Right now, there is a lot of excitement about the Olympic Games going on in Tokyo.  While watching, some are reliving the athletic dreams of their youth. Many are now motivated to get up off the couch and get moving. We are no exception.  One day while watching the Games with our friends Marshall and Linda, we decided to come up with a pact.  What would four people our age make a pact about?  Why being in the Olympics, of course. More specifically, the National Senior Games, also known as the Olympic Games for senior citizens.

To be eligible to participate in the National Senior Games, you must be at least 50 years old and for some of the events you must qualify at the state level.  Our friend, Ellis Brown, has participated at the state and the national levels for many years.  He represents his state of Maryland in swimming.  There are clips of the Senior Games on YouTube where you can see the various events.  You can also see the 100 and 103-year-old runners who broke world records. 

The Pact that Darrel, Marshall, Linda, and I made that day is that each of us would seriously train in a sport of our own choosing.  The goal is to obtain a qualifying time that would make us eligible for the 2022 Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  This is not a commitment to participate but to train as if we were.  We talked about the sport we would prepare for. I played with the idea of Archery, but I have never picked up a bow in my life.  Marshall suggested that Darrel put a bale of hay in the backyard for me to target practice on.  Visualize that for a moment.  Me, trying to shoot a sharp object all the way across the yard. We all know that would not turn out well.

We decided on our events. Darrel selected tennis, Marshall the 50-yard dash, Linda speed walking, and me 50-yard freestyle swim.  Sounds impressive but I am going to let you in on a little secret. (If you repeat it, I will deny it.)  Darrel had not picked up a tennis racket since his shoulder surgery in 2008.  Back in the day, he and his friend Guy played some serious tennis.   Maybe if Darrel puts on his ‘Daisy Duke looking, white shorty short gym shorts’ he wore back then, he will get his mojo back.  As for Marshall, I do not think he has seriously run 50 yards full speed since chasing after and catching Linda when we were in high school. This South Bridge brother moved fast to woo her away from any other guy trying to get her attention.  Speaking of Linda, I believe that she will have an unfair advantage.  She has had years of practice speed walking around her favorite thrift stores. Linda’s speedy maneuvers get her to the high-quality items before anyone else does.  As for myself, I am a new swimmer and have only been in one serious race in my life.  At the time, the person swimming in the lap lane next to me did not know that we were racing.  I wonder if that actually counts as a race.

For some this may seem farfetched.  You see, between the four of us, our bodies have dealt with a stroke, knee replacement, rotator cuff surgery, hernia surgery, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, cataracts, bursitis, arthritis, broken toes, sciatica, extended physical therapy, and seasonal allergies.  Our health hurdles may have slowed us down or even taken us out of the game momentarily, but we do not plan to stop any time soon. As athletes in training, our Olympic sized dream is a powerful motivation. We will welcome each new day as an opportunity to see just how far we can go.

At this point, we do not know what the outcome of our Pact will be. 

Will we train our way into meeting the National Senior Games qualifications? Dunno. 

Will we cross over from “I think I can,” to “Look at what I can do?”  No doubt. 

Will we be stronger, faster, healthier, enjoy the journey, and be the last ones on the dance floor?  You betcha!

 Let the training begin.

Amanda 🏅

Amanda pool photo by Lynn Marcus; Thumbnail Photo by Brett Jordan from Pexels