Put It On The Bucket List!

I am so excited. I put something new on my bucket list today and it's fulfillment is decades away.  It will be something left for me to look forward to after I turn 90.  My goal?... to become a medal winning athlete in my age group before I die.  I was inspired by the article on the front page of the Vancouver Sun about a 100 year old woman, Man Kaur, who is cleaning up at the Masters Americas Games that were held here in Vancouver.  She finished the 100 metre race in one minute and twenty-one seconds. Not exactly in the same class as Usain Bolt but good enough for a gold medal for her. Yup. She also won gold in javelin and shot put. No other  female competitors in her age group category so she wins gold in pretty much everything she enters. Now that's the kind of sporting competition I can get into. 

                                                      The much decorated Man Kaur.

The much un-decorated Faye

I'm no athlete. Growing up I managed to learn to swim, skate and ride a bike, that was about it. I suck at racquet sports despite taking many lessons, due to poor depth perception and lousy hand/eye coordination. I took skiing lessons but quit the sport after a few tries down the hills. Much money was spent on golf lessons and equipment, with too many hours wasted whacking balls at the driving range. All to no avail. I haven't golfed in years although I did give it a good try for about a decade.  Team sports in high school? No. I was an honour roll student who barely squeaked out a C+ or B in gym and that was mainly due to good attendance and always having my gym strip.  And track and field? Never happened.

That is not to say that I don't keep fit because I do. I aerobicized my way through my twenties, ran around after my two young boys in my thirties, swam, hiked, walked, slogged through workouts at the gym for a decade and a half, and have now settled on walking and yoga. So I am keeping myself in shape getting ready for my final decade of athletic excellence.  It's going to be wonderful. Travel, camaraderie, fame! Maybe even a front page in the digital news or however we will be getting it in thirty plus years.  My new idol, Ms. Kaur, who was featured in the paper didn't start training until 93!  

The only snag I can see in my plan to die with a dozen or more gold medals around my neck is the fact that I am aging right in the middle of the Baby Boom. Shit. There will be so many others trying to do what I'm doing. Competition might be tougher than it is for Ms. Kaur. And then there is the teensy, weensy, little issue of living till past 90.  There will be way too much competition in the under 80 category with all the damn Boomers so I have to stay healthy and hang in until at least 90, maybe 95 even. And I guess that will be the ultimate bucket list entry after all. But still, think of it, me, a track and field star! If only my grade seven gym teacher would be around to see it, she would never believe her eyes.