Issue #228: Defining Your Longevity Goal

Good morning. It’s Saturday, August 19th.

Today’s Quick Win

Inspiration: Golfing Into Your 90’s
What We’re Listening To: Peter Attia and Oliver Burkeman
Bucket List: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Brain Games: The River

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”

— John F. Kennedy

That’s roughly the number of miles Max’s Dad has run since he picked it up 56 years ago - that’s 4,580 marathons!

Quick math - 56 years x 365 days x 95% (he takes a few days off) x average of 6 miles/day ≲ 120,000.

This Week

This week we explored how to better focus on movement in your Health & Longevity journey.

Issue #226 - our bodies are a reflection of modern life. It’s not enough to just “exercise” - we need to move with purpose to optimize our energy, our strength, and our stability.

Issue #227 - working out does as much for the brain as it does our body. Bring more Zone 2 exercise into your life to bolster your mental health and fend off future cognitive decline.

Click HERE to check out previous issues in the Thrive25 archive.

Inspiration | Golfing Into Your 90’s

Hey, Max here - today we’re going to profile my Dad in our inspiration - thought I’d come out from behind the curtain to share his story…

Longevity Goal

Since Ryan and I started Thrive25, I’ve struggled to identify my longevity goal. I’ve seen a few out there, including Peter Attia’s goal to participate in the Centenarian Decathlon, for example. But in a space we struggle to comprehend (finitude vs. infinitude) - these examples are few and far between.

I tend to adopt someone else’s goal that doesn’t align with my identity. Then I talked to my Dad and his goal made perfect sense.

My Dad wants to be able to play golf, walking without a cart into his 90’s.

With this goal comes shooting his age pretty often, which he has done several times (8’ gimmes aside). I asked him how he came up with this goal, and it was pretty natural. He has a mentor 20+ years his senior who is still going strong, and my Dad said, if he can do it, why can’t I? The beauty - my Dad golfs 150+ times per year, this goal is directly linked to his identity.

How it All Started

I assumed my Dad started running to find peace and get away from his 12 brothers and sisters growing up, but it was actually a serendipitous gym class his sophomore year of high school.

Back in the late 60’s a gym teacher could ask you to go run/walk 2 miles to a park and back without supervision. My Dad was a little overweight, but took on the task and came back first. It was the 60’s, so you can imagine the extracurricular activities people may have gotten up to off campus. For my Dad, it didn’t matter - it was a positive result that led to a thirst for running.

That was when he was 15, in October he’ll turn 71. In between, he honed his skills, outworked more talented runners, and competed against Olympians in the MAC (go Falcons!).

About the same time he started running, he began caddying at a local country club. This created another love - a passion for the game of golf, with a couple loops double bagging each weekend.

Listening to His Body

He doesn’t run or play golf every day (don’t tell my Mom that), but it’s pretty damn close. He’s been blessed to run for so long without knee troubles or swing a golf club without back problems, so there’s a degree of luck in his ironman quest. But the focus has always been on moving.

It’s been 56 years, so there’s bound to be adjustments:

Morning vs. Night: He originally started running at night, but found the morning energized him better for the day.
7 Days, not 5 or 6: When he started running, he always took off one day, then he periodically missed another. He found his mental health suffered when he didn’t run, so he upped this to daily.*
Speaking of Listening: He’s never used ear pods to listen to music while running. So though he’ll say he’s never meditated, each morning he clears his mind.

* Sure, he misses days, but I’ve seen him get up at 3a to run before a 7a flight for work - that’s dedication

What He’s Up to Today

No one’s perfect, my Dad included. He could maybe eat a little better or drink less wine, but the social connection he has with my Mom and their friends and family more than make up for it. Here are a few thoughts as he approaches 71:

Avoid the Food Gorge: He eats breakfast and not again until dinner. And he and my Mom often share an entrée at dinner, at home or out.
The Fartlek is Back: Thanks to our Thrive25 issues on movement, he has been mixing in Zone 2 and Zone 5 training, and he sees a difference when running at his lower pace.
Saving the Body: My Dad has mixed up his workouts to run a little bit less and add in biking directly after. This duathlon works different muscles and helps with his agility.
Certified Plogger: For as long as I can remember, my Dad has picked up garbage on his running route. My Mom even tried to get an Adopt-A-Highway sign with his name. Apparently this is a thing in Sweden.

BONUS: Bandon Dunes

I just got back from an awesome golf trip with three friends (Chris C, Luke M and my Dad) [make it four, my Mom was there too – bringing the life to the party]. We walked and played 36 holes for 4 straight days on the Oregon coast with winds whipping.

Was it too much golf? Probably. While us guys in our 40’s rolled out of bed just in time for the tee time, my Dad had already ran 2+ miles and hit the range before meeting up with us to walk another 17 miles on the course.

Max, Dad, Chris C, Luke M.
Huge shout out to our caddies Griffin and Jeff for such a great experience!

Besides the amazing views, the best part - my Dad was competitive in every round with us (all four being single digit handicappers), winning a couple times from the same tees, despite being routinely outdriven by 50+ yards.

To be honest, I’ve experienced ebbs and flows of appreciation for my parents across my life. Sometimes I marvel at their achievements, other times I don’t appreciate all they’ve done for me, my sisters and our families. This trip was a clear reminder to be inspired and never to underestimate them again.

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What We’re Listening To | Oliver Burkeman & Peter Attia

Two of my favorite experts/authors come together for a great conversation on how to manage time (or not manage time - because that’s actually impossible) and the purpose of this whole thing we call life.

What I really appreciate about the podcast is that they don’t pretend there is an easy solution to these questions. That said, Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks (profiled in Issue #90), gives tips and suggestions that make a difference - just listening here will make you think a little differently.

Bucket List | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

The largest U.S. National Park (2x the size of Switzerland) is also one of the most remote. Yosemite gets 3.5M visitors a year - while Wrangell-St. Elias gets 40,000. Time for solitude!

No matter what you decide to check out - the old mining towns, the tallest peaks in North America, brown bears catching salmon, or just that feeling of being alone in nature - this park has it.

Consider a backpacking trip for a few days to get away from the rest of the world.

Brain Games | The River

A man stands on one side of a river, his dog on the other. The man calls his dog, who immediately crosses the river without getting wet and without using a bridge or a boat. How did the dog do it?

Credit: Reader's Digest

**For answer, scroll to the bottom of the post

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Thanks for another great week! Here’s a little Lenny Kravitz for your workout this weekend:

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** Brain Games Answer **

The river was frozen

Why Thrive25

We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.

This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at team@thrive25.com.

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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25, Inc. does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.