Decathlon approaches; training continues

Max and I are halfway to our July  28^th decathlon benefitting Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. With so many events to prepare for, my training program involves anything I can do to make progress, at any time, anywhere. And Max has been training all over the world.

Some pieces are easier than others.  Running – sprints or miles – is a lot more pleasant now that we are past Boston’s nine months of freezing dark.  And the dog appreciates the exercise, too.

Weightlifting is a necessity. My strategy is to pump iron with Max any time I can with the goal of reaching at least 50% of the weight he’s using.  I recommend training with a 25 year old (it builds both strength and humility).  Watching Max, it makes me feel like I can actually improve just by hanging out with him at the gym.

Then there’s rise and shine pickup basketball at 6am at the Beverly YMCA. It does wonders for stamina, speed and just plain fun.  And the rest of the day awaits after 7am.  A training outlier is ballet class at Boston Ballet.  It’s great for leg strength and explosiveness, and can those dancers jump.

And let’s not forget yoga at OmWarrior for relaxation, flexibility, and realizing how many simple looking things there are that you can’t do but can always try. And feel better afterwards.

In any case, getting in decathlon shape and living in decathlon shape long after July 28^th is my goal.  I am also watching the charitable giving money tree grow, thanks to your generosity. Please keep giving – the money goes a long way toward helping kids with cancer, kids who have a much more difficult training regimen ahead than any of us. Thank you! Donate here.

And now a few words from Max:

My decathlon training has been all over the map, literally. During my trip around the world, I was constantly rock climbing, surfing, biking, running, hiking, orienteering, free diving, etc., all of which tie back in some way to the 10 decathlon events. Variety in setting and activity has been key to keeping a high level of enthusiasm in my training. Running to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town is 1000x more interesting than laps around a track and rock climbing in Southern Thailand is far more interesting than pull-ups.

At the moment I’m training for the elusive 25 strict hanging pull-ups via techniques I learned from NYC’s local pull-up heroes, the Bar-Barians. I am also weightlifting with and training Osbon Sr. to get him prepped for reps on the 175 pound bench press.

During last year’s competition I ran a 55 second 400 meter dash after barely breaking 60 seconds during practice. The game day adrenaline boost helps, but even more important is the performance incentive. The donations increase depending on our performance versus our targets. Psychologically it’s enormously motivating to be out there thinking, “this next step is worth another $100 if I can just push it a quarter second faster!” It all means more money going to cancer research for kids. Thank you for your support!  Donate here.

Read our previous post on The Decathlon and the cause.