Be as lazy as you can to be fit and healthy

There are lots of diets and exercise programs out there and most of them work - for a while. You try the watermelon diet and you will lose 5kg, 10kg and then a year later you put it all back on with 20% interest. This cycle of lose-gain-lose-gain results in a billion dollar weight loss and fitness industry and a generation of obesity. The secret to being fit and healthy all year round is to be lazy.

Lazy is an unwillingness to work or use energy and that's the key to being fit all the time. You must be unwilling to work, unwilling to do any more than you need to in order to achieve your goal. You must do the absolute minimum to get there. If you can get to your weight loss goal or your fitness goal with the least amount of work then you have a much better chance of sustaining it.

If you want to be thin then there are lots of unsustainable methods. If you want to be thin all the time you need to make lifestyle changes. Often those changes are just small tweaks that build up over time that make your goals a reality. The same goes for fitness or health or strength.

Of course, if your goal is to be an athlete then your level of lazy will be higher than someone who wants to attain an average level of fitness. The point I'm making here is that the less you can do to achieve your goal the more likely you are to maintain it. If it's a lot of work and effort to achieve your goal then you are less likely to maintain what you have achieved.

For me, right now, I'm trying to lose about 4kg of fat. I'm doing 2 things to achieve that. I'm following a diet that isn't difficult that is 500 calories less than what I would normally eat. That amounts to about 20% less food per meal. That's doable. And I'm exercising 4 times a week for about 30 mins. That's 2 hours per week. That's doable too. It should take me about 12-20 weeks. That's realistic. When I get to the goal I get to eat a little bit more and the exercise is still only 2 hours per week. That's lazy fitness.

Are you doing too much to achieve your goals? What's the absolute minimum you need to achieve your fitness and health goals? What could you achieve between now and the end of the year? Leave a comment and let me know.

It's time to eat, drink and hope for the merry

In 10 days it will all be over. The experiment would have come to an end and I will, no doubt, have mixed emotions. Some things have gone well while other things haven't but these will be judged by the results. But judgment is for next week.

For now it's about the final preparation. I have my final speed workout today which involves doing a few laps at faster than marathon pace. Then it's just another couple of easy runs throughout the week to stay relaxed. The two big changes this week will be my sleep schedule and my eating plan.

The marathon starts at 6 am. I need to leave home about 45 mins before that. Before I leave home I need to hydrate and clear out the bowels (the last thing I want in the middle of a marathon is to need a toilet for a number 2!) So that means I'm up about 4:30 am. To avoid being groggy and tired I will be adjusting my sleeping routine this week so that my body clock is used to getting up at 4:30 am. That should leave me feeling fresh and ready on race day. The discipline involved in succeeding in this is not getting up at 4:30 am but getting to bed early enough so that I've had enough sleep to get up at 4:30 am.

And then there's the eating plan. I need to eat lots of carbs and drink lots of water. I want my body to store lots of energy so that my legs have lots to draw on during the run so I'll be eating lots of carbs. Hydrating my body is also crucial, especially for me. I sweat a lot - and I mean a lot. I did a hydration test in Australia and I lose 1.1 litres per hour. In India I can lose that much in half an hour so I need my body to well hydrated long before the race.

Hopefully, I will finish the next few days feeling fantastic. As I continue to taper the aches and pains should completely disappear, I should feel energised and mentally excited. The hip pain has subsided nicely (although there is still some lower back pain on that side of the body) and the legs are feeling good. For now, it's time to eat, drink and sleep, for in 10 days I run.

10 days to go. 

The most difficult exercise in the final two weeks

In training for an event, any event, the closer I get to the starting line the more nervous I becomes. All the failures of training begin to haunt my mind. Doubts of achieving my goals become bigger and scarier. The desire to catch up on training grows. In the final two weeks of marathon preparation there is one exercise that is critical to me doing well. Rest.

With two weeks to go any endurance that has been gained is there. Any increases in speed have been gained. If I haven't developed the endurance and speed I wanted then it's too late. Now is the time to make the physical effort to back off from training and rest.

In the last 2 weeks if I try to compensate for missed training runs by running too fast or too long hard then there is the genuine risk that I will exhaust my body and not recover in time for the marathon. If my body is exhausted there is the risk I will catch some bug and get sick. I've run a marathon sick before and it's not pretty.

This phase of marathon preparation is called the taper. The amount of running one does significantly drops. Muscles recover. The immune system gets stronger. I still need to do some running, especially some short runs at marathon pace but no more than half of the weekly distances that I have been doing. I've been teaching my body to run for a while now so it is difficult to now tell it rest. But rest I must.

We live in a world that is already sleep deprived. We stay up late. The alarm gets us up early. Our bodies are so tired we think this is normal. Rest feels awkward and foreign. A luxury our lifestyle doesn't permit. That's what makes the exercise, the physical effort, of getting to bed early, of holding back from running, of sleeping well, so hard. That's what makes this so difficult an exercise but it's also the most important.

In your preparation for an event, physical or otherwise, do you taper? Do you allow yourself time to recover so that you are at 100% health before the event or do you train and keep trying right up to the starting line?

2 weeks to go.

1 starting line, 3 finishing lines.

There's only one starting line for the marathon but there are three finishing lines.

The starting line is race day. Every one is standing around with all their doubts and questions. Have I trained enough? Am I going to get a PB? Will I win this thing? (Personally I don't think I'll ever be asking that question before a marathon, but the top 3-5 runners are.) Have I forgotten anything? Do I have time to go to the bathroom? Questions abound. But there's an excitement around the starting line. It's also the first finish line.

Many people want to run a marathon. Most never will. It's a huge goal to pursue and one which you can be proud of even if you come last, after all, you still beat the guy lying on the couch. But even for those who want to and set out many still don't make it. I can't remember which marathon it was, whether it was my second or third, but 8 of us said that we would run it. For various reasons 5 didn't make it to the starting line. Some just got busy with life, others had to pull out due to injury. Only 3 made it to the starting line. Starting a marathon isn't running one. I guess anybody can show up - but usually the only people who do are those intending to finish it. The first finishing line is the starting line. You finished your training, you finished you preparation, you finished the first race which is to the starting line.

Then comes the second finish line. This line varies for people but it kicks in around the 32km mark. There's two reasons for this. Firstly, around 27km you start to run out of easy energy, that is, the energy that your body needs to run as easy sources and difficult sources. It takes more effort to convert the difficult sources into the energy your body needs to keep running strong. By 32km you're exhausted and now it's up to how much you want it. The second reason is that most people only train till 32km so once you get there it's new territory for your body. Any new experiences in the body are met with internal suspicion and the body will ask you to stop if it's all too hard - and of course it's hard, you don't have any easy energy left! While I would be reluctant to say that the first 32km is easy I would say that the last 10km is as difficult as the first 32km. However much you have suffered emotionally and physically for the first 32km you will suffer it all again over the next 10km. The comfort of the marathon ends at around 32km - the second finish line.

And then there's the final finish line. That last 10km is a mix of pain and excitement. Pain because you're exhausted, the feet are perhaps blistering, if you didn't prepare well your nipples are bleeding, your toenails are black and your legs are chaffing. Excitement because you have run 10kms lots of time, it's kinda familiar. And the last 200m that's just a laugh. At 42km you have 200m to go and it's hilarious - at least for me. I can sprint 200m and mentally I'm able to do it but the body can't. So, I start the final spring at the 42km mark. Within about 20m the legs fail and I'm back to plodding. But then excitement kicks in again closer to the finish and once again I sprint. Of course, that's not what it looks like. What I call sprinting at that stage is barely faster than a walk but I'm running fast than Bolt in my mind.

Each finish line has it's own hurdles to overcome. But that's the glory of the marathon - it turns you into a finisher. And that's something you can be proud of.

7 weeks to go.

Face the brutal facts

I've been lying to myself for the past few weeks. I want to be out running a minimum of 3 times per week. My key indicators have been my long run of 3 hours and my yassos. My yassos have been less than 4:30 min for 800 m with a 4:00 min rest. That's cool since my goal is to run a 4:30 hr marathon my yassos are ok. Today I did 10 of them at 4:20. That's a good indicator.

My other indicator has been my 3 hour run. I've done a couple of them and they are getting easier, not easy, but easier. Unfortunately my gps from years back is broken so I haven't really know what speed I've been doing. Since the yassos have been ok and the long run feels good I've convinced myself that the long run time is just fine. I could have used the gps on my phone but it the battery doesn't last for 3 hours using the gps so I haven't bothered.

Because these two indicators have been good I've been slack, lazy. I haven't trained as hard as I know I need to. I've given myself the excuse that I'm saving my muscle by only getting in 2 runs per week. Lies, especially lies to oneself, are so easy to believe when it makes life easier. And these lies have caused me to drift from my plan. Facing the brutal facts means seeing with fresh eyes what is blatantly obvious to anyone who has any ounce of concern. I didn't choose to face the facts, they jumped out at me.

As I was heading out for a one hour run I thought I would use the phone's gps as the battery was full and it was only going to be for one hour. I'm slow. Way, way too slow. Embarrassingly slow. The yassos are on track which means I have the speed but I'm not able to maintain it over the distance - even for one hour. With each passing 5 minutes my phone would tell me the distance. The first time it spoke I thought the gps was still getting a lock so the timing was out. By the third timing I was sure that the problem was me. By the 50 minute mark I was facing the brutal facts and I didn't like it.

There really are only two options when the facts brutally scream reality into your soul - deny them or change. Denial is easy but it comes with a price. In running a marathon the piper must be paid. I either pay the price now in order to run a good run leaving me satisfied and fulfilled or I pay the price of defeat - not of the marathon but of myself. Not running a marathon in the desired time is sad but if you give your best you stand tall knowing that you could have done nothing else. But to try halfheartedly under the pretense of giving one's best is to lie to oneself and that's defeat of the soul. Denial is too hard, too costly.

And so I have been shocked into reality. My conviction to run 3 times per week is now strong and sure and no longer clouded by lies. The path ahead will still be difficult but the prospect of satisfaction is more sure.

8 weeks to go.

Embrace the pain.

I worked with Peter years ago. He ran lots of sub 3 hour marathons. He inspired me. Peter gave me some advice about marathons that I have always remember. He said, "If you are going to run a marathon then you had better get used to pain." Marathons are painful.

Getting out of bed 3 hours earlier to fit in the long run is painful. Changing diets to stay healthy is painful. Having to increase the discipline of my bed time routine is painful. Running when I am exhausted is painful. Running out of energy 7kms from home is painful. Getting blisters on my feet half way through the training run is painful. Dealing with my emotional baggage that turns up mid run is painful. Having my shirt rub my nipples raw is painful. Falling short of my goal that I spent months and months preparing for is painful. If you are going to run a marathon you will need to embrace pain.

If you are a body builder than you know this. You understand hitting failure. You understand DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). You understand the need to push your body beyond comfortable in order to make it stronger. The same applies to running a marathon - only the pain is different. In body building the effort is intense and short. In running marathons the effort is sustained and, obviously, long. But you get the principle - pain is not the enemy; pain is the evidence of your progress. You know the cliches and slogans.

For those of you who are inactive who are reading this please note that I am not talking about acute pain. Acute pain is not good. This week my lower back was so sore it hurt to walk. That's acute pain. I missed two running sessions because I had to rest my back. The back is healing well so I could run my yassos today. Yassos are a tough run. Interval training is tough. It needs to be because I'm training myself to run faster. If I run comfortably then I won't improve so I must run at an uncomfortable pace so that my legs get stronger and faster. This is the pain that I must embrace. In body building if I want to get stronger I must lift heavy weights. Lifting light weights is comfortable but it won't make me stronger. To improve I must embrace the pain of discomfort.

Yes, you will suffer as you prepare for your marathon. But it's worth it. You become a finisher. You become one of those people that can start with a big goal and break it down into little goals. You become one of those people who understand consistency and progress and set backs and effort. You become a better person. A stronger person. You become a finisher. And that's worth suffering for.

What pain have your endured in order to achieve your goal? Was it worth it? For those of you who have run long races what pain did you endure in your training? What pain did you endure on race day? Leave a comment below as an encouragement to those who are starting out.

10 weeks to go.

Do what you can until you can do what you can't

When I first started body weight exercises for strength training I saw how push ups would move toward push ups with feet elevated to one handed push ups to one handed push ups with feet elevated. I had always wanted to do a one handed push up and I thought that perhaps, maybe, one day I would be able to accomplish a one arm push up - just one!

Fast forward 3 years. Yesterday I was doing my Push routine which includes push ups. I am current doing three sets of one handed push ups with my feet elevated. This means that I have far surpassed what I thought I would ever be able to accomplish. I was able to achieve this through small (very small) but consistent progress.

Whenever I do strength training I always write down what I am doing so I can see my progress but also so that the next time I do that routine I try to increase by one rep; just one rep. Once I get to three sets of 12 reps I up the exercise or weight so that I can only do three sets of eight reps. This means that every three months I'm adding weight or making the exercise more difficult. That's how I got to do one arm push ups. I did what I could and eventually I came to do what I couldn't do when I first started.

He did what he could until he could do what he couldn't
And then he ran the race and finished it - well done.

When I started push ups there was no way through sheer effort that I could do a one arm push up. Through consistent progress I am able to do them. This goes for other areas of strength too. I applying this same strategy to my running in preparation for the marathon.

There was a time when a 20 km run was a good start - no longer. For the past five years running has been almost non-existent. My 5 km run this week left me exhausted and discourage. This morning was my long run. My plan for my long run is to start off walking for 2 hours and build in running, moving to 3 hours and doing the same. 2 weeks ago I walked for 2 hours and was exhausted at the end of it. I felt discouraged, weak and disappointed. The idea of running and finishing a marathon with a PB wasn't happening.

I missed last weeks run because of this crippling thought but I was determined to give it a try this morning. Due to scheduling problems I could only get out for 1 1/2 hours. The thought of walking for an hour was ok but the thought of running for 30 mins wasn't helpful. But I could run for a minute and then walk for a minute. That I could do. It would be just like a strength workout - go hard for a minute then rest. Only I wouldn't go all intense, just run. And that's what I did.

It was awesome. For the first time in years I felt the joy of running. My body loved the run and loved the breaks. At the half way mark my mind was positively thinking about the marathon. For sure, there is still a long way to go but I made solid progress today and mind embraced it. My mind could see that progress will happen, that progress will get me to the starting line, and most importantly, I can enjoy the journey.

There are many tasks that appear beyond what we can imagine. From where we stand today they are not possible, not even remotely possible. If, however, we can begin the journey and make progress, however slow, step by step what was once impossible will slowly come within our sphere of possible. That happened for me today. What task is out of reach for you, a task you want to accomplish but seems impossible? What's one step you could take in that direction? What can you do right now that will extend yourself so that one day you can do what you can't right now?

On the journey