I have a friend who's two years older than me. We were roommates in college and I remember him telling me about how your body starts falling apart once you hit 20.
Then "once you hit the real world and have to get a real job that college metabolism of yours will shut down and you'll pack on the pounds like everybody else."
Then "just wait 'til you're 25 like me and your hair starts falling out".
Then "When 30 hits and you don't have any energy anymore then you'll understand"
... And so forth. But thus far none of it has ever happened. I think that people let themselves fall apart, then notice the date and assume that must be the reason. But if you don't wan't to have that happen, you can make a point of staying in good shape for a long time.
That said, I'm sure there's some new inevitable milestone waiting for me when I hit 44. It's definitely going to suck.
I'll be 40 next year and I'm in better shape than ever; I'm as slim as when I was 16 but I can lift 3x as much weight. I'm sure that my hair will start turning grey and falling off any decade now, but so far I have no age-related complaints.
The fall I turned 30, I ran in three marathons and one slightly longer run. (Nothing elite, but the times were respectable for a recreational runner--three or four times that would qualify me for Boston now, and one that did then.) That I ran only two more marathons after had more to do with increased responsibilities than any immediate falling off in strength or health.
As for the OP, I applaud the author's attitude, even if I smile a bit at his surprise.
At a skosh over 27 * 2, I will leave you with Byron's words in a letter to Tom Moore: "Damn your nel mezzo camin--'the prime of one's life' is a much consoling expression."
Then "once you hit the real world and have to get a real job that college metabolism of yours will shut down and you'll pack on the pounds like everybody else."
Then "just wait 'til you're 25 like me and your hair starts falling out".
Then "When 30 hits and you don't have any energy anymore then you'll understand"
... And so forth. But thus far none of it has ever happened. I think that people let themselves fall apart, then notice the date and assume that must be the reason. But if you don't wan't to have that happen, you can make a point of staying in good shape for a long time.
That said, I'm sure there's some new inevitable milestone waiting for me when I hit 44. It's definitely going to suck.