What does being over 40 really mean?

Okay I get it.  Being over 40 means that any exercise is not easy.  Let start with when it was easy.  When I was in grade 8 I ran a low 5 min mile. Running was easy.  When I was grade 11, I played for the Under 17 Vancouver Rugby team.  Rugby was easy.  I proved that in high school not many people where faster than me.  In my 20's, I think like many men that follow a career path, family, house and such; fitness took a back seat and the bricks of butter piled on me like someone stuffing them in a backpack while I was wearing it.

Enter the 1/4 life crisis - I picked up mountain bike racing - I was 28 and in the Senior Sport class - It took me forever to eek out 10 points to advance from beginner because the young guys would show up and blow by me like I was standing still.  These guys made it look easy - and what I figured - they had no career yet, or a job at least so they could ride all day long and perfect their fitness to top me.  Thats what I believed anyway cause it wasn't fair that I would try so hard and not move up in the standings.  So I quit racing and never really touch a bike for 10 years after.

Back came the butter and decided to buy a road bike - enter a couple of long rides and voila - a mid-life crisis.  This time I'm competing in granfondos and in the most competitive age class 40-49 of these races.   There are more guys in this class, the fastest and the most dedicated to cycling.  These guys eat, drink and train cycling....at least that is what I tell myself.  The last granfondo I finished 69 out of 225 and 192 out of 880.  What did this mean?  It meant that most of the guys faster than me in my age class made up the top 15% of the placing.  What do I need to do to make it easy again?  I thought I was getting faster, but there is always someone faster!  To get just one km/hour faster overall means flirting with cramps/hammering up hills/maxing out my system...it just gets too hard to compete at the next level.

Why not stop?  Why not go slow and enjoy the ride?  This is what I figured out - cause next year I'll be 43, year after that, 44 etc until I'm 50, or 60....well you get the picture.  If I don't do this now, it will be too hard to do it later... You only live once and time is still marching on to that eniviable finish line down the road.  This is the finish line that I'm trying to avoid, but I know that just when I cross it, when I close my eyes and my life plays back for me, I will know that I did the best I could and I'll have a smile on my face.

So, when is the next granfondo?

----WAB1234---