Last Easter – visiting my older brother in his dream home – running alongside I could not talk and run, I was breathless, unfit and clearly overweight. I decided in that moment of having to stop at the top of a short hill that I needed to lose weight. I put myself on an intermittent fasting diet with a daily goal of 16 hours fasting, and then healthy eating. Over a period of well inside one year – 6 months in fact, I lost 15kg to arrive at my target weight. That daily achievable target rocketed me to my goal.
Previous to this after a long period of sedentary living – working hard in my business, I hardly ever took any exercise, sat at my laptop at lunchtime, drove to and from home. I was unfit and over-weight. At the age of 45 I realised that if I carried on that way, I would just be like so many older men – big pot belly, lumbering around like a blob, heading for a cardiac arrest in my 50s. I used to run as a younger man so decided to put in place regular running.
However, having been out of shape for so long, I would run a couple of times and then pull a calf muscle. I would wait for it to heal, then run again only to pull a different muscle or suffer a stiff knee or an aching heal. It would have been so easy to say to myself – ‘you’re too old to start this running thing, your joints can’t take it, you may do more damage than good. Just accept your lack of fitness and inability to run in older life.’ But something inside said – you can conquer this thing. Little by little, day by day I would increase my running. Any small niggle or injury I would take some days off to recover, but then go again. After 3months of what felt like endless niggles and injuries I found I could run almost every day completely injury free. I then set a goal to train for a marathon and at the age of 49 ran the London Marathon and felt younger and fitter than when I ran the Isle of Wight Marathon when I was just 25!
I then came face to face with one of my greatest weaknesses in life. Having achieved my goal, I eased off a bit, gave myself a deserved rest but failed to set a new goal. Gradually I lost fitness and the weight crept on. That’s where I was when I ran with my brother, breathless and overweight last Easter. But as I said in less than ONE year I had set the goal and lost the weight and restored my running fitness.
I even set myself a crazy personal goal resulting from some local running friends and a WhatsApp group to keep us all motivated. We had a month competition between the guys and the gals - which group could do the greater miles. I started running every day to give us the best chance of victory.
We did win but at the end of the month I said to myself – you ran every day for one month, maybe you could do that for two months. At the end of two I said, why not three, then why not six, and yes you’ve guessed it, why not a whole year! So, I set myself the goal to run 11.5km every single day for ONE year and for those people who still think in miles, that was 7.15miles, or 50miles per week (2600miles in the year or over 4000km). I did not take a single day off, not even for my daughter’s wedding or Christmas Day. I did that at the age 55 and felt stronger and fitter than I did as a 30 year old. It proved to me once again the power of a single day (and doing something every day) and what can be achieved in ONE Year. I also reflected at the end of that year – that I have been given the potential to be the best version of me that I could be, but it is not automatic. I have to put in the work to achieve that best that I can be in every area of my life, whether it’s a health, wealth or a personal part of my life. I have been given a blank tapestry, and I have the opportunity to weave the most beautiful and intricate threads to create the best life that I can achieve and that I desire.
I have another story of transforming my fitness in less than a year in a different area – my back. Even in my year of running I was aware of a tiny back niggle that later became a major back injury. I could not stand up straight, bent over to my left and in some significant agony. I went to see a Physio and he commented that my hamstrings were ridiculously tight. I never really thought about that, knew I could not touch my toes, in fact could only just get past my knees. It never worried me as I had no pain, just concluded – you are an older man and just less subtle that you used to be. However, with the injury – the physio gave me some back strengthening exercises which I continued until it all felt better, then stopped. But truth was – I still had a weakness in my back and it didn’t take much to twist slightly or just lean down to put on my socks for me to feel that pain again. So I determined to put in place back strengthening exercises – just 7 minutes, but every single day – yet again learning about the power of a single day. And now ONE year later I have no pain, I can twist and lean and do everything without any risk of injury. And I can now even touch my toes! What a lie I had believed that its an age thing and not your fault you are no longer supple. Rubbish – at 58 I can run every single day without injury, my back is stronger that it was when I was 30. I am at my target weight. I feel fantastic!
