Dan Reese

I turn 43 today. Every year I do a “birthday workout” to reaffirm my lifelong commitment to fitness. This year’s version: run a sub-5 min mile (on the treadmill, thanks MI winter) and bench 200 lbs. The video is me part way through a 4:58* mile (cut it down a bit, nobody wants to watch me suffer for 5 mins). I love the mantra “outlift the runners, outrun the lifters”. This workout is an encapsulation of that. I’m a better runner than lifter. A sub-5 mile at 43 is pretty rare. A 200 lb bench much less so. But I’d like to think the ability to do both is quite uncommon at my age. At 6’1” ~170 lbs w a 6’5” wingspan & skinny forearms/wrists, bench is hard for me. It’s by far my worst lift. Working up to 200 took ages. Max bench and a fast mile are diametrically opposed from a training standpoint, so trying to thread the needle on both has been a fun challenge. *A 4:58 on the treadmill is not a legit 4:58. While I know my treadmill is calibrated within a fairly tight range, it’s unlikely perfect. Also the treadmill is technically “easier” than outside. It kicks your feet back and you don’t battle wind resistance. A 1% incline makes it more equivalent, but no chance in hell I’m attempting sub-5 on an incline. That said, it was rough mentally. I’ve never run an all out mile on the treadmill before. Do not recommend. It hurt real bad and I thought I might fall. Each foot strike had to be perfect. Got extra dicey in the back half. Excited to do something equally stupid for 44!