Making changes for good

I've been enjoying some of the best running of my life over the last year and 2023 is my first year in the V35 age category. With this in mind, I've started to look towards the future and consider how I can make long lasting changes to benefit both my performance and health. This post explores the changes I have made, how I feel they have had a positive effect, and some of the science behind why.

4th fastest V35 Park Run of 2023 so far

I ran my first Park Run for almost a year last weekend. It was a perfect day for it. No wind, no frost, and not too warm at around 3 degrees celsius. I just wanted to see what was in my legs and Park Run is a great chance to test yourself and set a marker on which to base your training and race strategy for the year. I had a great run, taking the win with my fastest time at Swansea Bay, my second fastest Park Run ever, and the 4th fastest V35 Park Run of 2023 so far.

Interestingly, that was only the 5th or 6th time I have run that fast in the last 18 months. I always used to think that it was vital to run fast 2/3 times per week to be able to put in a performance like that, but over the last year I've started to look at things in a different way. I think the high mileage I put in in 2022, and keeping a long tempo run in my training every week has had a big part to play in being able to perform well over the shorter distances. Training this way also helped me to a half marathon PB in March 2022 and the 4th fastest leg in the Welsh Relay Championships in September 2022. I also ran my second fastest marathon ever in a training run yesterday morning. It must be doing something for me.

But I also think that changes I have made to my lifestyle have contributed to my recent performances. Admittedly, I hadn't changed anything when I ran the Cardiff Half Marathon in March 2022, but by September I had started to make small changes to my diet. In around August time, I started to cut out red meat in a bid to eat more healthily in general. By December I had virtually cut out all meat and started eating an almost completely plant based diet.

I owe all these changes to experiences I had around that time, and having my eyes opened by people like Rich Roll (Podcasts released weekly), Dan Buettner (The Blue Zones), Will Bulsiewicz (The Microbiome) and Simon Hill (The Merits of a Plant Based Diet) through various podcasts and books. I would recommend listening to these people if you want to improve your health. They will help you understand why it is important to do certain things and that is what I feel has helped me make the changes I have made. In addition, I watched Limitless with Chris Hemsworth which gave me some simple changes that might improve my health in the long term. I've really doubled down on my efforts in January 2023 and will discuss what I have been doing in the rest of this post.

The Blue Zones diet

I first heard about the Blue Zones on a Rich Roll podcast. I can't remember who his guest was but I know that it wasn't Dan Buettner. Dan Buettner is the brains behind the Blue Zones. He travelled the world and investigated what people do in five regions where people consistently live to 100 years of age and beyond. These regions are Okinawa in Japan, Loma Linda in California, Sardinia in Italy, Nicoya in Costa Rica, and Ikaria in Greece. I immediately bought The Blue Zones Kitchen; 100 Recipes to Live to 100 book and started integrating the meals into my everyday life. This started in December 2022 and after 8 weeks of practicing the Blue Zones diet I can't remember the last time I ate meat or ultra processed foods. My family and I have started to eat more beans, legumes, nuts, and vegetables. Fibre is a key component of these foods and increasing dietary fibre has shown amazing health benefits in many studies. Another important thing to note is that taste is not compromised and I don't even miss meat. I feel fuller after meals, I don't feel bloated, and I feel like I have more energy throughout the day. This increased and sustained energy is vital to helping me train, work, and be a good father and husband.

I dipped my toe in the bright orange coloured waters​...

Through a recipe in The Blue Zones Kitchen, I dipped my toe in the bright orange coloured waters of turmeric consumption. Turmeric, through its main active ingredient curcumin, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. The Foamy Golden Milk recipe consists of turmeric and any nut milk of your choice, with a dash of black pepper to activate the curcumin in turmeric. I tried the recipe once and liked the taste, and then I continued to drink it daily. After a few days I started to notice that my muscle stiffness was reducing and aches were no longer present, despite training the same way I had been training for almost a year. Interesting! Many studies have found that turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties comparable to anti-inflammatory medication, and I can certainly vouch for its benefits for performance longevity. One key example of this was when I ran a 40+ mile ultra marathon on Christmas Eve and woke up the next day feeling fresh as a daisy!

It's not good to rely on coffee to wake me up...

Another fluid-based change that I have made is to reduce my coffee intake. Previously, I would have 2 cups of coffee per day with 2 teaspoons of instant coffee in each. I know this isn't a large amount of caffeine and there may be some positive health benefits to consuming coffee, but I also know that it's not good to rely on coffee to wake me up in the morning and get me up for any task that requires a bit of effort. I initially swapped coffee for green tea and I continue to do this in order to benefit from its antioxidant properties. I haven't cut coffee out completely however, I've made a subtle change. There is evidence to suggest that the harmful acidic oils in coffee are released by heat, and that cold brewed coffee has around 70% less acidity. So, I now have cold brewed coffee three mornings per week and avoid it on all other days. There are times when I'm tired in the mornings and I feel like a I need a coffee to wake me up, so I have reached for the instant coffee on some days. I find that this becomes a vicious cycle that is then difficult to get out of, and it's something I really need to get a hold of. Something to focus on this week!

End every shower with a minimum of 60 seconds under cold water

There are two changes I have made from watching Limitless with Chris Hemsworth. The first is cold water exposure. The allure of strong anti-inflammatory benefits was enough to get me to try this. I started around 3 weeks ago by ending my showers with 30 seconds under cold water. I gradually increased this and now end every shower with a minimum of 60 seconds under cold water. I feel like the anti-inflammatory benefits are working, but I guess I am tackling this from a few angles by reducing my coffee intake and regularly consuming turmeric. It's difficult to know which one is having the greater effect but I'm pretty sure that none of them are cancelling the others out. Cold water exposure has definitely helped me handle the British winter well. I don't feel the cold as much and I'm comfortable running in shorts at this time of year now. I think it also has some positive psychological benefits by simply building discipline and getting me to do what I know I should, even if it is unpleasant for the first few seconds!

Fasting removes damaged cells and proteins, including zombie cells

The final change I have recently made is fasting. Limitless taught me about zombie cells, which are medically known as senescent cells. They are aged cells that haven't been destroyed or killed off by the body and instead remain in place, releasing inflammatory compounds that can lead to a number of diseases. On learning of these cells, I immediately wanted to get rid of them to help maintain my fitness and to promote long term health. Fasting has been shown to be beneficial as it induces autophagy where the body removes damaged cells and proteins, including zombie cells. So I have begun to start building a 24 hour fast into my week. Luckily, I usually train 6 days per week and have Sundays off so I have a perfect opportunity from Saturday dinner time to Sunday dinner time in which to fast and allow my body to get rid of some zombie cells. As my training has been a bit up and down over the last two weeks, I have only managed to do this once so far so I'm not sure I'm feeling any benefits just yet. However, I'll continue to do this in the coming weeks and hopefully have some findings to report.

Ageing is something that comes to all of us and we must find ways of dealing with it and promoting our health and performance for as long as we can. I have been fortunate to have experiences that have opened my eyes to methods that may help maintain longevity in my performance and health. I hope my experiences and the changes I have made have given you (plant based) food for thought and that you are driven to make positive lifestyle choices as a result.

Let me know what changes you have made to your lifestyle and what were your outcomes? Are you still practicing the changes? Did they have a positive or negative effect? Are you thinking of doing something but have not yet got round to it? Let me know in the comments below and make a start...TODAY!