I’ve logged a lot of miles in Andrew Brown Park, located in the prosperous Dallas suburb of Coppell, as the smooth paved trails are easy on the feet.  Earlier this week, I showed up for a session of high-intensity interval training — specifically, a drill called “Yasso Splits,” which consists of 10 half-mile intervals at a fast pace, with ¼ mile recovery intervals in between.  Developed by Bart Yasso, the “mayor of running” and Runner’s World’s former Chief Running Officer, Yasso Splits force you to sustain an elevated heart rate, which is thought to be good training for a faster marathon.  To get through ten of these intervals takes a bit of grit.

I’ve been doing high-intensity interval training for almost 20 years, and Yasso Splits are one of my favorite workouts, although given the intensity, I approach them with a conservative attitude and, if I’m being honest, a touch of dread.  On the drive over to the park, I thought through all those years of accumulated experience and weighed them against more recent fitness indicators, and after due deliberation selected a target pace for the intervals of 7:30 per mile, with the recovery intervals to be run at plus-or-minus a 10-minute pace.  Then, after a moment of additional reflection, I decided to cut myself some slack – let’s go with a target range, call it 7:30-8:00 pace, with the goal being to maximize the training benefit, without taking on excessive risk. 

Risk?

Whenever you run, you take on risk.  Especially when running hard. 

The risk consists of the possibility that you might damage muscles, ligaments, tendons, and even bones.  There’s risk that an injury could derail your training goals, for example, spoil your plans for that upcoming race which you’ve been training for so intensely and which means so much to you. 

There’s the risk that injuries could become chronic.  Running is not just a sport, it’s a practice of self-empowerment and transcendence.  If you get sidelined, you’d have to find a new path to pursue these life-affirming goals.

So, when we talk about needing “grit” to complete a tough workout, the real question isn’t pushing through pain — it’s taking on risk.

Continue reading “Smart Grit, Stupid Grit, Old Grit, Young Grit” →