Also, a note to myself as a Dad (and all Dads!)

Warsaw Flashbacks

It’s a warm, early autumn day in Warsaw, with a little rain in the air to accompany the incredible excitement and anticipation. Tomorrow is the Warsaw Marathon. We cross the start/finish straight and head into the iconic Palace of Culture.

It’s time to pick up my race number.

The energy in the building is electric. So many people are looking forward to what should be an amazing day, though there are plenty of nerves too. People, myself included, looking at their number and realizing that tomorrow is the day.

Gabby, next to me, offers words of wisdom to calm those nerves: “Think back to all that training you’ve done. The consistency, the sacrifices.”

Let me rewind a bit (or rather, fast-forward).

That consistency didn’t exist before, and to be brutally honest, months later it has once more disappeared. Those little treats, the occasional drink, the complete lack of movement — all the things we know, as dads, we shouldn’t be doing.

None of the things we know we should.

These habits were part of why I embarked on the gruelling process of marathon training. I wanted to find that consistency, to have a singular focus that would help me make the right decisions more often.

Back to that showery September day in Warsaw.

I felt great. Really great. I’m the lightest and fittest I’ve been in a long time. Most of all, I was happy with myself — happy that I’d made the right decisions, given up alcohol, stopped eating unhealthy foods, and consistently worked on mobility and strength.

Now, the marathon result was a huge disappointment, starting from 1am I was up, throwing up, something that continued for another 36 hours. I didn’t even make the start line. You can read that whole story here.

The question is, why did I need such a massive, scary goal to get myself doing the right things?

Why did I return to those bad habits once that goal faded away?

This narrative resonates with dads everywhere. We juggle the demands of life, often putting fitness and health on the backburner. We know what to do to be healthier, so why is it always an uphill struggle?

A New Path

It’s time to forge a new path. One that’s not based on the boom and bust cycle of hitting or missing goals and then resetting. One that’s not so focused on short-term targets.

Earlier this year, through the algorithm and via Gordo Byrn and Alan Couzens, I discovered Iñaki de la Parra. I followed him because he’s a fellow international resident of Poland and an elite endurance athlete and coach — something I aspire to be, well at least being ‘an athlete’.

He started writing about the Tactical Athlete.

What is the Tactical Athlete?

Of course, head over to Iñaki’s page to get the much, much better definition but I’ll give it a go with my description.

The whole idea goes beyond just working out for performance; it’s about building a long-term foundation of health and fitness. It’s about balancing endurance, strength, speed, mobility, and learning new skills. It’s not about focusing on your next race but on decades into the future and the ability to do what you want, when you want.

One of the most important things is starting from where you are and gradually building up. It’s about prioritizing long-term health and injury prevention over quick wins. It’s more about adaptability, patience, and continuous improvement, leading to a more balanced and fulfilling life.

This resonated with me. It’s a concept I’ve thought about before — less about being marathon-ready or triathlon fit, and more about being adventure-ready, regardless of the adventure, always with one eye on the long-term future. There’s an element of this forming the foundation of Ross Edgley’s book “Blueprint” too.

It’s definitely about moving from goal orientation to process orientation.

Walk, walk and then walk some more

I’ve started incorporating more movement into my day. My average daily steps in the four weeks since starting have doubled from an embarrassingly low base of 6,000 to 12,000. Essentially, I’m walking more. My goal is to do mobility daily, which I’m failing miserably at, and strength a few times a week.

That’s it. It’s that simple.

There’s flexibility, of course. Want to go for a bike ride? Go. A swim? Do it. But the foundation is there: walk.

The long-term plan is to walk, and as mentioned in the Roadman Podcast interview with Iñaki, walk some more. Then, when you’re tired of walking, walk a little bit more. Then incorporate walk/run. When that’s all good, pure running, and then some speed.

But it’s a long-term view. Right now, it’s about getting started. Making those first steps and trying to build a movement habit — one that’s sustainable and not motivated by immediate goals but by the enjoyment of movement.

Maybe this is something you could start too.

After all:

Your kids want you here.

Your pets want you here.

Your partners want you here.

Your grandchildren want you here.

Your great-grandchildren want you here.

We want to be here.

So let’s do everything we can to be here.

For our great-grandchildren.

For our grandchildren.

For our partners.

For our pets.

For our kids.

For us.

Cross posted from Medium if you’d like to read more of that over there then click here