At the end of the school year this spring, I had the pleasure of meeting Patrick. We met just before the track and field district championships as he came expressing his desire to have a dominant fall cross country (XC) season.
His goal has been to run under 17min for his 5K and make the state championship in XC this fall.
Patrick expressed his disappointment about not making the state championship last year and how “his legs would feel so tired at the end of races”. He would slow down too much at the end of the race.
Listen, that monkey will jump on your back no matter how fast you are! You train so that monkey can get off your back so you can get to the next level.
You can't see the monkey though, you just know it’s there. Feel it. Patrick could feel the monkey but didn’t know how to get it off.
He didn’t hesitate to take the red pill and see how fast he could become without a monkey on his back. This kid is hungry for progress and has a “what else can I do” attitude, key for hard earned success.
Over the course of the summer I had Patrick focus on just 3 things in training:
- Improving his ability to clear fatigue toxins out of his muscles
- Increasing his strength so running feels easier
- Learning how to better pace and manage speed through competitive environments
Patrick took up the challenge of summer training. He was at the track with us 3-4 days a week, in the gym 2-3x/week and also did longer runs on his own and with his team. Tempos, hills, sprints, deadlifts, squats, and much more.
Rest days had to be negotiated as Patrick would rather run more. I think we mostly argued about when he should rest. And beaches.
Well, what did all that hard work get him?
Before I met him, he held a personal best of 17:29.
Patrick just ran a 16:05 at his opening cross country meet, which is a large personal best. Just a week before he did a flat time trial on the track and pulled off a 15:49.
He went from not going to the state XC meet to being ranked 17th in the state. He placed 36th at districts last year. This is going to be an exciting season for him. I look forward to watching these races!
Safe to say that Patrick is currently defeating the monkey and running races much more efficiently. The fruits of his labor are paying off.
And yes, we are training through the season. Our training changes based on season and time of year. The best success is built upon constantly, evolving as needed.
I hope this story helps you drive yourself to the next level.
If you aren’t where you think you should be, well, when will you decide you want the monkey off of your back? All of that running you do but to what avail? Disappointment is a heavy feeling to carry.
If you are ready to dive deep - not just get a couple workout ideas and see me once a week - but truly revamp your athletic career, here’s what you need to do:
- Reply to this email saying you’re ready to get started.
- I’ll send you a link, set up a Success Strategy Meeting
- I will create a custom plan to guide your training
- Get rid of the monkey!
Become the runner you want to be, don’t carry the quiet disappointment of not. It’s an added monkey that makes it all heavier. And erodes the fun of it.