Exploring the role of feasts throughout history, highlighting how they foster connection, reinforce cultural values, and celebrate abundance, this post examines our evolutionary tendency for overconsumption during feasts and offers strategies for enjoying these occasions mindfully without compromising health. By approaching communal meals with intention, we can maintain balance and celebrate without overindulging.
We had a great turnout for the first-ever BTG Baby Barkley this past Saturday, with eleven people participating. The weather was beautiful, and actually was quite comfortable for most of the duration, only getting really hot in the afternoon hours. Read the full post for my recap of my (just under) 6 hours’ effort on the mountain!
Kicking off the 2024 race season and the ultra training plan…and then getting COVID! Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the face, as “Iron” Mike Tyson used to say. Here’s what I’m doing to keep moving forward.
Embarking on a transformative journey in 2024, I'm taking on two monumental challenges: my first 50K mountain ultramarathon and my first Spartan Race Ultra on my 50th birthday. Despite recent health setbacks and injuries, I'm determined to reach peak physical condition. Join me as I document this journey of resilience and self-discovery - it won't be boring!
One common thing people mention as a goal when we first talk about trying to eat better is weight loss. For some, it's just "a couple of pounds" and for others, it's pretty significant. The reasons behind wanting to lose weight may be to improve some health markers, to move better and feel less day-to-day aches and pains, to "look better naked" or for similar aesthetic reasons, or simply because of some preconceived notion of what they "should" weigh. Some of those reasons also feed into emotional and mental well-being, and can affect our self-confidence, self-image and happiness.
The truth is, most people don't NEED to lose weight to be healthier, and with the right mindset, they don't NEED to lose weight to be happier or more self-confident either.
Read more…
Read a raw, start-to-finish recap of the 2024 Around The Lake Give'R Take 30K, featuring brutal weather, challenging trails, and mental grit. Join me as I push through fear, anxiety, and pain to beat cutoff times and conquer personal limits. Discover insights on pacing, race-day strategy, and why doing the hard things is always worth it.
I'm facing a tough race with challenging weather and terrain, and I'm not sure I'll make the cutoff. To succeed, I'll need to sustain a pace I've rarely managed before, and there's a real risk of failure or injury. But it's not just about finishing—it's about pushing beyond my comfort zone, testing my limits, and seeing what I’m capable of, even if it scares me. Sometimes you just do stuff anyway.
Embarking on a transformative journey in 2024, I'm taking on two monumental challenges: my first 50K mountain ultramarathon and my first Spartan Race Ultra on my 50th birthday. Despite recent health setbacks and injuries, I'm determined to reach peak physical condition. Join me as I document this journey of resilience and self-discovery - it won't be boring!
With so little time to prepare going into my Spartan Death Race (I fly out in 2 weeks!), I'm not going to be able to do anything to meaningfully alter and train my body for the physical demands of this kind of ultra-endurance event. It's simply not possible. Preparing to take the step up from around where my current conditioning is at to run a multi-day endurance race is usually achieved on the timescale of years (yes, YEARS, plural), not weeks, so I'm just going to have to "run what I brung" to use an old motor-racing phrase.
But I can't help having some real moments of deep self-doubt. Like, literally tears streaming down my face while out on a walk or run, "who the hell do I think I am to attempt this?" and "I am in WAY over my head" kind of moments.
So, knowing that I can't change myself physically, and working through my moments of self-doubt, what CAN I do to prepare?
I went into last weekend's Step Up For Cardiac Health event with zero expectations. I was just there to put in my best effort and support a good, local cause. To end up finishing as the first place male and second place overall was honestly quite a shock.
I can't remember the last time I was first place at anything. I honestly don't know that I've EVER been first place before. Maybe sometime in grade school at a Sports Day event...? Nope- just remembered. Raina and I won first place in the Boys & Girls Club Car Rally back in 2002, I think.
Anyway, here are a few things I learned along the way…
OK - I’m Struggling
Over the past couple of months, but this past eight days in particular, I’ve experienced what I would describe as the culmination or confluence of a number of different stresses and struggles. It’s felt as if the sum of all the difficulties and challenges of this past 14 months has finally burst the floodgates and beaten me down. As a result, I haven’t been journaling this past eight days because I didn’t want it to be just a repeating message of negativity.
I’ve been struggling this past month with a feeling of…ambivalence, I guess would be the word (or maybe indifference?), when it comes to my own training and nutrition. This may seem a strange thing to hear from a personal trainer and nutrition coach, but hey…I’m just as human and fallible as any of you!
I made a commitment to endeavour to lead by example this year, and this is hardly the example I want to set, so I’ve been keeping these thoughts / feelings to myself and just trying to work them out behind the scenes. Again, though - sometimes I just need to get stuff down on “paper” (or the current digital equivalent) to work stuff out, so here goes…
As I sit here, NOT running my first training sessions of 2021 this morning due to a gout attack (something which is, thankfully, quite rare for me these days, but this one was particularly ill-timed), I find myself reflecting on what I plan to do with myself this year, and the challenges I may face.
I have set myself four main tasks to work on this year to help me become a better coach and leader, and in particular to aid me in leading by example with those over whom I have some influence (however small):
Practice and improve my craft as a Nutrition Coach.
Explore my limits as a Multi-Disciplinary Athlete.
Further develop my skills as a Cook and Baker.
Practice and improve my craft as a fitness, nutrition and lifestyle Content Creator.
Here’s what I’m thinking…
At The BTG, the majority of our members are not competitive athletes, nor do they have jobs that require them to maintain a high level of fitness year-round (E.G. front-line first responders, active duty military, etc.). As a result, we’ve often had folks ask “what the heck do you guys train so hard for?”
The short version is pretty simple - to just kick ass at life, able to meet any challenges that come our way with a balanced spectrum of physical abilities, and to maintain those abilities for as long as possible. To borrow a phrase from Dr. Peter Attia, our aim is “to be the most kick-ass 100-year olds possible.”
Where that gets a bit more complicated is in the details. What constitutes a “balanced spectrum of physical abilities”? If we have no specific demands from a sport or our work, how do we determine where we need to focus our energies?
To understand that, I need to tell a different story…
