About 20 years ago when my kids were still very small I used to do a charity event every year. More often than not it was a half marathon but when I crocked my knees playing rugby and had to give up running (I was useless at it anyway - running that is not rugby. I was almost mediocre at rugby) I started to look around for something different to do. At that time I religiously read one of the quality Sundays and one week an advert appeared for a sponsored static line parachute jump for a charity supporting people with learning difficulties. The deal was you collected £50 worth of sponsorship (which in those days was considered a lot of money) and got to do the parachute jump for free.
So I duly sent in all the forms and eventually trotted off to some backwater off the M4 just the other side of Reading to be confronted with a full on ex Para staff sergeant. At first I hated his (what I thought) cocky attitude and the way he strutted around with his chest out. By the end of the first days training I realised his cockiness was actually confidence and the chest out stance was his way of dealing with a back injury that had taken him out of the service. By the end of the second days training I would have followed him naked into a room full of pissed off, well armed Taliban.
On the day of the jump everything went as it should. Islander 2 engine prop to about 2000 ft, sit on floor edge of doorway looking up and in, "Goooooo", "1000,2000,3000 check!" and there we are, floating nonchalantly toward the ground. They had a PA system giving instructions to the jumpers and at about 100ft off the deck the ground crew were gesticulating madly to me and saying something about Kent Trees. Before I could process this into something meaningful I hit the ground.
I hit the ground so hard I swear my balls went down my trouser leg, bounced on the floor and went back up again. "Ah," I thought to myself, "Bent knees". I had landed with my legs virtually straight. I made a really good show of gathering my parachute and walking to the repack area but I was in agony. Like a fool I didn't go to casualty as I was late for work (I used to work shifts) and just took pain killers for a couple of days.
Eventually the pain virtually went but there was a legacy. My left hip area has been stiff and painful in certain conditions ever since. I really found this out to my cost when sailing in light winds downwind. On starboard gybe I couldn't get my left leg comfortable without twisting my body around and virtually kneeling in the boat. Combine this with a chronic core strength imbalance through years of playing prop forward, which resulted in a real difficulty tacking from starboard to port and it was clear that if I wanted to meet my goals something had to be done.
Someone I worked with did a Pilates class and enough of were interested to get a class going after work twice a week. At first I didn't feel any physical benefit but really appreciated the relaxation side of it. Pilates is a subtle exercise form. You don't really feel you are doing much for much of the session, but our instructor insisted that the small adjustments you make to balance and posture add up in the long term. I've been doing it for 3 years now and I really look forward to the sessions. I also got religious with my stretching as well and now do my stretching set after every workout session.
Sunday was another light day with winds barely getting up to 5. Yet again I made 2 bad starts and ended up well down the fleet but something felt really different going down wind - I was actually comfortable on both sides of the boat and didn't need to twist my body around - I could sit on the side and lean into the boat to get on the centre line, and not have to virtually lie along it. Not only that, I could roll tack the boat just as effectively from starboard to port as well! Normally in these conditions I can't wait to get off the water, but I stayed out an extra hour or so just enjoying the freedom of movement in the boat. Why this should have happened so suddenly I don't know. Maybe the changes have taken place gradually and I haven't noticed so much because we've been lucky and haven't had light conditions so much this summer.
So my message to anyone over 50 is to have faith that your body can change for the good even at this age. It might take a bit longer, it might take a bit more effort but with the right program things will happen!
Fantastic day.
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