It's Never Too Late To Try Something New

I have a girlfriend that recently went on a diet and lost 30 pounds. She then went on a tear to resurrect many of the sports she used to enjoy prior to falling into a bit of a mid-life slump - golf, tennis and bicycling among them. She next decided to add running to her list of activities. Running was a new activity, and she wasn't sure how it was all going to work out, but she kept plugging away until she got to three miles. At which point she stalled. 

And that's where I came in. As soon as I realized she had hit a road block, I convinced her to meet at my favorite running spot for a five mile run to a lake and back along scenic trails. She wasn't sure she could make the leap to five miles, but I assured her that based on her cumulative weekly mileage she could (the rule of thumb is that you can safely increase your longest run by 10% of your total weekly mileage). Bless her heart, she agreed, and we met this morning under misty skies for our first run together.

And off she goes!

She managed to complete four of the five miles before resorting to walking. Expecting her to be disappointed, I was thrilled when she told me she didn't care that she hadn't hit her goal, she still felt absolutely great about breaking through the four mile barrier. And, even better, she agreed to meet me again in a week to give running five miles another try.

What makes this story a little unique is that my girlfriend is 60, reminding me once again that it's never, ever to late to try something new. Sometimes trying new things will work out, sometimes they won't, but it really doesn't matter because its the journeying that matters, not the final destination.