Meet Hildee, a Late-Onset Athlete

In 2014, at the age of 46, Hildee Weiss tripped on a sidewalk lip. Thankfully, she didn't break anything as she hit the ground, but the spill cracked open something inside of her: she realized that her physical health was absolutely last on her to-do list.

Sure, the mother-of-five followed an indoor walking DVD and lifted some three-pound weights when she had time, but her workouts were irregular at best. Plus, Hildee, who had been in Weight Watchers off and on for three decades, battled the scale—and with her self esteem. She and her body weren't exactly on friendly terms. 

Still, she called her local Jewish Community Center and was introduced to a trainer named Jeff Yannarrell.Early on, Jeff asked Hildee her secret fitness dream. "Running," she answered. Within a few months, Hildee had crossed a 5K finish line—was was off on a journey, as she writes in her book Embracing My Inner Athlete: Former Couch Potato Mom Discovers Fitness, and Life Hasn't Been the Same Since!, "from sedentary wife and mother of five to a fifty-something quasi-athlete. I still have a hard time calling myself an athlete."

I'd definitely call her an athlete, and I had the chance to connect with her recently about her book, her decade plus of fitness, and how her perspective on herself has changed. 

Jeff + Hildee post-race.

First, meet Jeff: Jeff is my trainer and my running buddy, but he’s so much more than that. He is a very good friend who has seen me at my most vulnerable and he knows me better than I know myself.  Over the years, he has had me do things that I shake my head at: trail running despite my fear of heights; finishing Spartan races and half marathons; getting in the pool. He has given me the gift of learning how to open myself up to possibilities. 

A typical Jeff challenge: Plank for how long?: I worked my way up from 30 second planks to a minute and then 90 seconds and then two minutes and each milestone was a test of mental endurance. I had to really work to not let that inner voice tell me that I had to say ‘stop’. A three-minute plank was was a battle of the wills. When I heard, after 180 seconds, Jeff say ‘and you’re done,’ I got into a child’s pose and said ‘never again!’ 

Fresh legs at age 46: My first few years of running were pretty effortless. I could go out for a four-mile run and get it done in around 36 minutes. I was able to do double-digit runs while training for that first half marathon without any hesitation. 

 As hard—or harder?—than any physical challenge: Writing a book. 

Jeff strikes again: Each and every challenge he has me do is something that seemed so unbelievably out of my comfort zone. I  questioned my being able to get it done as much as I questioned Jeff’s thinking. My 5K PR, set in 2017, was 26:48.

When Jeff mentioned sub 25-minute 5k challenge, I thought ‘no way.’ But I did it. I did the runs on the treadmill that summer, starting out with a baseline of 28 some minutes. Each week, got closer and closer to that number. Eventually, I got to a 25:12 5K on the treadmill.

The true test, though, was a 5K with Jeff at a park. I gave it all my might and never once looked at my watch. When we were done, he told me it was something in the 29-minute range. I was  disappointed that I hadn’t gotten even close to 25 minutes, but Jeff said something about how this whole process was about my pushing myself to work with all of my might and see what I am capable of. That day, it was 29 minutes. 

Plus, I couldn’t ignore the work I’d put in to get there. The mile-repeat runs had me holding paces I’d never managed before, and the speed intervals pushed me with longer bursts and more reps. Strength training had fortified both my upper and lower body, giving me the stability and power to take on those weekly PR challenges. 

Comparison comes calling: After a few years of running, my weight started to go up a little bit, which started to cause an inner voice to chime in: "This is too hard" or "You’re too tired to do that fourth mile" I got so caught up with comparing current self to my former self who ran that first half so easily.

I compared my paces. I avoided running with my running groups because I convinced myself that I had gotten too slow to keep up with the back of the pack. I kept looking at my running history from the first few years and try to figure out what I needed to do to get back to my former running self. 

A half-marathon with her son: all medals + smiles.  

Enlightenment one mile at a time: I have learned to stop focusing on the data – the time, the pace, the distance – and I just try to focus on the run. I take in the scenery and say hi to my fellow walkers and runners and I wave to children going onto their school buses.

Letting go of the numbers wasn’t easy but it felt right. Once I stopped using my watch as my metric keeper and focused more on what I was experiencing as I ran, I started to enjoy it and get that drive back that had been missing for far too long. The effort is there just as much with my running a 10:30- or 11-minute mile pace as it was when I ran an 8:30- or 9-minute mile pace. 

Five exercises I'll do forever:
1. Lat Pull-Down Machine: I love how my upper body, especially my triceps, feel engaged with each pull.
2. Chest Press
3. Leg Extension Machine: Burns so good
4. Child’s Pose: My go-to cooldown move. I always take a few extra breaths here to center myself after a workout.
5. Squats: Whether using the TRX, holding a kettlebell, or doing air squats, squatting makes me feel powerful. 

Five I'd be happy to never do again:
1. Planks: I know they’re great for the core, but I’ve never enjoyed holding one.
2. Inverted Rows on TRX: I can do a few with good form, but then I lose it and end up rushing through the rest.
3. Burpees: I never know when to jump out of them.
4. Getups: I’ve improved, but I still forget to reach my hand straight up.
5. Side Planks: It always feels like it takes longer to get into position than to hold it.

Fast forward ten years and... : Active Hildee is chest pressing 30-40 pounds and feeling strong and powerful, which she could have never imagined 12 years ago.

Active Hildee is running on the treadmill, next to her sons and daughters and not comparing her pace to theirs.

Active Hildee is lifting her five-year-old grandson up and down as if he is a weight she can use in a triceps exercise.

And active Hildee is getting on the floor to build a house out of Magna-Tiles with her grandchildren and able to get right back up!