The Glade 4.0

I hate getting older, the body can't do what it used to even though it remembers better days. Spent the weekend putting up crown molding downstairs and today I am so sore I can barely move. Doctor told me a while back I have a degenerative disk in my neck so eventually I may not even be able to walk when I get even older. My knees hurt every day, my back goes out on occasion. I feel older than I am. I wish I had stayed in the Army no way I would have made it this long with all of the crap my old units have been through, at least I wouldn't waste away and maybe could have done some good for someone else on my way out.

Maybe I am having a midlife crisis, but I don't know what I want anymore. I make a lot of money and we have a lot of stuff but none of that really seems that important. I miss having real adventures. We went for a walk last weekend to see the new Bison they put into one of the parks to bring them back to Ohio. It stared sleeting while we were walking and was generally a miserable stroll in the cold rain/sleet. My wife said it was an adventure and I thought is this really what my life has come to, a walk in the rain is as good as it gets? I used to spend every day I could out in the woods exploring but the wife doesn't like the outdoors so we always end up doing boring mundane activities that generally involve her shopping.

Even games are loosing their fun for me, I play for 10 minutes and I'm bored. I thought about buying some land and building a small cabin but my wife said she would have no interest in going to it if I did. She is fine if I do it but what fun is that, the whole point is we do something together. Maybe I need a new wife.

Just wanted to vent some.

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I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

Pick one of her non-shopping dreams and make it real.

Then its your turn.

By the way, have you checked with your doctor about depression? What you are describing sounds like you may be affected by it. Might want to check it out.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Join a club.

Seriously. I freak out if I'm not out on adventure at least once a month. I'm not in a club, but I've got folks I can call on to tear stuff up with.

Take two weeks off and just disappear. See how far you can get.

Sometimes I'll do the map and dart thing. Find the GPS coordinates of the dart and put them into my field GPS. Put the arrow and distance screen up and just go. Admittedly, this did result in one seriously cold evening spent in the middle of a mosquito-infested hell-hole of a swamp, but I made it to the marker.

What do you mean adventure? Isn't it an adventure if you choose to make it one? I met this guy, he has a great sense of humor...everything we talked about he would have a funny story. He noticed tiny little things about people that struck him and his description of these things ( I would have never noticed ), were hilarious. He made me laugh and it was great to be around him, just because of the way he looked at everyday life.

If you crave adventure, start looking for the elements in the things you do, don't think that getting a new wife is the answer. The grass isn't always greener.

Don't expect someone else to make you happy, it never works. You have to make yourself happy.

I know it was a vent, just my 2 cents

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Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

There's no adventure in the "things you do". The man needs to get his adrenaline glands pumping.

He needs to be shot at, or dangle from a cliff over shark infested waters.

so...he has aches and pains from putting crown molding up and you think he needs to dangle from a cliff over shark infested waters? Ok....that sounds like a perfect adventure..

Maybe a new wife is the answer, could be an adventure to go with your significant other on these adventures, but to make it a little easier...shoot at her or dangle her over shark infested waters..

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Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

I know what he means about getting older, though. I am out-PTing guys 10 years younger who are not used to PT... but the younger guys who are, I just can't hang with anymore. I'm not a young man anymore. I'm far from old, probably not middle-aged, but I really get tired of hearing older guys say I'm still young at 35. Sure it may seem that way at 55, but I bet if they were 35 again they'd be surprised at how much older it is than they like to remember.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I remember my brother in law, when he was a Lt. Colonel in charge of the paratroop school at Benning. He was in amazing physical shape for a man of 20, much less the 40 he actually was. He ran PT with the troops, his Sergeant made a bet with the troops in that class, anyone who could beat the LtC got a free beer on him. I think the sergeant said the class was usually around 50 people and he never bought more than three beers, and rarely that many.

It was after that PT run the classes started noticing the Ranger Tabs on Brian's uniform. He did three tours with the rangers. He doubts he could beat half the class anymore, now that he's old, in his early fifties. He still runs most days.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

hmmm...

No I don't really want a new one this one is finally trained right...jk we do have a lot of fun together

I miss the heavy adrenalin rushes I used to get, skydiving, rappelling, swimming with sharks, mountain biking and taking huge jumps and risks. What makes me sad is that I cannot physically do those things anymore. I used to run anywhere from 50 to 120 miles a week depending on if I was training for a race or not but now if I run a mile I am in so much pain my knees feel like they will explode. I have softening of the patella in both knees so they form ridges that grind when I walk or run.

I have torn both rotator cuffs in my shoulders and so they both still give me pain when I push them. I have the bad disk in my neck which makes my arms go numb when they are in the wrong position. I have a chronic issue with my lower back that makes my legs go numb at times and makes it difficult to even walk at times.

I live in pain every day and it sucks because if I am going to hurt I would at least like to do the things I love.

I fight through it most days and try to not let it hold me back from at least living my life. The sad thing is I will probably live a long life my numbers are all excellent so by most terms I am actually very healthy and that scares me because my body is slowly crippling itself and I can't stand the thought of being in a wheelchair not able to to do anything when I really do get old.

_________________
I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

I hate to ask, but, are you in this pain from all the cool, crazy, adventure-filled stuff you did when you were younger? Or is your body just breaking down?

I was going to say that I feel you pain, being over 50 and just having had a birthday, but maybe I don't. I do feel the lack of adventure, however. Can't wait for my kids to hit their teens, so I can start taking them on death-marches and stuff.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Killuas,

awww hugss!

Don't be sad, be happy you have so many great memories . Sounds like you have had some great adventures.

You prolly know what I mean by "the zone" too. When you are running and reach that point, it's the best feeling ever! Well, ok, there are "some" things that are better

_________________


Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

OK, this might help. Even the great ones go through this:

Joe blos: Pushing Back Time

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

What's stopping you from mountain biking, Killuas? Biking's already one of the easier mobile exercises on the knees, and if you can afford a decent full suspension bike, I would think even good singletrack isn't out of the question for your shoulders/disc.

Is it location? If so, let me know, I found a decent website with info on trails in Ohio. I'm looking forward to this spring, armed with that new information..

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Your body has to last the rest of your life.

I wish I had really understood what that meant 40 years ago.

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In time, this too shall pass.

I can still do some mountain biking but after about 5 miles my arms start going numb. I have been thinking about getting a road bike with those handle bars that you rest your forearms on and see if that helps. I can't really do the big jumps and stuff though since even with the suspension on my bike it beats me up too much.

I'm sure some of it is from things I did when I was younger but some things are just my body braking on its own. I forgot to list the torn acl from a night jump and I landed in a hole and went one way and my knee another.

It is also a vicious circle now, I am carrying extra weight which makes things harder but it is hard to drop the weight since a lot of the exercises I like to do hurt me. I got an elliptical machine and that seems to be doable but it is just so boring after about 30 minutes even with the tv in front of it.

Like I said it sucks getting old.

_________________
I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

Getting old is a drawn-out and deadly disease. I hope it is cured by the time I get there.

Ya know, that's actually sometimes an easy fix - lift the nose of your seat a bit. Sounds like it's pointed down, which lets all your weight slide forward, putting pressure on your arms. With the seat level or even slightly raised, you'll be farther back on the seat and won't be putting all your weight on your arms. Check your seat height and stuff, too. Heck, go to a bike shop and ask them to look at your riding position, etc.

Or, accept the inevitability of aging and just buy a recumbent! Someone here is a fan (sorry, can never remember if it's Katas or Lalas (or is it Latas or Kalas?!)).

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

I am a fan and own one. I also prescribed these for bikers with your symptoms. The change works.

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Memento Vivere

I have local knowledge.
That sandbar was not there yesterday!

Interesting, didn't have you in mind at all! That makes at least two recumbent fans here.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

hmm I will look into it, whenever I have been out riding on the bike trails and seen them go by I always thought there was something off about them. Maybe I will break down and stop by the bike shop and try one out. I need to take my bike in for a tune up anyway.

_________________
I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

Ask them to check your riding position while you are there. See if they can help you figure out why you are having discomfort in your hands/arms.

I have this problem too, and it's because I ride in a very forwardleaning position. I do this by choice. It's a bit of a compromise. I'm tall (6' 5"), and the forward lean helps with aero resistance, and it also takes some strain off of the seat. I'm trading a little discomfort in my hands and writs for a little relief at the seat.

I know why it happens, it is because of the disk in my neck. It is more from the position of my head and neck than the weight on my arms. If I sat more upright it relieves the issue. I have talked with the bike shop about extending the handle bars but they are up as far as they go and I cannot put different ones on my bike (I forget what he said exactly was something about the neck of the bike) So I might look into getting a new one that I can have the handle bars set higher. If they have a recumbent I may try it out too.

_________________
I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil