Uncrackable Threshold
Six 1000s on a 1 min float and the lactate bites. You don't rise to the occasion in a race; you fall to the level of your training. Stay in your body.
You've got to stop cracking 👊
You're on the track, let's say it's 6x 1000s for shits and giggles on a 1 min float. A solid test of your anaerobic endurance threshold.
The lactate is starting to bite, your breathing is ragged, your body is burning and your mind is caught between denial and capitulation. The boiling point… Step up or step off… What's it gonna be?
I know you know what I'm talking about… the battleground of fatigue, speed, lactate and your thoughts about it.
The feeling is almost overwhelming, right? Fuck, you'd rather be anywhere but here, but here you are!
Now you're caught in the crosshairs of a sniper; pull the pin and you'll get shot between the eyes with self-judgment, doubt and the fear that will attach itself to your capitulation.
Keep going and you have to deal with the feeling of the raw discomfort.
That discomfort is your sandpaper!
You're another rep in, and now it's starting to hurt like fuck…
You're drifting up into your head with the pain. Nah, I can't do this… It's too much. No one's gonna know if I pull the pin. Now you're struggling with the next step because it's getting exponentially more difficult than the last, and your nervous system is becoming more and more dysregulated.
Why?
Because you've turned a feeling into a thought. Overthinking is trying to solve a feeling that's occurring in your body with a whole bunch of dysregulated thought aimed at protecting you from it…
Do you see the problem here?
Once you see that, you can't unsee it. You'll realise that in any given race, you don't rise to the occasion when you get into difficulty; you fall to the level of your day-to-day training and how you coped with it.
Hello!!
Your body doesn't abandon you… You abandon your body.
This is why I ramble on and on about the power of breathwork, moving inwards and embodiment.
In the moment the pain starts to bubble, show it some fucking respect… That's your teacher showing up for you. Listen with your body, bring a yes, and regulate yourself in your response, not your reaction.
It's a sacred drive that will save you in races… Treat your threshold sessions with reverence, respect and fucking pay attention to the teacher.
Stop the micro quits that turn into brain explosions.
Digging in means one thing: staying in your body when your mind wants to run for the hills.
Grant Giles coaches a small number of athletes one-to-one, writes this newsletter from Brunswick Heads, and hosts The Roaring Heads. If this piece resonated, a letter in the post every couple of weeks is the best way to keep in touch.