Great stuff, Alan!
I would add a remark or two from my own training experience, and watching other "Master's Class" aka old f@rts.
1. Pain is NOT weakness leaving the body. PAIN is the body saying something is wrong. Discomfort is to be expected and welcomed. Actual pain is not to be ignored, especially for us older athletes.
2. If you do get hurt, yes, you are screwed - at least for a while. And maybe longer than you think. I tore a bicep insertion last October, and then broke the wrist of the same arm New Year's. When the cast came off in March, I literally could not do a five pound curl, because my wrist would not support the 5 pound weight. I'm working with a rehab trainer, and I estimate I'm at about 1/3 the strength I had last fall. I expect to be back to there by the end of the summer, and ready to start training for the 2014 season. So you may be screwed temporarily, but if this 64 year old body can come back, so can a 50 year old. Just don't try to train faster than your body recovers, or you WILL screw something up big time. Meanwhile, I go the gym and work out, and go to Games and cheer.
See you in the gym, or at the Games!
Geoff Withnell
"My comrades, they did never yield, for courage knows no bounds."
No longer subject to reveille US Marine.
