Those of us in the tech industry do not question the need to plan for disaster — backups, redundancy, replication, recovery, etc., are all part of our vocabulary. We do not wait for disaster to happen and then sort out the mess afterwards — we assume disasters will occur and plan accordingly.
So why do we adopt such a cavalier attitude towards our health and the functional fitness that enables us to make the most of retirement? We meticulously safeguard our digital assets, yet overlook the most vital resource we possess — our own bodies. Many of us only address injury after it occurs. But just as in technology, the key to sustaining many of the activities we love lies in proactive maintenance.
Enter Coach Kat (Katherine Hewitson), my running guide, who trained me to achieve six personal records in the 5k during 2024 (74% age grade). In addition, Kat has instilled in me the discipline required to maintain a balanced regime, incorporating strength training, flexibility, and rest. These elements, especially at my age, are critical in creating resilience and safeguarding against unexpected injury that could side-line or even end my goal of progressing towards an 80% age grade for 5k.
In the same way that data centres have fail safes and early warning systems, Kat introduces strategies to recognise and avoid issues before they escalate. Relying solely on reactive measures is akin to waiting for a server to crash without having backups; the fallout can be significant, and the recovery arduous.
In the world of Retired where we cannot predict the future and the long service award is to be avoided for as long as possible, we can still be prepared. Kat is an invaluable partner in this preparation, guiding me with expertise, foresight, and a commitment to my overall well-being.
Do yourself a favour — get yourself a coach like Kat!
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