It's not the speed; it's the terrain.

Last week, I went skiing with my friend Jordy, a competitive freeride coach. He teaches younglings how to throw themselves down very steep terrain and to do it quickly and in control. I put Jordy on skimo skis, so that he could see just what we’re dealing with in

Expected value or expected growth?

A potential positive outcome is not enough to take action. The long-term trend of repeating the behavior must be considered. Hope, as they say, is not a strategy.

Can gambling theory stop overtraining?

Overtraining—like overbetting—leads to ruin. Undertraining only slows the growth rate (but makes it more sustainable).

How to run a 4-minute time trial

Over the past week, I’ve run two four-minute time trials. I botched the first one by starting way too fast. The splits of the second trial were much more consistent. To get reliable results, I recommend the following: * Use an 8x 30-second format; * Set interval alarms for

It's just dark.

The power went out at 4am this morning. My brain is still on Mallorca time, so I was already awake, laying and staring in the dark, when the face of my alarm clock went black. I went downstairs, suited up, and pulled on my running shoes. Once outside, I started

How to come back from an unplanned break

I think it was Wolfgang Gullich who said, “The hardest part of training is starting.” He was close, but not completely correct. It’s true that starting to train is hard. It’s easy to procrastinate. But even worse is starting over because it’s often accompanied by regret or

Why I Stopped Using HRV Apps

Originally published at Uphill Athlete in May 2017 as a collaboration with Scott Johnston. I loved the idea of an app that could tell me to train or not to train, to go easy or go hard. I liked the convenience of one train-or-don’t-train metric. It

Putting Humpty Dumpty back together again

On October 24th, 2016, I hired a coach. I had previously made so many mistakes that I was left with a declining work capacity and worries that I may never train again. Months later, my coach told me, “I was surprised at how fragile you were.”

Jan Olbrecht & the Magic Bullet Theory

It’s been known for a long time that training at one’s anaerobic threshold is not a magic bullet. Then why is it still so popular?

Is sponsorship a sin?

No, but bullshit is.