Protein guide for aging athletes

I have actually started taking protein and creatine supplements. Me, of all people.

Don’t worry—I am not trying to become a fitness influencer. I don't really think there is a massive online audience aspiring to emulate my wall-ball efforts or my skinny, aging-runner aesthetic.

What led to this shocking turn of events? I recently listened to a series of podcasts discussing the bare minimum requirements for daily protein intake. There seems to be a general scientific consensus that men should consume at least 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight throughout the day, which lands right around 75 grams for me. There is also a consensus that older people should consume more than this. And people doing any sort of high-intensity exercise should consume more than that. The Peter Attia podcast was particularly emphatic that to really thrive, you should target well above this baseline.

In all my decades of endurance sports, I have never once tracked my calories, and I had no desire to start now. But a teammate happened to mention a fairly streamlined (and free) app called MyFitnessPal. Curious about where I actually stood, I decided to log my food for three weeks.

The results were a shock. Most days, I wasn't even hitting that baseline of 75 grams. It was eye-opening to realize how little my usual routine of fruit, yogurt, nuts, and chicken salads or pasta actually registered on the protein scale. Most days, I barely had 25 grams of protein in my system before dinner.

So, I actually ordered these annoying products—despite my deep-seated skepticism that the entire supplement industry is essentially a scam. Not long after, I listened to a Freakonomics podcast takedown of the supplement business (highlighting how unregulated it is, the lack of proven benefits, etc.). Interestingly, the hosts cited creatine as the rare exception to the rule, and mentioned protein powder as a pragmatic food source if one is too busy. I felt mildly vindicated.

Interestingly even after investing in all this expensive, convenient supplements, I have suddenly started creating an egg and vegetable scramble instead of chugging a protein shake whenever possible in order to get slightly more natural protein along with some fiber.  

Have I detected a massive surge in my weightlifting performance since starting this regiment? I wish I could document this, but it is still not clear. Although, at my advanced age, simply lifting the same weight week after week probably qualifies as an improvement.

That said, a teammate at our Saturday workout did remark that I looked "bulked up" when I wore a sleeveless singlet recently. Then again, people tend to say things like that to me more out of pity and concern for my rather gaunt, almost anorexic runner's appearance. But hey, I appreciate this type of compliment where ever I can get them.

*disclosure: I am not promoting brands – though chocolate chip mint does taste pretty good mixed with milk.  Haha - as if company would pay me as ambassador/influencer

Warrior Gym

I have joined Warrior Gym.   I jog over in my run gear and find myself in a landscape populated by young, "looksmaxxing" bodybuilders glancing at their reflections in the wall-to-wall mirrors

By "joined," I only mean I sign up for a two week pass.  As runners can understand, I am totally reluctant to actually join the gym and pay a 32,000-yen initiation fee plus 22,000 yen a month. I carefully plan my summer around a rolling series of 14-day passes for 18,000 yen each. My calculation is that three of these two-week blocks fit perfectly into my summer travel schedule leading up to the Chiba Hyrox on August 7th. The remaining five weeks will be cobbled together with home workouts, a few drop-in sessions at places like the Seattle YMCA, and a long taper.

Finances aside, the logistics are ideal. Warrior Gym opened in March, sits just 900 meters from my apartment, and crucially houses all eight of the official Hyrox station setups.

Most importantly, it features a stretch of carpet that allows me to practice the sled push over a longer distance than the actual 12.5-meter event course. In my Yokohama race report, I remember crowing about how brilliantly strong and fast I felt on the sled. But upon reflection, I have to wonder how much that early bravado cost me. The shock of shifting 152 kg happens early in the race, and the feeling of being absolutely gutted immediately afterward seems to have cast a long shadow over the remaining stations. I’ve deemed the sled push my second most critical area of focus—not to get faster, but to learn how to survive it without ruining my running capability.

Despite my decades of endurance training, I immediately fell into the classic novice gym-membership conundrum: the desperate psychological need to justify the cost by showing up every single day.

An experienced athlete supposedly knows that performance gains are built on adaptive response and adequate recovery. An experienced athlete rests. Instead, I find myself wanting to go every day,  testing myself over and over against the exact same equipment.  Maybe that is why my actual Hyrox times haven't really improved since early days last year preparing for Yokohama.

Amidst the serious lifters flexing for the mirrors, a genuine Hyrox subculture has emerged. I even manage to make friends and bonding with friendly fellow competitors like Hiroo, Adam, and a local couple as we collectively struggle with carpet friction and rope management.

So, I keep walking the 900 meters back to my convenient, mirror-filled sanctuary every day. I might not be improving or looksmaxxing or identify as a "warrior", but I am finding the 14 days at Warrior Gym rewarding.  

Spring 2026 Run Training

I am grateful that I can keep doing at least some sort of training and showing up to join my teammates week after week. More and more, my Satruday conversations involve talking with teammates who are entirely sidelined by troubling, painful knee, back, and assorted run-related injuries. 

According to Strava, year-to-date I have run 693 total kilometers. That works out to a meager 32 km per week—much less even than the 50-kilometers or so I have generally averaged during my second running life (2002-present). 

More than the limited volume, though, it’s the lack of quality interval sessions that has me worried. It feels like I’ve done so few classic vo2 max sessions over the past year, On several occasions, I’ve dropped out of the group track sessions entirely.

For a few months, I resorted to asking Gemini AI for training and recovery input. It consistently responded by telling me to rest my hamstring. Eventually, I decided that if I actually listened to the AI, I would just sit on the couch forever. So for now I have abandoned seeking input from algorithms.

It’s hard to gauge the exact fitness loss from this compromised stretch. Last week, I clocked a 19:21 for a 5k time trial, compared to an 18:51 roughly 13 months earlier in late April 2025, right before things seemed to go sideways. A 30-second drop feels significant on paper. Then again, the time trial a year ago was on an uncrowded Shin-Kiba track in pristine 17-degree temperatures where I pushed my own pace the whole way. Last week’s effort was in 24-degree warmth on a crowded track, sitting behind a pace group and relying on a late kick.

Here is a picture from the Shinjuku City Half Marathon. I signed up for this event purely to recapture the group spirit of pre-Covid racing in Tokyo, something I’ve missed. Most of the race itself felt terribly uncomfortable, but running through tunnel and on to track to finish inside the Olympic Stadium was glorious.

And, for the first time in years, I actually sit down and enjoy a post-race meal with my teammates afterward. So I am grateful.

Autumn/Winter 2025 - Run training and races

TRAINING

VOLUME - 

I average 41 kilometers per week of run volume during the months from September through December. 

This is somewhat supplemented by Hyrox cardio cross-training - roughly two times per week doing rowing, swim, and strength work. 

QUALITY - 

My key interval workouts are somewhat compromised by travel, injury, fatigue, etc.  I generally manage to maintain a bit under 3:40 per kilometer pace (averaging across very wide variety of workouts) 

RACES 

Ueda Half Marathon – 

My hamstring goes out at 4k and I cannot realistically continue running.   Was this injury the result of insufficient warmup?  Incorporating deadlifts into routine for first time?  Shoes?  Hyrox?  Who knows.  I am discouraged.  I had limited expectations for race given low summer mileage but was keen to start building back competitiveness and now will need some recovery.   I was running half-marathon at slightly over 4 minutes per kilometer pace when I had to stop, and I have no idea how well I could have maintained that pace… might have been challenging.  At least it is a nice weekend trip with Padraig, Andy, Eriko and Buzz. 

 

Toda 10k – 

I finish 2^nd in age group in 41 minutes.  This is an awfully slow time for someone doing interval workouts at a bit under 3:40 minutes per kilometer.  I hate to make excuses.  I don’t even post this event on Strava or write a race report for the club knowing that it would just degenerate into a series of tiresome excuses.   

Because I had lots of excuses for my slower time:  The compromised training because of my hamstring issues.  Kindly fellow runners insisting I get off train at wrong station, thus eliminating most all of my narrow warmup time window.  

And the most dramatic excuse - the steady cold rain throughout the morning that turned into absolute deluge during the middle of the 10k race.  Am I getting weaker in the cold as I grow older?  I have suffered meltdowns because of cold wet conditions as far back as 2012 Ironman and Tokyo marathon 10k.   The first place finisher in my age group was adamant that the weather conditions added over a minute to his time.  I am not so sure for me. 

Basically I go out at very conservative pace and then never manage to increase speed. 

 

Chiang Mai Half Marathon – 

I manage to capture first place out of 70 guys with time of 1:30:55. 

 

So great to win another elephant trophy (home is decorated now mostly with elephant trophies)

And take lots of "hill tribe" photos (for hill tribe training group in Tokyo)