Tactics for Conserving Energy on the Strip

[bwoodward]

This will sound weird or you may think I'm full of it, but I think some of you who think you are tired are really capable of much more effort. I'm 53 and I routinely fence the younger people in my club into the ground. They go off the catch their breath while I look around for some one else who wants to fence. The only one who can fence me into the ground is my coach, who's only 4 years younger than me. What's my fitness secret? I don't really have one. I fence two evenings a week and when not fencing I'm on my butt on the couch watching TV. Sure I get tired, but I've been way more tired.

This is coming from an ex-surfer.

Surfing is one of those sports that depend on adrenaline to get you through the tough spots. I surf on the east coast of the US where the waves not huge but they are close together. Paddling out on a good day means paddling out to where the waves are breaking, then paddling as hard as you can just to stay in one place until there is a lull to let you through. Paddle forward 20 feet, get washed back 20 feet for as long as it takes. If you let yourself get washed back 25 feet you're starting to lose. Once you make it through, you can rest a bit.

Every time you catch a wave you get an adrenaline rush. It gives you enough "juice" to ride the wave and paddle about halfway back out before you feel tired. By then, you might as well go the rest of the way and catch another wave. And so on, all afternoon. Then it's late, you're really tired, so you plan to catch one last wave and go home. Nobody just paddles in - you catch a wave. It's the "code of the surf", or something. Of course, when you catch the wave you still get the adrenaline rush so at the end of the ride you figure, "Hey, I'm not so tired and the waves are still good. I'll catch one more, THEN I'll go." And so on for another hour or so. Getting more and more tired, and running out of adrenaline. You know it's really time to go when you catch a wave and you can't push up off the board to stand up and ride. You cruise in lying on your stomach, trying to exude coolness so no one mistakes you for a beginner who can't stand up yet.

Sure, I get tired fencing, but in the scale of "tiredness" I know that it is nothing so I just don't give in to it. If I can still lift the foil and still shuffle forward, then I must not be too bad off.

[Cipher]

This will sound weird or you may think I'm full of it, but I think some of you who think you are tired are really capable of much more effort. I'm 53 and I routinely fence the younger people in my club into the ground. They go off the catch their breath while I look around for some one else who wants to fence. The only one who can fence me into the ground is my coach, who's only 4 years younger than me. What's my fitness secret? I don't really have one. I fence two evenings a week and when not fencing I'm on my butt on the couch watching TV. Sure I get tired, but I've been way more tired.

This is coming from an ex-surfer.

Surfing is one of those sports that depend on adrenaline to get you through the tough spots. I surf on the east coast of the US where the waves not huge but they are close together. Paddling out on a good day means paddling out to where the waves are breaking, then paddling as hard as you can just to stay in one place until there is a lull to let you through. Paddle forward 20 feet, get washed back 20 feet for as long as it takes. If you let yourself get washed back 25 feet you're starting to lose. Once you make it through, you can rest a bit.

Every time you catch a wave you get an adrenaline rush. It gives you enough "juice" to ride the wave and paddle about halfway back out before you feel tired. By then, you might as well go the rest of the way and catch another wave. And so on, all afternoon. Then it's late, you're really tired, so you plan to catch one last wave and go home. Nobody just paddles in - you catch a wave. It's the "code of the surf", or something. Of course, when you catch the wave you still get the adrenaline rush so at the end of the ride you figure, "Hey, I'm not so tired and the waves are still good. I'll catch one more, THEN I'll go." And so on for another hour or so. Getting more and more tired, and running out of adrenaline. You know it's really time to go when you catch a wave and you can't push up off the board to stand up and ride. You cruise in lying on your stomach, trying to exude coolness so no one mistakes you for a beginner who can't stand up yet.

Sure, I get tired fencing, but in the scale of "tiredness" I know that it is nothing so I just don't give in to it. If I can still lift the foil and still shuffle forward, then I must not be too bad off.

Amen to that... gotta have heart.

[luv2fence]

Thank you all who stayed on topic
and answered the questions that were
asked. You provided some really good
information.

luv2fence