Thursday

Autobiographical Corner

Another endorsement of the Cave Man Diet

Two years ago, I hadn't sprinted in over a decade. I started trying it. It went poorly: I felt slow, stupid, and fat. The sprinting also resulted in severe pain in my feet. The orthopedic doctor told me I was too old to sprint and to knock it off because it was screwing up my phalanges (or some such thing). After starting the Cave Man Diet, my feet cleared up (the dork doctor--a highly-recommended specialist--apparently never even considered a dietary change). Last Summer, I started sprinting again. After a few months, I actually felt fast and not so stupid. I raced my wife, and I won by a large margin (when we dated, we ran a dead heat). I raced my speedy 12-year-old: I won. I raced my speedy 15-year-old and lost . . . but not by much. That was last year. This year, I raced my fast 17-year-old daughter, and we tied.

Soooo, I was encouraged. I then read in Art De Vany's book that he (at age 70) could run a sub-5 40-yard-dash. Such a speed would put him among Division 1 linebacker prospects. I decided to try it. On my first try, I logged in at 6.0. After a few more tries, I was able to get my speed down to 5.6 (link to video: 40_yard_dash).

I'm pretty stoked with that time. I just wanted to beat 6.0. With some training (track athletes will quickly discern from the video that I have no technique whatsoever), I'm hoping to get to the low 5's. A ridiculous goal for a 46-year-old man? Of course, but what the heck. It doesn't take much time and it beats jogging.

I'll keep y'all posted.