  “Good,” I thought. “This is great for wrinkles.”  Also, I noticed that my mood had improved.

Weather permitting, my favorite aerobic exercise now is long fast walks, often called urban hiking.  I learned about urban hiking several years ago when I was in training to climb Mr. Crested Butte.  No, I am not a climber; but, I wanted to see the wild flowers, and I knew that my pioneer family had either walked or ridden a horse along this picturesque trail before Colorado was a state.  Besides doing training hikes at elevation, I also did urban hikes.

In London, and other European cities I have been to, people walk every day much more than Americans.  Why, in Italy, there is even a custom to get all dressed up and walk downtown late afternoon or early evening.  The Italian word for this happening is called “passeggata,” walk.  People of all ages walk through the streets.  The women of a certain age even dress up for it.  I was also amazed at how many people ride bicycles.  Certainly, women of a certain age do.  Also, I am astonished that I have rarely seen any fat ladies of certain in Europe.

I don’t own a pedometer, a watch of sorts that keeps track of the number of steps you have taken.  It must be a sign of our times that the new Apple watch (no, I do not have one) has a fantastic display that shows your moves, exercise and standing time.

London?  Well, I did ok.  I remember even hollering to my darling red-headed grandson at airports and underground stations, “Hustle!”