Racing over Age 50 - A Philosophical Observation

The funny thing about racing today is, that it "feels" almost the same as it did 30 years ago, except I'm running roughly 1 minute per mile slower, maybe a bit slower. I think if i trained enough to be in really good shape, my 5k times would be about a minute per mile slower than in my prime (5:53 per mile vs. 4:53 in my prime). My mile time would be a lesser differential....4:19 in my prime, maybe low 5s (or sub-5) now. But when racing, I can't really tell that I'm running slower than I used to..............Strange.............doggone it, I must be getting old!