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My grandfather lived until he was 94. By the time he died in 2009, he was the sole survivor of 13 siblings. His secret? For as long as I can remember he used to say, with a gusto I have yet to match, “You just have to keep moving!” And with every passing birthday he’d also remind me: “Getting older is better than the alternative.”
Those two pearls of wisdom have continued to serve me well. But it has also occurred to me that since I became a masters runner (defined as 40 and older), I’ve focused primarily on the negative aspects of aging—albeit, mostly factors that my grandfather never had to experience. Women face a lot of challenges in mid-life that make it hard to maintain a cheery disposition, even as that simple advice to “keep moving!” holds true. The decline of estrogen levels has an effect on just about everything, including mood, sleep, body composition, bone density, muscle mass, and more….
