Day 278

I hadn’t intended to name check the book about aging I’m reading until I’d finished it and could comment on its entirety, but so many of you have asked what it’s called that now is the time to tell you. Even if the rest of it is rubbish (which I can’t imagine it will be), it’s already well worth a read. It’s Breaking The Age Code by Dr Becca Levy, and was recommended to me months ago (April, I just checked) by my old friend Dan Holloway, a fellow writer, and an all-round good egg and genius. It’s a long time since I’ve seen the man in person … these are the times we are in.

Ever since Radio Stradbroke started broadcasting daily on 25 March 2020, just after Lockdown 1 had started, I’ve been neglecting my daily exercise, more from the purpose and timing point of view, not the doing of it – I am now less than 60 days from doing my 1,500th 2-miler in as many days. The 2-milers have become afterthoughts rather than the focal point of my days. Before we went daily, I was going out most days at about 11:30, so that the exercise would give me a mid-day boost, so that perhaps, at the end of the working day, I would still have some mental energy to do something creative. Doing a full-on day job (mentally and intellectually) and being a writer does have its unique challenges, and I’ve not been paying enough attention to feeding my body and brain with exercise. So, with apologies to my fellow Radio Stradbroke DJs, I’m going to start going out regularly at 11:30ish so that I can get that boost rather than going late afternoon when I don’t feel like exercising or witing. Maybe this is where all my injury troubles over the last 18 months have come from. Perhaps that Levy’s book has (re)inspired me to be more determined to do things for me, to keep me young. And I did actually go out and do 4.5 km at 11:30 this morning, and I feel a lot better for it.

Now all I need to do is make sure I keep it up. Tomorrow I can start on my (for me) extreme stretches again, because I was told after the procedure last week not to do anything intense like lifting heavy stuff. Gradual improvement is the key, I think.

On that note…

AGGIE’S ART OF HAPPINESS – CHAPTER 228