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 or supplement or routine. You need to show up. All else fails. Since my surgery, I have run more than 100 times and been to the gym more than 100 times. Plus, I have thrown in other stuff for variety, such as rucking. I have tended to train five times a week over the last year, with only a bad bout of winter flu slowing my pace.
I’m 68 in a couple of weeks, and various parts of my body hurt, and I’m not as fast or strong as I was. But I show up, which measurably puts me ahead of most of my peers. I know I would hurt more and feel less vibrant if I sat on my ass all day. I know my mental health would not be as good if I didn’t remain curious and open to learning new relationships and novel experiences.
It’s about to get real over the next 24 weeks. Last year, I was locked in for the New York Marathon, even running two weeks after my surgery. That was my misogi for 2024. But post-traumatic vertigo from my head injury defeated me. But no backing down; I rolled over my entry to 2025. My first ever marathon at the age of 68 is a worthy misogi.
Having A Plan
I have made many mistakes during my exercise journey, including having a plan and ignoring the key parts. Yes, you have done it. I can show up and do the work, too. However, I am not the best at adhering to the more subtle elements. In my case, I have repeated two negative behaviours.
Firstly, I don’t prioritise my training, and I must. I quickly let a business call push a training session aside. That’s dumb of me; one of the attractions of my third-phase work life is that I have a portfolio of work, and I don’t have to work 60 or 70 hours a week. I believe I am owed the luxury of prioritising my training when I consider my diary for a given week.
Secondly, I exhibit weapons-grade stupidity when it comes to deload week. My excellent coaching support has me on a three-week push, one-week adapt cycle. I have tended to get to the start of week four and said to myself some version of, “I feel great; I think I will push on!” Even typing this makes me feel stupid. Training adaptation is crucial for any athlete. For a 67-year-old athlete with an accumulation of injuries, wear and tear, and a naturally longer recovery time, it’s even more important.
Coach Parry has given me a 12-week half-marathon training plan, and then I have a further 12-week marathon build plan. I deliberately rested for two weeks while on vacation. On Monday, it’s time to show up and execute 24 weeks of training if I am to deliver on my misogi.
The Bigger Picture
I am not only looking at pounding the tarmac for 24 weeks. Strength training, mobility work, proper recovery, nutrition, supplementation, and support from people like my osteopath are also crucial. I need to bring my 67 years of wisdom to the table. My age and physical shape lengthen the odds of completing my misogi. But my mental resilience, wisdom, and ability to learn more than balance that out. I must show up in all these seven spheres if I am to succeed. This will be a mental game as well as a physical game. I can’t beat a marathon into submission with a head-on attack; I need to surround it with various weapons. Show up and do the work.
And you know, I may still fail. That’s my nagging fear. Yet, I have come to terms with the thought that if I give my best possible effort in all the key elements, I will have done all I can. If I succeed, great. If I don’t, I will have done everything I can.
I am very honoured to have Olympic cyclist Chris Hoy among my friends, and it has always stayed in my mind that he talks about alleviating pressure if you know you have done all you can while preparing. The philosophy emerged from his close collaboration with sports psychologist Professor Steve Peters. Here’s Chris:
“If you go to the line knowing you have given it absolutely 100% in every training session you have done, you know that there’s nothing else you could have done, and that helps you to deal with the pressure.”
I’m taking that piece of wisdom onboard on my 24-week journey to the start line in Staten Island. If I manage the big picture and show up for the next months, I will be physically and mentally better, and that’s a huge win. Then, I can get on and enjoy the event. I know that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. I must show up and do all the work in my preparation—all the work, not inconsistent cherry-picking.
Show Up – Run & Lift
I have worked with South Africa-based Coach Parry for a few months. As an old but rookie runner, I needed some guidance. One strength of the team is their specialism with over-50s runners, and that closed the deal for me. There is an option for one-to-one coaching, but at present, I use the annual subscription service. Excellent coaches Devlin, Ntutu, and Nicky quickly answer questions posted in the forum.
I have learned a lot—the above-mentioned periodisation technique, for one. The ego-crushingly slow running pace can be an advantage – building time on the feet and aerobic capacity being more advantageous for me than pushing on too much. The criticality of strength training, given the age-related muscle loss that older athletes deal with. The strength work is thorough enough to have time spent on foot strength – after all, a marathon is 55,000 steps long. Mobility work is fundamental.
I confess that I detest mobility work, but spending a few minutes daily on it has been a game changer. My hips and knees thank me for this. And when I drop my ice cream on the floor, I’m mobile enough to swoop and recover it gracefully.
Strength Work For Runners?
I’m an experienced weightlifter and am fortunate to be a member of Third Space in Soho, London. I probably double the average age in the gym simply by putting my foot on the strength room floor. But I show up and do the work. Nothing flashy, and I don’t stay too long. If you’re working correctly, 45 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down, is enough. I focus on basics such as deadlifts and bench presses.
I’m leaving out heavy squats at present and using single-leg leg presses and Knees Over Toes Guy single-leg body weight squats; I want to pay real attention to the musculature around my knees. Ben Patrick also convinced me to use a Tib Bar for lower leg work, and I added that in, too.
We all naturally start to lose muscle from our late 30s onwards, but the good news is that we can reverse this trend, even in our 70s. Simply running and not paying attention to muscle mass will be a one-way trip to injury. Running three times and lifting twice sounds odd, but it’s essential.
For the next 24 weeks, I have a simple routine: Run three times a week, including a Saturday long, slow run. Strength work twice. Rest completely for two days. One week in every four is a de-load week. Simple, huh? He said naively.
Feel free to keep me honest. You can see all my workouts on Strava here. I will show up.
Nutrition Is Key
I should have an edge here, given that I was the CEO of the endurance nutrition company Science in Sport for 12 years. We supplied elite athletes in a range of endurance sports across the world. I was fortunate to work alongside world-class sports physiologists and nutrition experts such as Professor James Morton. In my third-phase advisor, coach, and investor portfolio, I have also worked with Dr David Dunne and Dr Sam Impey. I always say if you cut me across the middle like a tree trunk, you will see Science in Sport imprinted inside me. Now, part of my third-phase career is a role as a non-executive director of running supplement company Puresport, which maintains my exposure and learning in the sports nutrition sector.
You can see that just by osmosis and being around such high-quality people, I should have a clue here. It’s dead simple for me: hydration, energy, and protein. Show up, have a solid, non-flashy nutrition plan, and be consistent.
- I don’t tend to hydrate enough, and that’s more common than you would think. I need to step up my game, not only during exercise but also in my life. I need to get it into my head that mainlining coffee isn’t enough. I use high-quality hydration powders from the top-quality companies already mentioned. (He said, being riven by mixed loyalties.)
- For energy, I must have enough glycogen in my muscles before training, and that comes from food-based carbs such as oatmeal, bread, and pasta. Always get your food right before you think about sports nutrition. When running, I know I will use about 90 grams of carbohydrates an hour. I take a Science in Sport gel, chew block, or bar every 45 minutes.
- Post-run, I will always have a protein shake within 30 minutes of finishing. I want to start the muscle repair process as soon as I can. More broadly, protein is essential to the older athlete; I have written about it previously. I aim to ingest at least 150 grams of protein daily and will go up to 200 grams if I plan well enough. As with energy, I try to get as much protein as possible from quality food sources. But I can eat only so much fish, chicken, meat, eggs, therefore protein shakes help me make the number.
There is a lot of pseudoscience around sports nutrition. I haven’t seen human physiology evolve that much in my career, so many of the wilder claims and more esoteric products can be ruled out. Think hydration, energy, and protein. Think of the three phases of before, during, and after exercise. It’s really that simple—or not.
It’s crucial to note that no magic sports nutrition or supplement product is magic. You must get your basic diet right; it’s all about a solid foundation of good food. Sports nutrition products while out there pound the tarmac and add to your normal diet sensibly; for example, protein shakes to hit your target. I would say focus 90% of your attention on your diet, the bulk of the next 10% of your headspace on your sports nutrition, and 1-2% on your supplementation.
Supplementation
Now, supplementation can start to get more cloudy. Again, wild claims abound, and the scientific proof that many supplements are truly helpful is sometimes not compelling. I will tell you what I take, and while some of my supplements have great scientific support, some aren’t as slam dunk.
- Creatine. This is the supplement with the widest, deepest body of proof. I take 5 grams a day. It’s even more critical for me as an older athlete. The benefits include muscle preservation, increased strength, and faster recovery times. There is an increasing weight of evidence around neurological benefits, which, while not that useful in the athletic arena, must be a great plus for a man of my years. Creatine is the must-take supplement.
- I use Puresport Magnesium 30 minutes before bed each evening. Magnesium deficiency is common, and more so in athletes. While the range of benefits is potentially broad, I use it to promote better sleep, which is crucial for recovery.
- L-glutamine is my third go-to. It’s a non-essential amino acid that is essential for several key body functions, including protein synthesis, immune function, and gut health. Supplementation can help recovery, so I take it. To show up consistently, it’s all about recovery.
- Vitamin B-12 is crucial in converting carbohydrates to glucose, our fuel source for exercise. It also assists in the synthesis of protein. People over 50 can have B12 deficiency due to changes in gut function, meaning less becomes available in the older athlete. It’s a must in my supplementation regime.
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Those four supplements support my running and lifting efforts and meaningfully contribute to my ‘show up’ armoury. I also take Vitamin D and K2 daily for general well-being.
The Fine Tuning
I continue to show up, and my body takes a battering from running. I’ve been logging 60,000 steps in some weeks recently. Natural wear and tear magnifies the effect on my frame. And it has recently been highlighted to me that my two cycling accidents have exacerbated the damage in my knee and hip. My right knee doesn’t quite straighten after a major collision with the tarmac. And my left hip may be in the early stages of serious decline, triggered by my three pelvic fractures. None of these are excuses in waiting; an inactive me would potentially have multiple physical issues to deal with. I see them as items to deal with.
I have invested in a weekly osteopathy session with the excellent Guy Gold for the last three months. An hour a week has improved me incredibly. I am more mobile and flexible, and my knee pain has been alleviated. I am a realist and know my frame will undergo a lot of wear and tear in the next six months, and I see osteopathy as a tool to help me show up. The clock can’t be turned back on decades of wear and tear, but I can optimise my condition.
I mentioned mobility earlier. Coaches Devlin and Nicky from Coach Parry convinced me to spend time on mobility with this simple, three-exercise routine. I have found every excuse under the sun not to do any work on flexibility and mobility. This routine takes me less than ten minutes. Even my stubborn self knows that I will likely induce injuries in the hip girdle and knees without this work. And so far, so good. Take ten minutes to watch the video, and give it a crack.
Not Just Physical Fitness
In the end, this all boils down to the mental game. Can you show up and do the work, week in and week out? I’ve found that as I age, my body has earned the right to mumble, complain, and throw various challenges my way. But equally, age has made me mentally stronger. Indeed, the concept of misogi is something I relish in my 60s.
I have faced up to issues of depression and anxiety for much of my life. I left it longer than I should deal with some of this stuff; it’s a tough spectrum of health considerations to even admit to, let alone deal with. But I took it on and have worked with some great professionals over the last 15 to 20 years. And I’ve used it to learn more about resilience and the basic workings of the human mind.
From a purely mental health perspective, I have found the number one tool is to talk to someone and tell them what’s going on for you. I have rarely been rebuffed; decent humans tend to lean in with empathy and support. My second tool has been to talk to mental health professionals; keep it in perspective – a session with a good therapist costs less than a night at a local restaurant. In addition to this work, I have developed self-awareness and resilience from exploring mindfulness meditation. I signed up for a Sam Harris Waking Up subscription some months ago, and that’s taken my learning to another level. It’s next-level thinking.
I must add that this isn’t the ‘poor me’ section of the blog. It’s the section where I make the point that the whole human runs the course—body and mind. Accepting mental health as something that can be improved in the same way physical health can improve is a step change.
Show Up In Mind And Body
Show up. It won’t be a smooth road for me over the next 24 weeks, and Sunday, 2nd November, will be a serious challenge. There will be injury. Life will get in the way. I will feel defeated some days. I won’t want to step out on that miserable, wet day when my legs still hurt from two days before. A misogi challenge should, by definition, be challenging.
I will be training anywhere between six and nine hours a week, and I will also be spending time on mobility work, osteopathy, and such. And I need to do it 24 weeks consecutively. That’s hard yards. And I will show up. I wasn’t as resilient earlier in life, but life has taught me that resilience, consistency, and embracing the grind have their rewards.
Sometimes, you only make a millimeter of progress in a day, and some weeks, you can backslide a little. That’s part of the rich game of being human. If I zoom out my focus, then the setbacks are thrown into perspective. If I look at the jagged graph line of progression in my total well-being—physical, mental, philosophical, attitude, mindset, optimism, thirst for life—the trend line is an upward one.
The challenges and setbacks are part of the overall story of coming home and being the person you want to be and can be. And it starts with two words. Show. Up.
I will practice all I have preached in the various sections of this blog and will be on the start line in Staten Island on 2 November. And if life, health, or any unforeseen obstacle emerges and I don’t make it, I will be a stronger, more resilient, more complete man through having shown up and worked. The work itself will improve me. But I would bet on me being on that start line.
Wonderful read. Thanks Stephen
Alex