kypaddler:

The comment from the 20 something isn't surprising too me.
When I was into the health club workout scene, I had friends who taught various group exercise classes. From aerobics/step/spin and circuit classes that combined aerobics with weights, I was almost always the oldest guy in the room.

 The young 20 something girls and guys would come in and you could see by the look on their faces that they thought they're were in the senior fitness class and that they were not going too get the hard workout they were looking for.

 Most classes start with a slow warm-up and then they kick into high gear. They also have times when your jumping back and forth between endurance and working at YOUR highest heart rate that's within the safe limit for your age and fitness level.

The "kids" would be jumping and shouting during the warm-ups and looking at us "older" people like we were DOA ;D

Well, an hour long class taught by the right instructor, is like a paddling trip, all about endurance and economy of motion. By the middle of class the kids were sucking wind, stopping for water and walking in back of room too catch their breath.

Meanwhile the "dinosaurs" were kicking butt and continued doing so until the cool down and stretch part at the end.

 ANYONE can go like hell for a short period, maybe even a hard paddle day. But getting up the next day and being able to give a good days effort is another thing. Part is physical, learning how to work hard when you need too, and "conserving" when you don't ;)

The biggest thing IMHO, is the mental toughness. Life/work is a grind. Some days suck but you show up anyway. Learning that hard fact of life translates into recreational activities as well. On a long trip or a short one with obstacles, I'll take the mentally tough dinosaur over the young physically strong "buck" any day. Some will rise too the challenge, but many just want to quit. After all we live in a society that gives kids Trophy's just for showing up :(  Unfortunately, in the real world, that doesn't get the job done!