How to win a 10k
Or some equally challenging pursuit
Okay, so this post isn’t really about skating a 10k. But it’s inspired by someone who has many times- Nils van der Poel. He is a Swedish speed skater and he currently holds the World and Olympic records for the 5,000 M and 10,000 M events. Not only is he a champion, but he has also shared his training plan with the world. I found it utterly fascinating to read the document and read that a world-class athlete would willingly share his training plan publicly. In a competitive sport, an athlete would rarely be so open. While many people argue that this does not apply to most “normal” people, I would argue that it does. And here is why.
Do the repetitions- Nils begins, “A friend of mine thinks my success is based mostly on me being a talent. That the training plan that devoured me wouldn’t give anyone else the same results…I actually think that he’s a little right and a little wrong.” Much has been written on the topic of potential including Adam Grant’s Hidden Potential. Grant didn’t find that raw talent was the only or even the best indicator of achievement. It is often the people who do not have natural abilities who end up being at the top. Those who have to put in the hard work and do the most reps are the ones who succeed. For me, this helps me quiet my inner critic who is finding any and every reason to keep me from pushing through challenges. It also reminds me that my inner critic may not know everything.
It’s a fun slog- Nils’s used this training plan between 2019-2022. We so often only see the results of what people have accomplished and we compare ourselves to those results. We do ourselves a disservice by only stacking ourselves up to the end result. We may talk ourselves out of doing something. If I am not ever going to be as good as Nils, then why even try? Nils talks at length about working his way into his training program. He had to take incremental steps over time to prepare his mind and his body. Good approach for any pursuit. Take incremental steps and over time they compound. And this is the key though, over time means years. Settle in. Have a plan for the journey ahead, but also know that there may be some surprises along the way.
When you’re on you’re on, when you’re off you’re off- Nils kept a 5-2 schedule which meant he trained for 5 days and took a weekend for himself for two days. No period of training lasted longer than 5 days. On his off days, he had no plans other than to live a normal life. He would spend time with his friends going on hikes, grabbing a beer, and going to the movies. This gave him an edge on the rest of his training plan. He managed to push himself even harder because he knew it would never last more than 5 days at a time. He had those two days to recover both mentally and physically. He also developed a sense of identity and purpose that was inclusive of skating, but not entirely comprised of skating. If he had setbacks in his sport, he had the weekend to look forward to. He was less concerned overall about failure because his personal life helped to bolster him.
I am learning to let go of my expectations about where I will end up. Like Nils, I have a detailed plan of what I will do each day. I started writing this blog at the beginning of 2022 and got some momentum behind me, but then I stopped. Building up a reader base has been slow. My blog lay dormant for about a year while I poured myself into other obligations. I missed the writing while I was away. I am learning to be okay if I don’t end up where I originally set out to go. I am finding joy in the grind, everything else can just be icing on my cake.