Running Into Your Fifties

I will hit the half-century mark at year's end, with about 11 years of endurance racing and training in the bank. What have I learnt in my years of sustained efforts and performances?

LESS IS MORE: As I enter a new age-group (AG), I have found that more rest and recovery enhances my performance. By performance, I mean either increased speediness, or retarding the degradation process of performance. Between my Boston Qualifiers (BQ) of 2013 and 2015, my time was slower by 54 seconds. In effect, it was negligible as I lost about two minutes for a forced bathroom break. Plus, I prepared for this third BQ in less than six weeks. My usual BQ preparation is 12 weeks, or 3 months, with 3-4 workouts per week. All my runs are done at tempo-paced, fartlek, or time-trial. Intensity supercedes 'junk miles'. In the off-season, low-heartrate, aerobic activity is crucial to building up the 'fat-burning, aerobic-base'. I subscribed to Phil Maffetone's approach to building sustained endurance fitness.

EATING WELL IS KEY: With an orientation to eating 'clean', and applying the 80:20 Rule, my recovery is much better. I have included more essential fats into my diet, increasing it to about 20-30 percent of my overall diet. What has changed is including extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, butter, eggs, and fish oils. An increased use of antioxidant-laden nutrients such as krill oil, deep-sea fish oils (Omega-3 fatty acids), pomegranate juice, tart cherry juice (for reducing muscle soreness), colourful vegetables, probiotics (gut bacteria), and ginger. Eliminate or reduce allergy-causing foods, as it sabotages your overall health.

STRENGTH TRAINING IS A MUST: Muscle mass loss is significant once we pass the 40-year mark. I learnt the hard way that maintaining and even increasing muscle mass (lean tissue) is critical to running better. Long-distance runners, marathoners and ultra-marathoners are too 'skinny'. The emaciated look can be perceived as unhealthy. A weak upper-body supported by stronger lower-limbs, may jeopardise potential speed required for attending to hills, and the last burst of sprint speed for the finish or PR/PB. Commit to a gamut of regular, functional-strength-focused activities like yoga, core-strength, cross-training (e.g. riding and swimming), circuit-training, plyometrics, CrossFit, and the like. Gaining lean muscle weight (and thus, strength) is fine, and would not affect your performance.

STAYING MOTIVATED: Performing well physically, gives one a heightened sense of confidence. The occasional PB/PR can be empowering, whilst poor performance can riddle my race-plans with doubt. The key is to review each performance and learn what can be prevented, reduced or eliminated in future races. Sometimes, it can be physiological and beyond my control. Focus only on what you can control. The nice thing about 'aging up' and entering a new AG, would be the implicit or explicit allowances on qualification times, or potential podium placings in the Masters' category. My static time for my BQ, has recently earned me another 5 minutes for my BQ lottery. I look forward to a slot in the 120th edition of Boston Marathon with a margin of over-12 minutes for my new AG.

Time To Bust The Joint?

Joint pain and joint injury can attack us at any age. The causes of these joint-related malaises can be due to illness, inactivity, over-activity, nutritional deficiencies, and allergies.

The verdict is still out on the usefulness of nutritional supplements (and dermal-based, topical ointments) based on glucosamine and chondroitin. There are people who cannot metabolise these two leading joint supplements due to allergy, gastrointestinal issues, larger size of tablets to swallow, and prolonged use may only reveal results.

How can we enjoy continued joint health? These lifestyle approaches may help us create and retain continued joint mobility and function:

1)    Achieve your optimal weight.

2)    Exercise (low-impact activities like walking, Tai Chi, and yoga for starters).

3)    Eat a higher-quality diet.

4)    Maximize your vitamin D level.

5)    Integrate Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet.

6)    Attempt EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) to activate energy points and channels by tapping on one’s body.

I do not have a history of joint injury, and my most serious conditions included sore knees (after long runs, exceeding two hours) and mild plantar fasciitis on my soles). I have found the six interventions recommended above to be useful after eight years of competitive racing in marathons and Ironman triathlons. Learn more from Dr Mercola’s website about nutritional support for your body.

Fit For Travel, Fit For Lifestyle

Have you ever gone on group tours where you overhead callused or careless remarks like: ‘Why do they bring older people on tour?’ This is because some people have difficulty catching up or following the speed of the tour. Mind you, the Tour Directors may be sensitive to such realities and pace the tour (to the slowest moving ones) but they do get questioned, as I have witnessed.

The life cycle of humans indicate strongly that most tend to travel more only during their retirement. More and more, families are traveling in their youth, including bringing their children on overseas vacation at an earlier age (pre-teens). Being fit is an important aspect of your ability to cover more places of interest, as well as keeping up with the main group.

My ex-colleague, Edward who is based in Seattle shared with me last year that, when his colleagues invited him for a hike, it was 4-6 hour tough climbing excursion. He was not ready at all for his first foray into weekend hikes! He is now a fit, budding triathlete and blends well into the strong sporty and outdoors culture.

Executive fitness is as important as being fit for your vacation. Here are some ways to stay fit, year-round, for working trips or pleasure trips.

1)    Maintain basic fitness by doing fast, and long walks, a few times a week.

2)    Do core stability workouts a few times a week. You can do it at home at your convenience (before your shower or meal).

3)    You can do short circuit training sessions that last two to three sets (10-15 minutes long).

4)    If you have a gym, do 2-3 workouts per week as a goal. Weight-training is important for those over-40 as we tend to lose more bone mass then.

5)    Any activity is still activity! A bit goes a long way.

6)    Do some strength training for you may need to haul heavy luggage (yours, and others) when moving from airport to airport, hotel to hotel.

7)    After each business day, head for the gym to de-stress and aim for a 30-45 minute workout. Add variety, and switch order of activities or mix them up (swim, ride, run or strength-training).

8)    When traveling, stay hydrated with bottled or plain water.

9)    Move around when on-board your plane or train. DVT is a potential threat if we stay too still for too long.

10) Bring a small first-aid kit with you on all travels. Your local clinic can provide you with the basic set that includes medication for traveller’s sickness, fever, flu, cuts, stings and abrasions.

Don’t Sweat The Small Things

This was a popular book just a few years back, and it spawned many derivatives (like the Chicken Soup For the Soul series). However, it is so easy to lose sight of the essence of the theme if you did not read it.

Details are important if you want to achieve your goals on time, and on target. Negligence and carelessness can compromise our goals, and even dreams. However, details can cloud the big picture if we can bogged with them. Analyse until paralyse!

Routine tasks are just routines which means we need to do them. However a routine need not be boring or predictable. Training for a race may be tough, but it need not test our attention and attentiveness. Routines help build discipline and patience, so we do them to prove we can manage the daily disruptions and interruptions. Here are some ideas for not spending too much energy wasted on the minutiae.

1)    Spend a small of the day to compliment somebody or give praise.

2)    Encourage somebody. This is one of the best ways for empowering others.

3)    When the going gets tough, laugh it off. Laughter produces stress-coping chemicals in our brain.

4)    Exercise is like laughter, although its more strenuous it can be just as effective.

5)    Create moments to leave your desk. It would be better for your back.

6)    Send a ‘how are you?’ text message, or an e-mail. Enjoy how soon you get a reply.

7)    Pick up an unfamiliar word and search it up on dictionary.com. See how soon you can use it in your correspondence.

8)    Break a pattern of behavior. Change your morning routine. Switch your exercises around. Each more vegetables of another colour.

9)    Delegate to another a useful task – however offer the person a degree of authority, and you retain the responsibility. That’s sharing the workload.

10) Give thanks and praise to the universe. Be thankful that we are alive to be able to experience life in its many forms.

10 Ways to Generate An Optimal Working State

Leaders need energy to lead well. Energy is the source of life. Our body produces and harnesses it. When we are fresh and energized, we can do much more than when we are fatigued and drained. Here are some ways to stay energetic and alert for the stresses and challenges of this new, year. For more tips on prolonged energy generation and sustaining it, stay tuned for the tacit wisdom of our endurance athletes featured on this blog (marathoners, ultra-marathoners, triathletes, Ironman, ultra-Ironman, and long-distance swimmers, podium-finishers). Lead energetically, enthusiastically and with purpose!

1)    Spend less time at the keyboard. Sit on a Medi-Ball (or Swiss ball) instead of a chair. Your heightened posture expands your ribcage.

2)    Stand up and stretch whenever you can.

3)    Take a brisk walk. Do MBWA (Management By Walking Around) at the office! Have short, mobile meetings – meetings on the run!

4)    Drink water at regular intervals. Exercise stimulates thirst, although thirst is not a good indicator of dehydration.

5)    Sleep adequately (6-7.5 hours at least). It diminishes your stress and lowers your heart rate.

6)    Take deep breathes, when you feel sleepy or tired.

7)    Exercise regularly. Cross-train. Do activities that you enjoy.

8)    Stay positive with self-encouragement. Enhance your Positive Mental Attitude (PMA). Enjoy your race finishes, race-medals and finisher-tees.

9)    Surround yourself with enthusiastic and energetic people.

10) Eat regular well-balanced meals. Avoid foods that cause you allergies. Raw foods are a great complement to our nutrition.

Art Driven by Passion

This story comes from D. Varella who with his trusty lens and eye for the extraordinary delivered this piece. Enjoy!

There are quite a number of buskers in Orchard Road, but the more popular act is the Woodballs Hula. The busker, Mr. Oh, is a rather elderly man but seems to be in the trim of health. Some say that this hula is a form of exercise - not surprising! I caught him performing his hula enthusiastically on a hot afternoon, without a break, for more than an hour - what stamina!

He was especially keen, upon seeing a person with a camera, ever willing to increase his pace with a mischievous grin and bright sparkle in his eyes. He was looking for good publicity.

I dropped a few dollars in appreciation for the photo taking, and glanced at his money tray. I was surprised - in it was quite a tidy sum. Yes! With some relevant skills and lots of 'balls', one can actually make a decent living.

Photo credits: D. Varella