is it me or do I look like i've gotten "bigger"? lol.
the lighting is definitely in your favor here
you look ripped though. I love how passionate you are about this running stuff. You can really tell by the way you talk about. That's great!
This "elite team" sounds like a great opportunity to further your running career... I say go for it! As you said you aren't obliged to do all your training sessions with them right. So you can still do your solo training and benefit from a driven training group!
And about the not getting younger thing: It's pretty common that endurance athletes perform well into their mid-late thirties or even forties isn't it?