Surviving the Slack Line of Training

As you gaze at your computer screen through an internal blurry lens you indifferently sense a spot of drool on your chin. Time passes. The coffee cup you’ve been nursing is empty yet its magical contents didn’t even ignite a spark on your energy level.

You didn’t have the energy to pick up the phone when it rang; you have 5 messages on your voicemail. You focus on the particles of dust on your desk. They remind you of the pile of clothes that you stepped over when you stumbled to put on your running clothes at 5:00 that morning. You make a few mental notes; in 5 weeks when my race is over I need to: - do laundry, - clean growing piles on my desk, - give the dog a bath, - eliminate science projects from the fridge.

To alleviate the laundry issue and reward yourself for your 8 hour training session on Saturday, you Overnight Air 3 more Patagonia capaline running shirts. For the 10th time this week you ponder the reasons that you are throwing your entire being into training for your upcoming ultra endurance event. The phone rings again. You begin to cry.

After months of building to a crescendo you’re striving to survive the training workload that will make or break your upcoming race. Make it through this gauntlet of training and you raise your fitness several notches. Fall off this edge into injury, illness, or an inability to mentally deal, and go to the start line with lingering doubts and deflated fitness and confidence.

Surviving the crux of training for a long and personally important event is successfully walking the slack line of endurance sports. Despite our difficulty in believing while we live it – it is possible. Wipe the drool, order take out for dinner and incorporate these rules for training success:


Racing in Costa Rica...

5 Tips for Surviving the Slack Line of Endurance Training:

1) Cut yourself some slack.
If you are otherwise the quintessential co-worker, parent, partner, partier or citizen, cut yourself some slack on your perfectionism during slack line training. Cut a few things on your list loose. They’ll still be there when you cross the finish line.

2) Embrace your slack line journey.
This hellish, passionate, journey of hard core training is some of the best living you’ll ever do. Love it large. When the fat lady sings you’ll be wishing you were here again.

3) Get help while you’re doing slack line time.
Your friends and family admirably think you’re a freak for the training time you’re putting in. Cap on your icon status. Make deals for their help, buy presents, barter for time. Get help with the day to day stuff from those who admire from afar. Just make sure that they are on the receiving end as well.

4) Notice the gains you are making in your slack line training.
This is as studly as your body will ever be! You’ll feel like superman on race day. Suck your transcendent fitness level for all you can. It’s only downhill from here.

5) Pamper the slack liner in you.
Eat healthy, sleep well and long, get massage, stretch, bypass a night out by staying home with your legs elevated. Give yourself your best shot at walking that line successfully.

Surviving the most difficult part of training for an upcoming ultra endurance event is as tough as it comes for an endurance athlete. As busy folks we have to balance work, relationships, and the rest of life that needs attending while hanging on through our training fatigue.

Balance on that slack line right up to your taper and come race day you’ll get to eat all the icing you want on your cake of life. It’ll all be worth it and more.