Thanks for your comment. I’ve not entirely stopped running, but am not in training for any event. I do the odd 5k out in the country on the flat, because the countryside is so relaxing, but need to get back into sprints and some hills. The balance of work I do though is with weights, and adhering to Art’s rubric, and am about to take a closer look at Steve Peters’ sprint methodology mentioned in a post a little while ago. Oh, and I’m teaching the kids tennis, which will increase in intensity as they get older.

Mark, you’re always welcome. That’s the second image I’ve cribbed from you. You’re better with Flickr!

Tim

Tim. What a wonderful, powerful post.

I’m a mild e sufferer too and have had no (I’d underline “no” if the software allowed) issues since dropping the level of carbs and upping the level of meat and fat in my diet. Don’t know if there’s cause and effect, I only know the history.

Additionally, since changing diet and reducing exercise frequency but increasing the increasing the intensity, I’ve had no health issues for the past three years despite significant broken sleep pattern arising from cross time-zone travel.

I think there is something in this approach. De Vany has a point that it is the current Western diet which is a fad diet.

If I my body ever does get “run-down”, it arises because sustained periods of moderate stress (eg 10 consecutive days of only 5 hours sleep per night) rather than short intense period (24 hours without sleep) followed by plenty of rest. The latter I can cope with easily.

I read an article recently in which one individiual convinced himself that each exercise session was a hunt and this enhanced the experience and maintained the intensity. Made sense to me and it was fun when I tried myself. Would be very difficult to do this for a half marathon unless you broke it down to a (long) series of 400 m sprints.

Rather than marathon training have you ever considered orienteering or hill running?

Iwan