Olympic gold medalist Eric Heiden may celebrate turning 50 by competing at the Huntsman World Senior Games

Eric Heiden is a man of firsts. First to earn five Olympic gold medals for the U.S. in a single Winter Games (Lake Placid, 1980), first to set four Olympic and one world record in a single Olympiad, first speed skater to receive the annual James E. Sullivan Award, first U.S. Pro champion bike racer, and first in so many races as an elite athlete.

Heiden has mused about returning to competition as a Masters athlete. While he may not possess the sculpted thighs and conditioning of his Olympic days, there is something to fear about Heiden's return and it is this: in the past three decades, no one has been able to match Heiden's singular determination to achieve at the highest level of competition.

A role model's model, Heiden is the guy that Lance Armstrong and Apolo Anton Ohno call for advice. As an orthopedic surgeon, Heiden says that his most significant achievement was his medical studies and not the five gold medals. (He practices in Murray, Utah, and is married with two young children). As an athlete about to turn 50, Heiden gave Masters Athlete his take on aging, exercise, and competition.

Masters Athlete: As the team doctor for the Sacramento Monarchs women's pro basketball team, you once treated Ruthie Bolton, who is also an Olympian. At one point she asked you if you had ever done any sports. How did you reply?

Eric Heiden: With questions like that I usually say, 'Yeah' and tell them how much I used to do. In a sense, they have a respect for what you're telling them, and they have a lot more confidence in what you're doing for them.

MA: There are no gold medals for becoming an orthopedic surgeon, yet you remarked once that your single greatest achievement was completing your studies in orthopedics. Was it the actual completion of your studies or was it your potential to positively influence athletic performance?

EH: When I think about the significant stuff I've done, it was a great achievement to be an Olympic athlete. That took a lot of time and effort. But as an athlete, you're an entertainer. What I do now is a lot more rewarding, because I get to help individuals. In terms of accomplishments, becoming a physician is number one and number two is the skating. You have to dedicate your life to your profession; medicine is continually changing and you have stay on top of things relative to care.

MA: What sort of effect did winning at an international level have upon your studies in medicine?

EH: Having the international experience has really given me a unique idea of what sports medicine is. In the U.S. it's mostly orthopedics and skeletal injuries. In other parts of world, people seem to understand the components to good results are good biomechanics, eating well, and training well. In America we are a bit to myopic on orthopedics and orthopedic injuries. Having the experience in Europe really opened my eyes to what there is out there.

MA: What do you do to stay in shape?

EH: During the summer I go biking, either road or mountain, two to three times per week. In the winter I go cross-country skiing. I also do weights. As we get older, we start to lose muscle mass, so it's important to have some good core strength."

MA: What's a typical workout?

EH: If I go out skiing, I usually try to go out for an hour and a half. During that time, it's mostly just lactate threshold skiing at a heart rate of about 160-165. I don't really do a lot with intervals or threshold; instead, I keep a good steady pace. With cycling very often I'll do intervals on a hill two or three times at a good hard effort. I try to finish with good climbs, like over near Olympic Park here in Park City (Utah) there's a good steady climb that's almost 10 minutes. With weights, I try to alternate between upper and lower extremities. I'm not very structured - that's the problem with being a physician, it's hard to get on a schedule.

MA: When you turn 50 in June, you will qualify for some specific Masters races, do have any plans to return to competition?

EH: Yeah, I was impressed with the Huntsman (World Senior) Games and the number and quality of athletes. There are some guys who have that competition fire burning bright. For myself I enjoy having a goal. One of my goals this year is to get in shape so that I can feel comfortable racing. I think I'll look forward to a goal to make training less monotonous. Focus and setting goals have been two characteristics that have allowed me to be successful. I learned time management through speed skating, and I learned to be focused when things weren't going so well. I was able to carry on those attributes that allowed me to be successful as a cyclist and they were very important in my pursuit to become a physician. It's very easy to give up when you're on call every other day for three months. If you don't have that passion, it's easy to call it quits. People think of the pain and agony of going through residency. The experiences I had as a cyclist taught me that things could be a lot worse. Bike racing taught me about suffering. Racing through rain, ice and sleet for five hours, those are the things you can look back on when you're sitting at a desk in the middle of the night and realize that things could be much worse.

MA: What is your general philosophy on aging, exercise, and competition?

EH: I think with regard to aging, people have to understand that it's important to stay active throughout your entire life. As you get older, it's not like you're going to be able to do the same activities as you did when you were younger. You don't see many football players after their mid-20s or -30s, they have to move onto something else. I think that as you age, the most important thing is to adapt and accept what life gives you and where you stand.