How To Go From "Complete" To "Compete" In Endurance
Get past the beginner level
I see a lot of guys doing 70.3s and Ironmans.
But they’re not getting any faster or better…
They’re stuck at the “Beginner” level of endurance and still just thinking about finishing.
Here’s how you make the jump from “Complete” to “Compete”:
(#2 is the biggest trap)
PS: Would you rather listen or watch?
I recorded this 20 minute podcast breaking down these concepts in detail.
You can also watch on YouTube below:
#1: Better Execution on High Intensity Training
I was advising a self-coached athlete earlier this year in prep of his 4th 70.3.
The first thing I noticed was that almost all of his training was Z2.
If you want the body to go faster on race day, it needs to go faster in training.
But that doesn’t mean just send it all the time.
I told this athlete to add 2-3 sessions of Threshold/V02 intervals per week in his build to race day.
The result?
He set a huge PR on race day.
Coaching Tip:
I have an athlete who’s been adding in some extra runs with local run groups and friends.
He sent me a message this week slapping himself on the wrist and telling me he’d get back on track with our plan.
I told him I wasn’t worried about the extra mileage for one specific reason:
He continues to execute well on his high intensity and long run days.
I told him that if he starts to feel hard or long days go poorly, that’s a sign that another part of his process is out of balance.
#2: Intensity Discipline on Easy Days
I had an athlete who did all his runs at 8:30/mile pace for an entire year.
I knew he was running too hard. So I explained zone training to him and the value of slowing down.
But it didn’t work.
He liked running 8:30s, they were comfortably hard for him (low Zone 3) and made him feel accomplished.
And guess what? He didn’t get any faster.
I decided I needed to change how I taught training zones and intensity management.
This is now what I tell every athlete I coach:
Think of it like playing leap frog.
If 8:30s are comfortably hard for you, we want to play leap frog with that number.
Easy days should be 9:15s or slower
Hard days should have interval sets at 7:30s (or much faster)
The lesson clicked with this athlete. The result?
He’s now holding 7:30s for 10+ mile runs.
Coaching Tip:
Lesson 1 above also applied to this athlete.
Not only were the easy days not easy enough. But the hard days were not hard enough.
Here’s the rule: easy days stay easy, hard days are HARD
#3: Year Round Consistency
Here’s an endurance lesson that guys (unfortunately) learn best through personal experience:
That is sucks to lose fitness after doing a 70.3 or Ironman.
I see guys do a big race. Then they take a month or two off.
They tell themselves, “I just want to chill for a bit…”
Meanwhile, their mindset is eroding.
Then when they get back to training, a fraction of what they did in their race becomes a grind.
The best way to avoid this? Year round consistency.
Once you are consistent training 5-6x per week, you can learn to navigate taking your foot off the gas without loosing momentum.
Throwing up zeros isn’t an option for you anymore.
Instead, the training shift you make to “chill for a bit” is just skipping the high intensity stuff and keeping training easy.
Call it a recovery or base phase of training.
It’s an expected part of the process if you are training year over year.
And it’s the best way to remove pressure from training while still moving you forward.
Did You Notice This?
All 3 of these blend together.
execute on high intensity days
keep easy days easy
train year round
When the hard days are hard, you want the easy days to be easy.
When the easy days are easy, your body is ready to train hard.
When you train year round, you get better at everything.
This is how you get faster.