Training Log Update — October 2026
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: this is the first training log post since Week 0. Back in August I said I’d be checking in every week, and that clearly didn’t happen. If you’ve been wondering whether I quietly quit before I really got started, that’s a fair question. I’ve done exactly that before. I told you as much in Week 0.
But not this time.
The short version
The training is strong. The writing isn’t.
And there’s a good reason for that.
So where have I been?
I’ve been training and developing. When I’m not at my day job or working out, nearly every spare hour has gone into Plantiful Athlete, the app I’m designing to coach plant-based endurance athletes. It’s your coach and nutrition calculator in one. It isn’t a canned training program; it changes your programming based on your training, nutrition, sleep, and stress. It’s been a big project, but it’s getting there.
The app is built around a daily check-in, a quick “how did you sleep, how do you feel, what’s sore” that adjusts your training for the day. I’ve been checking in with the app every single day. I just haven’t been checking in with you.
I’m not trying to sell you anything. It’s not even out yet, and who knows if it ever will be. I’m my own test subject right now. If it proves valuable and I make the progress I expect, I might open a beta on January 1st. We’ll see.
Why build an app instead of just following a plan?
In Week 0 I talked about how getting fit after 40 is a different game. Recovery matters more. Nutrition matters more. Consistency matters most. Most training plans are one-size-fits-all canned programs, and they don’t know or care that you eat plants, that you slept five hours, or that your knee hurts in the morning. The other option is a training coach, which is great but can get very expensive very fast. I wanted something that does both: it takes your input like a coach but costs about what a canned program does, and it recognizes that plant-based nutrition isn’t the same as an omnivore diet.
So far
- It plans the week around your actual training load. It reads your workouts and heart rate from Apple Health and builds the next week so you keep progressing without piling on more than your body can absorb. I need that a lot more at 50 than I did at 30.
- It adjusts each day based on how you’re actually doing. The daily check-in can dial a session up, down, or swap it out entirely. Some mornings the smartest workout is the easier one.
- It ties your food to your training. Your meal plan and grocery list match the week’s training, with plant-based fueling built in rather than bolted on as an afterthought. And yes, it covers protein.
I’m using it for my own Ironman training, which makes me the first and most demanding tester. Every time something feels off, like a workout that’s too much or a meal plan that doesn’t fit a long training day, I fix it. That’s been the real work these past couple of months: not piling on features, but getting it right.
Beta testers wanted (tentatively), starting January 1
The goal is to open a beta on January 1st. It’s a perfect time for it: new year, new training block, and a lot of people looking for a fresh start.
I’m looking for testers who fit at least one of these:
- You’re a runner or triathlete training for a race in 2027, at any distance.
- You eat plant-based, or you’re plant-curious and want to fuel better.
- You’re over 40 and tired of training plans that assume you recover like a 25-year-old.
- You use an iPhone and, ideally, an Apple Watch. (We’ll talk Apple vs. Garmin vs. Suunto vs. Coros later.)
If that sounds like you, join the Plantiful Athlete waitlist and you’ll be first in line when the beta opens. I want honest feedback: the good, the bad, and the “why on earth did it tell me to do that?”
What’s next
Repetition creates habit. I said it in Week 0, and it applies to writing as much as training. I’m not going to promise a post every single week again and then miss it. What I will promise is that these updates are back, and from here on I’ll share what the app is prescribing, how my body is responding, and what I’m changing along the way.
The Ironman is still the goal. I’m just building the tools to get there first.
