Grip & Rip

Sometimes you just need your ass handed to you

I am a firm believer in well designed, intelligently built, intentional training protocols for endurance athletes. I think science and proven programing should always be the focal point of a training plan for anyone I coach.

I’m also a firm believer that sometimes you also just need your ass kicked.

That probably holds true for life as much as it does training.

Yesterday I ran one of my two traditional spring “time to get ready” workouts. 6 hours on foot (the other is a 12 hour day on foot). Every year as big mountain objectives approach, there comes a time where regardless of how well the winter training block went, I need to get out and hurt in distances that are probably more than I’m totally prepared for. The objective of this outing is to rip the long run band-aid off. Theres no real ideal outcome other than '“get through it, hurt, don’t be laid up the next day”. If those boxes get checked, then I know I’m ready to start a build toward the big stuff. If they don’t I know I need some work to do.

I ran 30 miles on hard packed black ice and frozen concrete. The miles passed fast, the joints held up, the mind was right. I felt fine today, got into the gym, on the bike and checked off a quick session on the stairclimber. I am ready and can now proceed onto bigger things.

I think sometimes, even if it’s nothing groundbreaking, hearing the training experience of others can be helpful in providing perspective for your own work.

You need these litmus tests when you’re prepping for big objectives because no matter how many intelligent miles you run and how many well planned strength sessions you hammer through, if you’re going to get into deep water on race day, you better dip your toes in it in training to make sure you can swim.

It’s always an interesting experience building into these spring long runs. Often times I struggle to push much past 14-15 miles in winter training blocks. It’s dark, it’s cold, the big fun days out are far away still, motivation is low. So I simmer, I build a massive wave of strength and capacity that I let crash down on 2-3 huge spring workouts that launch me into summer, and it works.

Be intentional about testing your limits, but test them. You won’t get anywhere in your training or in life if you spend most of your time floating around at a reasonably comfortable degree of exertion. At times, you need to push, and you need to push hard, live in the type 3 fun for a little, recover, regroup and repeat. It is the way.

So as you approach your summer objectives, I challenge you to look yourself in the mirror and truly as yourself if you’ve suffered enough to get to the places you want to be. If the answer is anything other than a resounding “yes”, I suggest you plan something hard and get it done soon, the big days are coming.

Onwards, Always.