Different events, same foundations. How we’re preparing for a swim, ultra, paddleboard race and 700km gravel ride.

Beth and I have committed to four very different endurance challenges in 2026:

• A 2.4 mile open water swim from Nevis to St Kitts
• A 50km trail ultra
• A 40km stand up paddle-board race
• A 700km multi-day gravel ride along the Camino in Spain

At first glance, these appear to require four separate training programmes. Swimming fitness, ultra-specific run durability, paddle-board strength and balance, and multi-day cycling resilience are not obviously interchangeable.

However, we are not building four different systems.

Instead, we are applying one consistent philosophy to all of them.

You can listen to the full podcast here:

Durability over Ego

The Shift After 50

When you’re younger, performance improvements often come from increasing volume or intensity. You can add more and recover reasonably well. In your 50s, that approach becomes less reliable.

Recovery takes longer. Soft tissue resilience is lower. Sleep becomes more influential. Muscle mass is harder to maintain.

The key question is no longer “How much can I do?”
It becomes “How consistently can I train without breaking?”

That shift underpins everything we are doing.

Running the Ultra: Efficiency Over Ego

For the 50km ultra, Beth has started using a structured run-walk approach, typically four minutes running followed by one minute walking.

This is not a concession to weakness. It is a deliberate pacing strategy. There aren’t many folks who can run 50k non stop which means that the walking part can either be an intentional strategy or an inevitable shuffle when the individual is no longer able to run. The second way just means more suffering in the back half of the event.

Short walk breaks reduce cumulative musculoskeletal stress and allow technique to reset before fatigue significantly alters form. Over the course of several hours, this can reduce overall strain while maintaining average pace.

For an athlete in their 50s, that matters. It is not simply about finishing the long run. It is about being able to train again tomorrow.

The aim is durability, not heroism.

Strength Training as Structural Insurance

Strength training remains a non-negotiable component of our preparation.

Not because it directly makes a 50km run faster or a paddle-board more efficient in the short term, but because it supports structural integrity over time.

From midlife onwards, muscle mass and bone density decline unless deliberately maintained. Loss of strength affects posture, joint stability and injury risk across all disciplines.

For the ultra, this means improved single-leg stability and reduced fatigue-related collapse in form.
For the paddle-board, it supports balance and shoulder durability.
For multi-day gravel riding, it helps manage the cumulative strain through the back and upper body.

Strength work is less about performance enhancement and more about long-term capacity preservation.

Protein and Recovery

We have also become more intentional about protein intake.

Rather than concentrating protein in a single meal, we aim to distribute it across the day. The rationale is straightforward: muscle protein synthesis becomes less responsive with age, meaning older athletes require more deliberate intake to stimulate and maintain lean tissue.

This is not about extreme dieting or supplementation. It is about supporting adaptation from training and reducing the gradual loss of muscle that often accompanies ageing.

If training is the stimulus, protein is part of the recovery environment that allows adaptation to occur.

Brain Health and Decision Quality

Multi-day endurance events reveal something interesting. Physical fatigue is only part of the equation. Decision-making under fatigue often becomes the limiting factor.

Skipping fuelling late in a ride.
Pushing intensity unnecessarily.
Sacrificing sleep.

These are not fitness failures; they are judgement failures.

As a result, we pay more attention to sleep quality, stress management and alcohol intake. Even moderate alcohol consumption noticeably affects sleep architecture and next-day recovery. Over time, that compounds.

Improved cognitive clarity supports better training decisions. Better decisions support consistency.

Heat Adaptation as a Secondary Lever

Although not all of our events are in hot climates, we are also experimenting with controlled heat exposure.

Research suggests that heat adaptation can increase plasma volume and improve cardiovascular efficiency. These adaptations may translate into improved performance even in temperate conditions.

This does not require expensive equipment. Practical methods include indoor sessions with reduced airflow, sauna exposure or post-training hot baths. However, heat work introduces additional stress and must be managed carefully within the overall training load.

It is a supplementary tool, not a replacement for structured training.

One Philosophy Across Four Events

The swim, ultra, paddle-board race and Camino ride each present different physical demands. However, the preparation principles remain consistent:

• Protect recovery
• Maintain strength
• Support adaptation nutritionally
• Manage stress
• Avoid unnecessary hero sessions

Rather than chasing peak performance in a single discipline, we are building a durable base that allows us to participate across disciplines without chronic breakdown.

The Longer Horizon

Ultimately, the goal is not simply to complete these events.

It is to maintain the option to continue choosing challenges in the future.

That requires a long-term view. Training decisions made today influence capacity five or ten years from now. Consistency, not occasional intensity, is what sustains participation.

Different events.

Same foundations.

That is how we are approaching 2026.

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Thanks for being part of the tribe — I’m here to help you stay Battle Ready! Simon