Training for Life: Grip Strength, VO2 Max, and Remembering Jack O'Neill

The shortest best month of the year is over. The anniversary of my nativity came and went as expected. Unwelcome and unexpected, however, were the arrivals of first a bout of COVID-19 then a case of influenza two weeks later. The last few weeks saw many sick Days in our house. We surfaced long enough for a South Mountain hike with the ridge line remaining snow covered despite the bare valley below. I was also filled with nostalgia after learning of the passing of Philadelphia soccer legend Jack O'Neill. I played for Coach O'Neill at St. Joe's Prep in the late 1990s. He believed in me early in my high school career. As anyone who has been young knows, sometimes all it takes to realize your potential is someone believing in you.

Quote of the month:

"But I haven't at any time been hindered in my will, nor forced against it. And how is this possible? I have bound up my choice to act with the will of God. God wills that I be sick, such is my will. He wills that I should choose something, so do I. He wills that I reach for something, or something be given to me -- I wish for the same. What God doesn't will, I do not wish for."

• Epictetus, Discourses, 4.1.89, quoted in The Daily Stoic (from the date of my shoulder surgery ??)

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What I'm reading:

Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To by Sian Beilock

The neuroscience in this 2011 book feels old already. Many of the insights from the research she describes have already been assimilated into popular culture. As such, some of the advice on how to achieve peak performance (exposure to stressful situations in practice, positive visualizations, avoidance of too much conscious control of automated actions) I found underwhelming for its lack of novelty. One nugget I took away from the research described involved the significance of 'stereotype threat.' Simply reminding high achieving students of a negative performance stereotype of their ethnicity or gender hampers test performance. It drove home for me how insidious this type of threat is.

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What I'm measuring:

Blood pressure vs meditation update

Having rededicated myself to meditation, as well as kept up with weekly blood pressure monitoring, I can only report that I can draw no conclusions as to a relationship between the two. The only conclusion I can draw from my own data is that my blood pressure is worse after surgery and during viral illness. ????♂?

Meditation by month, August 2023 to February 2024:?

Systolic blood pressure by week, October 2023 to February 2024

How I'm training:

I've completed 10 out of 16 weeks of my marathon program, which I outlined in January's newsletter . The past four weeks were pretty derailed by COVID and influenza. The key word for me has been adaptability. Or in the words of Dr. Eric Strauss, one of my orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine mentors, "Take what the defense gives you." I've been looking at my handful of recovery metrics to guide training intensity and return to training (in order of importance): 1) desire to train, 2) resting heart rate, 3) CO2 tolerance, 4) grip strength, 5) HRV. I referred back to my 2022 COVID return to play protocol to see how I came back the last time I had COVID right before a marathon. That went pretty smoothly, but my meat-headed obstinacy resurfaced after influenza. Despite being sicker for longer (compared to COVID), I tried to return to training in less than half the time. My heart and lungs dropped the hammer on my pace and distance goals that day, causing me to modify my return to training from Day 5 to Day 9 (today!).

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Having missed so much this past month, I've decided not to follow the marathon program exactly but to adjust based on acute-to-chronic work load ratio. Typically I would calculate a four-week work load, but since two illnesses tanked the last four weeks, I'm calculating a rolling eight-week load. This will truncate my miles slightly but hopefully still allow me to hit the same planned peak mileage in three weeks' time.

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My shoulder is finally clear for full activity but remains weak. I'm just now starting to attempt push ups and pull ups. I'm slowly building on my grip strength gains, and am building this steadily into a long term project, given its importance for longevity .

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I have completed 59 days of fasting from alcohol, with 41 days to go until the marathon. It no longer feels challenging to abstain, though I still don't wish to make the abstention permanent. Given the onslaught my immune system has been under lately, I'm happy not to tamp it down unnecessarily.

On the blog:

Get a Grip on Longevity

Do you know your grip strength? I hope to convince you that you should.? It is easy and cheap to measure.? I bought a hand held dynamometer ?for less than 30 bucks.??Grip strength is a valuable biomarker. Read the full article here .

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Longevity's Best Biomarker

In the realm of athletic performance and longevity, one metric stands out as a key indicator of cardiovascular fitness and endurance: VO2 max. This metric, a measure of maximal oxygen uptake, serves as a crucial benchmark for athletes and non-athletes alike, providing insights into overall health (and thus longevity), fitness levels, and potential for peak performance. Read the full article here .

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What I'm listening to:

My phone got into random restart DJ mode on a recent transition to the car and served up Les Colonies , from French rapper MC Solaar's fifth album, released in 2001. His beats are wistful and meditative despite, or perhaps because, my French isn't good enough to follow the lyrics.

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Upcoming events: ??

March 16, 2024 - Chambersburg Half Marathon . The Chambersburg Half Marathon is held in memory of Robert Eyer, Sr. (1926-2001), who died while running. Bob was an avid, competitve runner and was a member of the Chambersburg Road Runners Club. The Chambersburg Half Marathon was his favorite race and is a good tune-up for the Boston Marathon.

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March 21, 2024 - Structural Elements event at Fountainhead Country Club in Hagerstown, Maryland. Join us a 5:30 pm for a casual event focused on optimum health. Look out for more details!

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April 15, 2024 - The 128th Boston Marathon . Targeted as my marquis event of the year.

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July 28, 2024 - Fort Ritchie Triathlon . Last year I did this as my first ever triathlon. This year I'll look to get another rep on this course, though I have yet to swim since my shoulder surgery!