Today was my hardest workout before the Javelina 100—an uphill treadmill supercompensation session accumulating 60 minutes of intervals at 10% grade, starting at threshold and ending harder. I think uphill treadmill threshold sessions can be magical for some athletes. Threshold work is classically defined as LT2 or easier, around what you could sustain for 1 hour. In practice, that feels relatively relaxed at first, and it only starts to get harder after you accumulate a substantial amount of volume. The rationale of threshold work is that it improves lactate shuttling, helping mitochondria be more efficient at processing and transporting lactate, preventing fatigue cascades even at harder efforts on other days (or at easier efforts in marathons or ultras). In other words, it’s primarily an aerobic stress. Faster is not better. The real-world obstacles with threshold work are twofold. First, for most of us, it’s pretty slow when done right, or way too hard when done wrong. A study on the training of elite athletes found that long intervals had the lowest correlation with long-term growth, and this conundrum is probably why—athletes do their long intervals too hard, breaking themselves down without the mechanical or aerobic stimulus to justify it. Second, outdoor threshold work can be an injury risk. If I tried this workout outdoors, it would wreck my calves and high hamstrings for days. The uphill treadmill can help athletes get around these hurdles. It’s slower by design, putting the emphasis squarely on the aerobic system. That helps athletes develop a much more precise understanding of threshold. But perhaps most significantly, the uphill treadmill reduces impact forces immensely. When I finish one of these—even a supercompensation session—I feel fine the next day, allowing me to absorb way more work (and more specific work to my goals). Particularly with age, I find that running training is about managing the efforts that are high impact to be limited and focused. While most of the uphill treadmill work I do is very controlled, it’s also ok to occasionally dig deeper. Today was about supercompensation. It’s not called The Pain Cave for nothing 🔥

Strength work for Leadville 100 💪 Over the years, I have felt judged by the research--my strength routines were limited to a few minutes at a time, while everyone was screaming at me from their Abstracts that I needed to do way more. I noticed two big problems whenever I committed to more resistance training: 1. I'd carry around soreness even after the initial adaptation window, likely corresponding to high CK levels and some background inflammation. Either way, it would reduce running economy on subsequent running training days, and every training day counts. Split squats are the ultimate offender--an exercise that I know I should be doing, but I can't without feeling like Forrest Gump after he was shot in the butt. 2. I just wouldn't do it. Oops. With lots of guessing and testing, I developed this routine, which I'd do after my easy run on Sunday (before a Monday rest day), and sometimes after my workout on Wednesday (if I felt like it): 1. Three Minute Mountain Legs, working up to 100 single-leg step-ups (I think step-ups in particular are a magic exercise for running uphill. But remember, magic is not equal to science): youtube.com/watch?v=rYsWzRu_… 2. Back squats, 2 sets of 10 (135 pounds for me, which I make look like 800 pounds in this video. The 17-year old me who played football would laugh so hard) 3. Back extensions, 2 sets of 30, engaging glutes and hamstrings 4. Single-leg calf raises, 1 set of 100 on each leg, with a 35 pound dumbbell 5. Every day, I do the 2-minute Core Snack routine 1-3 times. My core strength is one of my best attributes for ultras, and I can do the Core Snack with our toddler Leo. youtube.com/watch?v=K_q-wrf_… I also do daily band work before running (bandz a make me dance): youtube.com/watch?v=22eLXLhl… That's it! I also foam roll and stretch daily (don't tell the researchers, but I am a tight boi and as soon as I stop stretching, I get hurt). The lesson is not to do this particular routine, but that strength training for runners can be based on individual needs. And I personally think that routines should be short and efficient for both performance (limiting breakdown) and adherence (limiting me from being a lazy little punk). Find what works for you, do it 1-2 times per week year round (on top of some daily supportive work), and don't feel the need to pursue progressive overload. It's not about getting stronger and stronger (unless you're into that sort of thing for its own sake, which I think will sacrifice some running growth). It's about supporting performance and health 🧡