Training, strength, endurance, nutrition, and what breaks.
I’m sixty-nine. Two marathons in twelve months at sixty-eight, and now a barbell instead — 143kg off the floor by December, which is a serious number for a man my age, and one I might not get. The point isn’t the events. The point is arriving at eighty still able to pick heavy things up.
I’m not an athlete. I was distinctly average at sport as a boy and I’m a distinctly average athlete now, carrying twenty-seven fractures, two arthritic knees and a shoulder that won’t rotate. What I have is consistency: fifteen years of training, on average, every other day.
I spent nearly thirty years in sports nutrition, which means I read the research rather than the marketing, and I’ll tell you when the evidence is thin. Expect numbers, sources, and the sessions that go wrong as well as the ones that don’t.
8 Weeks to the New York Marathon Eight weeks from today, I’ll be crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge out of Staten Island, headed for Manhattan. The New York Marathon will be my first marathon. My first at age 68. And one that’s been a long time …
Gently Raging While Running In November 2023, I sat at the finish line of the New York Marathon—not as a runner, but as a witness. Six months earlier, I’d had my first serious cycling accident. Recovery was slow, and it was tough. But the process …
Misogi Time 99 days to go. I’ve been up and down since my last blog, hence the long gap. I have had the goal to achieve my misogi—running the New York Marathon—in my head for a while. But it’s been a challenge. Which I guess …
Another Misogi Building Block It was a solid week of training as I think about my misogi challenge in New York on 2 November this year. The week saw me clock 427 on the Training Stress Score on TrainingPeaks, versus a target of 415. This …
23 Weeks To Go Misogi minus 23 weeks. The hard work starts here. I have done the holiday in New Orleans and rested up on Miami Beach and got over the jet lag. So now it’s time. I have nailed together a 12 week half-marathon …
Targeting My Misogi Show up. I have been putting the work in over recent months. A year since my clavicle surgery and six months since the effect of my head injury abated, I have worked hard. Show up. There is no shortcut, no magic diet …
A Marathon Not A Sprint April has seen me build up my running volume as I think about the startline in New York for the marathon, now six months away. I know many of you are thinking I have more than enough time, and it …
Rucking – Effective Training I decided to add rucking to the mix a couple of years ago. While recuperating from an accident in mid-2023, I bought a TRX weighted vest and used it to good effect. It’s not perfect; I find the way it sits …
Misogi Prep – Digging In It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. I’m digging in to the training and preparation for my New York Marathon misogi, 33 weeks from today. It was a slightly dispiriting January, as winter flu dragged on for a month. The …
Father Time Has Presented The Bill Misogi reality is kicking in, as my challenge appears to be in deep conversation with Father Time. I’m due to run the New York Marathon 39 weeks from today. It’s a true misogi, as I haven’t completed a marathon …