In sports we often hear some version of the phrase “leave it all on the field.” This is sage advice for competition, but not as equally applicable in practice…or in our case, during training. It’s impossible to “leave it all out there” day after day and expect to retain the ability to keep showing up and putting in quality efforts. We don’t frequently have days to recover between workouts, and sometimes it can be as short as twelve hours. So instead of “going to the well” we need to “stop one rep short.”
When I coach athletes at the track, I can see when the wheels start to come off. We identify it and make an attempt to clean it up, which is usually sufficient for another interval or two. When it happens a second time however, the workout is over…no matter what it says in the training plan or how far into the workout the athlete is. There is a point of diminishing returns, and anything past that point can potentially do more harm than good. To successfully navigate a long training block, it’s imperative to recognize these boundaries, flirt with them, but never cross the threshold.
I call this philosophy “leaving gas in the tank.” Could you go the extra mile, sure. Should you? Maybe not. Does performing one more interval or grinding out one more mile put you in a better position for tomorrow’s workout? If the answer is no, then leave it on the table. Everything we do builds off of what precedes it, so don’t compromise the quality of tomorrow’s session for the sake of pride today. Stop one rep short, and you will find your training to become more enjoyable, manageable and sustainable.
Run well,
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