At forty-one I was overweight and unfit. As I turned 50 I was thirty pounds lighter, having spent my fifth decade training for, and racing multiple Ironmans, marathons, and other crazy adventures. This account of that fitness journey through my forties includes broken bones, severe chafing, regular cursing, rubber and lycra, an element of masochism … and cake.
From New York Times-bestselling writer Tim Lebbon comes his first non-fiction book, charting his fitness journey through his forties––funny, hopefully inspiring, brutally honest, this is a book for anyone trying to get and stay fit, at whatever age!
Dark bleatings, everyone! Something a little different for you today – a non-horror, non-fiction. But since it’s by Tim Lebbon, one of my very favourite horror authors, I thought I’d throw this out as a sneaky little bonus review. It’s a somewhat autobiographical read, and a very interesting and amusing one at that.
Tim takes us through his fitness journey between the ages of forty-one and fifty, and I I have to say it’s quite the inspirational read, but without being preachy whatsoever. I picked this up because I’ve recently embarked on my own health and fitness journey and I was looking for a little extra motivation. A decade ago, I had no problem dropping somewhere near a stone if I just did a 30 day shred. I could eat cakes and cheesy chips galore, and it wouldn’t really make much of a difference to my physique. My elders told me to enjoy that while I could because one day my metabolism would simply say “hey, f*** you,” and even looking at a cake would add a couple of pounds to my already expanding butt. Oh, how I laughed! Oh, how foolish I was to not listen, and start taking my fitness more seriously earlier.
Firstly, the story of Tim’s passion for outdoor pursuits is a cheerful and uplifting thing to read. We get to embark with him on his first mountain walk, as he takes up running, as he decides to branch out into cycling and swimming. He tells us about buying his first proper bike, signing up for his first challenge, and then how this all escalated in a joyful, fat-burning adventure as he also discovered a love for the great outdoors.
It’s such a sunny, optimistic tale. It’s also very funny in places, and full of little details about how triathlons work and the hazards of partaking in them. I tell you, I never expected to read about the perils of chafing around the gooch area, but here we are. It never occurred to me before that there’s a time and a place for lubing one’s gooch. I never expected to write the word “gooch” for any reason, and twice in one paragraph, no less.
Gooch aside (just wanted to slip one last gooch in there), I had also never considered such things as punching a jellyfish in the head. Or arse. Hey, have you ever wondered when competitive triathlon athletes eat during a race? It’s all go-go-go, no time for stopping for a leisurely lunch. Now I know. They eat on their bikes. The multi-tasking is astounding, quite frankly. I sometimes fail to get the food into my mouth if I’m trying to eat and watch TV at the same time. Especially if it’s a show starring Jensen Ackles.
Overall, this is a massively enjoyable little book full of big aspirations and goals, and I did find it very inspirational. The same week that I read it, I finally hit one of my own goals – a 5K, which I hadn’t managed in a couple of years. I’m not saying Tim’s book magically made me fitter, but it definitely did help me reframe how I approached my work outs. It was also nice to discover that Tim shares my love of cake.
I’d recommend this to Tim Lebbon fans (obviously), people who enjoy autobiographical snippets, and certainly to people who are embarking on something new and need a little extra push. A lovely read. If you’d like to get a copy, or check out the author, there are some links below for you:
Happy Goat Horror 
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