My name is Mike I am approaching 72 years of age and I class myself as an ageing athlete these days.
As a schoolboy I was quite chubby and as an older teenager I was in a bar having a drink with a few friends and overheard a group of girls saying there’s Fatty Mick. That comment had an amazing effect on me and changed my life forever.
I started to run and cycle to reduce my weight and increase my fitness level. I joined my local Running Club and raced on the roads and the fells at distances from 5 to 40 miles finishing, for example, top 200 in the London Marathon, top 200 in the Great North Run and many more both on road and fells.
I got involved in rock climbing in my mid 30s with a couple of mates and used this as a strength and mobility medium to enhance my strength and durability on the roads and fells and Munro bagging up in Scotland.
Later as a 60+ year old I competed in Duathlons and was 1st in my age group in all but one of my races.
On a wet weekend in July 2015, as a 65 year old I completed the Three National Peaks challenge for charity with two mates. We ran up and down Mt Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis having cycled the 480 miles between them. Then in 2019 2019 I did an unsupported cycle challenge with my mate from Lands End to John O'Groats.
All through the years as an amateur athlete I have looked for and tried many different supplements to aid training, recovery and to maybe get a competitive edge!
Some of the products have been reasonably successful and served a purpose to a certain extent, although in recent years the quality of supplements has improved so much for example hydration powders. Also training aids to help strength and endurance athletes to perform and recover, weight gaining mediums/products for gym based fitness regimes etc. There are so many to choose from these days and I am pleased to have found a company who I think are on the right track with their supplements.
I am a big fan of Xendurance products, my favourite being the Lactic Buffer tablets as I find on long cycle rides of 60 miles plus I feel quite relaxed and free moving. The energy gels are great for a small boost as the day goes on. Other products I use in conjunction with the lactic buffer tablets from time to time especially if I have had a poor sleep are the Focus powder and Fuel 5 + to enhance my performance.
In the winter I tend to do a lot of turbo cycling sessions in the garage, for instance I will aim to do 1200 miles in January for charity (same as last January). February, March and April will depend on the great British weather but it will all be on back of Xendurance products.