Weekend Warrior's Survival Kit

At some point or another, Father Time catches up with all of us.

Sure, we'd like to think we're still young and immortal like we were in our teens and twenties, but time catches up with us all. Even weekend warriors who insist on running 5k races, playing flag football, a pick-up game of basketball or even a game of softball.

After displaying our diminished physical skills, we walk, hunched over, like George Burns. Our muscles ache. Our knees crackle. Our necks and elbows stiffen. We are the proud, the middle-aged, the weekend warriors.

If you're denying your chronological age like me (or are just a young 'un approaching your 30th birthday) and don't want to give up your activities, you'll need a survival kit. A good weekend warrior's survival kit will contain the following:

Advil. Ibuprofen has a wonderful tendency to reduce swelling. And, if like me, you're carrying a bit more weight that you did in you physical prime, your hips, knees, ankles and feet are gonna ache. Advil (or its generic substitute) can help reduce the swelling, thereby reducing your pain. This is a good thing. After all, you can't back out of that tennis match with your father-in-law just because you had a little boo-boo, can you? You'll never hear the end of it - being afraid to play an old man and all that. Take a few Advil every four hours and your swelling will go down enough for you to play.

First aid kit. Look, you know you dinged up. Every weekend warrior does. We sprain our ankles or some other joint and need to wrap ourselves up. We may cut ourselves. Band aids and gauze bandages are handy to have in those situations. All first aid kits should come with an instant-cold pack, too. They help reduce swelling caused by banging parts of our body against parts of the environment that were not intended to be banged into.

Identification. If you're alone, injured and can't speak for yourself, people are going to need to know just who the heck you are. That way, they can notify your loved ones. Sure, that may sound morbid, but it just makes sense. Additionally, if you're locked out of your car, most reputable garages won't open the vehicle until you prove that you're the owner.

Keys. I can't stress this one enough to all weekend warriors: bring a set of keys with you. Otherwise, you better have your license handy for the garage to open the door for you.

Money. You don't need to pack a roll of "Franklins" in your shorts, but you should have a few dollars on you for emergency purposes. Many runners I race with go so far as to even carry a credit card with them. Why carry cash and/or credit card(s)? You never know when you'll run out of fluids and need some more. Or, you may need to hop onto a bus or into a cab. Without the immediate funds to handle emergencies, you're high and dry.

Pity. Our better halves know we're clinging desperately to our lost youth and love us anyway. After abusing your body, ask your honey to give you a nice full-body massage while you lie about your day's victory. Go ahead - embellish. Significant others know us weekend warriors pretty well - and somehow, someway, manage to love our aging bodies anyhow.