Misha’s and my mission to spend a year on ISS is unprecedented. A normal mission to the space station lasts five to six months, so scientists have a good deal of data about what happens to the human body in space for that length of time. But very little is known about what happens after month six. The symptoms might get precipitously worse in the ninth month, for instance, or they might level off. We don’t know, and there is only one way to find […]
It’s all about willpower
I’m so far from an elite athlete, even the comparison is comical. Yet I’ve pushed myself often enough and hard enough while running, rowing, or cycling, that I have some understanding of the pain of pushing past your limits. So, I was intrigued when I heard about this new book, How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle (2015) by Matt Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald’s main thesis (supported by lots of science) is that your mind is the limiting factor in athletic endurance performance. […]