In the last two weeks I’ve experienced two events that have challenged my fitness. Walking up a mountain and competing in my 4th Hyrox competition.

First, I walked up a mountain with two friends. Sugar Loaf Mountain in Brecon Beacons in Wales. Certainly not the highest mountain I’ve climbed. Over the last few years I’ve claimed Ben Nevis (Scotland, 1345 metres), Scarfell Pike (England, 978 metres), Snowdon (Wales, 1085 metres) and Carrauntoohil (Ireland, 1038 metres). Sugar Loaf in Wales is only 596 metres high. So I should have found it fairly easy, but I didn’t.

The weather wasn’t great when we set off. Grey and drizzly but a misplaced optimism that the weather would improve spurred us on. It deteriorated significantly as we ascended. By the time we reached the cloud covered summit the drizzle had turned to rain with the wind having the capacity to knock you off your feet. And it was cold. It was easy to imagine how quick it would be to become hypothermic in such conditions.

However, even if the sun had been shining with a gentle breeze on my face I would have still struggled. I just don’t have the VO2 max to comfortably get me up a mountain.

But getting to the summit was just the beginning. The descent was just as challenging. This time it was my stability and balance that resulted in me moving at a glacial pace.

I felt sorry for my two friends. They are both a few years younger than me but even so. Every time they had to stop to wait for me their exposure to the elements increased.

By the time we got back to civilisation we were wet and very cold. On the positive side it enhanced the enjoyment of our pub lunch.

A week later I competed in my 4th Hyrox competition. I was doing it as a double with a friend from the gym. I’d gone solo last November. I didn’t enjoy it. This time I was determined to have fun. I knew that the pace was going to be slow which suited me just fine. Particularly as I knew my VO2 max needed work.

Hyrox is primarily a running race interspersed with eight functional workstations. These workstations challenge strength, mobility, stability as well as VO2 max. The weight, certainly in the Hyrox category, isn’t particularly challenging. It is increased in the PRO categories. Stability and mobility are challenged in the sled pull, burpee broad jumps, sandbag lunges and wall balls but what gets you through is your VO2 max, endurance and tenacity. Not everyone gets over the finish line. But we did. We were slow. We ranked last in our category. But we were so much faster than those that don’t start.

Both experiences were a harsh wake up call to act on my VO2 max capacity. I’ve written about the importance of VO2 max before, particularly in relation to competing Hyrox. But more importantly, a good VO2 max will determine how active you can be as the body ages. I won’t be doing Hyrox in ten years’ time, but I will still want to be climbing mountains or, at the very least, high hills. To climb a mountain you need a V02 max of at least 30. Taking into consideration how V02 max deteriorates with age, approximately 10% per decade, mine needs to be a lot higher now.

Now I know that some would suggest that mountain climbing is an activity best forgotten when you reach 65. And that I should seek out more gentler pursuits. But whilst I’m still able to put one foot in front of the other that is not going to happen.

It has been an element of my training that has slipped. There have been a number of contributing factors. A long, wet winter. It being very easy to put off a run in the park until the rain stops. My reluctance to do speed focused gym classes. On the plus side, I’ve done the occasional Parkrun and 5k run with the gym plus my usual three strength sessions per week, but this hasn’t been enough to stop my V02 max deteriorating. In a matter of a few months, it dropped from 31 to 28 according to my iWatch. Over the last few weeks, I’ve got it back to 29 but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Fortuitously a Peter Attia post appeared in my email box. Peter Attia, is an expert on training for longevity and my go to guru. A couple of sentences jumped out:

If the goal for exercise is to improve health and extend lifespan, then the metrics that matter are those most closely related to health and lifespan – i.e., VO2 max and muscle strength.

VO2 max………has been shown in multiple large-scale studies to be strongly and inversely associated with all-cause mortality risk across all adult age groups. Indeed, a low VO2 max is reported to be a far better predictor of mortality than diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, smoking, or even age.

This is powerful stuff.

And let’s not forget the challenge of getting down the mountain. I must work on my stability. And I’d also throw in flexibility as at the start of many mountain climbs there are stiles.

I can’t climb over stiles with any elegance. I inevitably get my foot caught stepping over or I miscalculate with what foot to lead with. Fortunately, more by luck than judgement, I’ve not landed face first into a muddy pool or a cowpat.

What does all this mean for my training? I must do something different. I need a greater focus on intense, interval training complemented by increased stability and mobility work.

Fingers crossed my next mountain will be easier.