How Bad Do You Want It?
So I just finished Matt Fitzgerald's latest book, How Bad Do You Want It? I thought this was one of his better works. I also had the pleasure of chatting with him at the Salt Lake Tri Club season opener party in March where he was the keynote speaker. He actually remembered me from when we ran the Iron Cowboy's last of 50 marathons together (or at least he said he did).
The focus of this book is applying the central governor theory to endurance sports. The central governor theory, in a nutshell, is that the brain limits performance before one actually reaches the physical limit. Fitzgerald explores how to change the perception of effort to achieve better performance.
The key take aways from his book and talk at the SLTC party were:
- Set 50/50 goals. They should be difficult but realistic. There should be a roughly 50% chance you'll achieve them. This is where I think EN rocks -- the community challenges you to push yourself farther than you thought possible. Pre-EN I would have never thought I could do an Ironman or break a 3:30 marathon. As Ken Chlouber, founder of the Leadville 100, is famous for telling his racers, "You are better than you think you are, and you can do more than you think you can."
- Exploit the group effect. People perform better when watched. Even showing them a picture of a smiling face will increase their performance. Men will perform better in the presence of an attractive woman. Imagine that. I wonder how much Strava plays into the group effect. There have definitely been workouts where I pushed because I was conscious of posting the results on Strava.
- Practice feel good training. That is, have fun because you'll do better at something you enjoy. It should feel good. This can be a challenge for us triathletes who tend to be type A grinders and will train ourselves into a brick wall. Arthur Lydiard said, “Athletes need to enjoy their training. They don't enjoy going down to the track with a coach making them do repetitions until they're exhausted. From enjoyment comes the will to win.”
- Brace yourself, or embrace the suck. Start the race with the confidence that you are ready for the pain. Relish it when it comes because it means you're doing your best.
- Thinking helpfully, or keep moving forward. Something will go wrong during the race. Have a short memory and let it go. Be sure to control the negative chatter. The great example is Mark Allen who lost several Konas until he could win the mental game.
There are some obvious parallels between the above and the 4 Keys. Interesting that the 4 Keys are so closely linked to changing perception of effort. Indeed, Fitzgerald argues that the primary benefit of hard training sessions is changing your perception of effort. Perhaps that is part of the EN secret sauce -- it changes your definition of hard.
But it got me thinking about what I'll do differently in my training and race execution. Here are some thoughts:
- Set stretch goals. I think those in my signature are pretty close to 50/50 goals. I think one of my strengths is actually setting ridiculously stupid goals.
- When training alone visualize smiling people such as my daughters watching and cheering when things get tough. Perhaps think about the crowds cheering when crossing the finish line. This may harness the group effect during my often solitary training.
- Duh, have fun. I bought a mountain bike, and am going to do at least one of my rides per week in the trails above my house with no other goal than to explore nature and have a hell of a time. I love trail running, and am going to mix in at least one trail run per week. Even on my tri bike, I've tried to force myself to be less of a slave to my power meter and just enjoy riding.
So how have you harnessed changing your perception of effort to improve athletic performance?
Comments
Those are some good points but I think it really varies on the individual. For me, I agree on the stretching but achievable targets. If it's unrealistic or too easy you won't be motivated to train hard.
For me personally, the 'feel good training' just doesn't work. In training I need a whip...not a carrot. For me that whip is my computer and the targeted pace, power, HR, etc. for the interval. Picturing rainbows and gumdrops just doesn't do it for me.
And finally, doing cool stuff with fitness is key. I don't always integrate within my training, particularly if I have a big goal for an A race, but in the Out Season this is a great way to have fun, be social, etc.
@Jeremy, the book is definitely worth the read. He uses stories from races to illustrate the points. Heck, it was worth it just reading the stories.
Yeah, I am not a big fan of the feel good / easy training either, especially as a time crunched athlete. The Mafetone Method seems to be getting a lot of play on triathlon and endurance sports podcasts lately. Fitzgerald said during his talk that he can't do much high intensity training, or he gets injured. He was training for the American River 50 miler only doing 2-3 runs per week. He said he spends a couple hours a day on the trendmill walking with it at the max incline, but he works from home and doesn't have kids. It obviously works for him -- he has won marathons and finished American River 17th. I think that influences his writing. To me, suffering is fun.
Speaking of a whip, I have a Wahoo KICKR, which I usually do Sufferfest workouts on during the weekdays. That thing is merciless. You don't produce the power, the crank doesn't turn.
Pain, discomfort, and suffering are simply not part of my vocabulary. I "embrace" the sensations I suspect others associate with those words as a sign of how physically powerful I can be. I am elevated by those feelings, not diminished.
looking forward to read it !
@Francis, I'll be interested in hearing your take aways.
Matt Fitzgerald was on Trail Runner Nation this week talking about his experience running the American River 50 miler, his first ultra. It's interesting (to me at least) because he owns that he went into the race arrogant that as an elite road runner he'd crush the slow trail runners. He ended up making all kinds of rookie mistakes, such as not training on similar terrain, causing him to fall several times. Worth a listen.
http://trailrunnernation.com/2016/05/matt-fitzgerald-is-50m-2xs-tougher-than-26-2/
Here is an interview he did on How Bad Do You Want It? a few months back:
http://trailrunnernation.com/2015/10/how-bad-do-you-want-it/