SPEED

More than ten days into the challenge, the competition is heating up. All three guys are settled into a routine, they’re getting more comfortable at speed, and they all feel like they could emerge with the largest time improvement by the end of the month. However, just because they’re feeling more comfortable doesn’t mean they’re taking the foot off the gas. Instead, they know that the first half of this challenge – and the work they put in – is setting the stage for the speed improvements they’re gunning for.

Josh, Taylor, and Tom have relentlessly stuck to the training plan and have chosen to complete their track workouts together. Even with constantly shifting schedules – the group includes a firefighter and a pediatric ICU nurse – the three men believe the best way to push themselves is by completing their toughest workouts together. Not only has this helped them feel like they’re improving their paces, but it’s also engendered the competition Adam wanted to see.

“These guys aren’t slacking off on this,” he said. “Even with their competing schedules, they’re insanely motivated to find the time to train, and it’s because each one wants to win. The trash talking is at an all-time high.”

For Adam, running for speed isn’t a feat of endurance so much as it is a feat of strength. That’s why he made strength training such a core part of the Speed Month plan, building in three strength-focused sessions per week.

“Strength training impacts how hard you can push and how you perform when you truly empty the tank in a sprint,” he explains. “Seeing how much you can dig in on these speed workouts isn’t an exercise in endurance so much as it is an exercise in strength.”

So far, Taylor, Josh, and Tom believe that Adam’s strength training has been instrumental in setting the building blocks for increasing their speed. While their legs have felt heavier during some runs, they’ve viewed the strength workouts both as a way to keep them fully engaged in the challenge and as a tool to build their explosiveness.

“Since I don’t have a background in running, I didn’t fully understand the relationship between the two,” Tom said. “However, it's been perfect for me, as it’s helped keep me focused on the challenge as a whole and helped me feel quicker out of the gate on the tempo runs.”

However, with the ultimate goal of the challenge being to improve their mile time, the guys have jumped into Adam’s run workouts. While they’re all less experienced here than they are in the gym, they’re all beginning to feel more comfortable on their feet and more ready to tackle faster speeds in the track workouts. As they’ve completed the run workouts for almost two weeks, Tom, Taylor, and Josh are beginning to find getting out and running more effortless and are feeling more confident in their ability to hit their goal mile paces for short distances.

All with different levels of running experience, the three came in with very different initial mile times and different amounts of focus paid to speed training. After two weeks of training, we asked Adam how they’re looking.

Josh: The strongest runner going into the challenge, Josh is now beginning to feel comfortable at some fast paces. He’ll have the fastest mile time at the end for sure, but he’s also going to have to shave some good seconds off if he wants to win the challenge itself, because when you’re already that fast, it’s just that much harder to knock every additional second off.

Taylor: He’s probably my biggest worry. However, he’s such a hard worker that even if he is dead tired or hasn’t been able to put the work in, he’ll sell himself out in that final attempt. Taylor is always hustling and working, and he’s just an athlete at heart. For him, it’s going to be about being able to continue to learn how to pace himself a little better – but we’re working on that.

Tom: He is the slowest, but he has the most room for improvement. He simply hasn’t done any run programming before beyond running once every couple weeks in his CrossFit training. I’m most excited for him, and I’d love to see him even pick off one of these guys and run that last mile faster than one of them. I just think he has the most potential. He’s been working hard, and even though he’s been coming in last, he’s not getting discouraged. I think he also knows that since we’re doing this based on the percentage of time shaved off, he still has a really good chance.

The three guys Adam recruited to complete the challenge aren’t professional athletes or medal-winning runners. That doesn’t mean they’re shying away from a domain they haven’t trained a ton before. Each week for the rest of the month, we’ll be profiling one of these guys, learning who they are, how they trained, and why they’ve committed to Speed Month. This week: meet Josh Vales.

Most of us need to be well-rested to put in the work. For Josh Vales, that’s a luxury he doesn’t always have. As a pediatric ICU nurse working from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. most days, Josh puts in the work whenever he can, wherever he can. And – as a former college baseball player – he’s also committed to pushing himself to run a sub-five minute mile by the end of the month.

Working in a children’s hospital ICU, Josh is constantly in high-stress, high-impact situations. He views CrossFit is a release from the pressures of his day job. Making the conscious decision to separate his work from his fitness, Josh brings his 100% to the gym, no matter what happened the night before. “Once I get off of work in the morning, I bring every last ounce of energy I had, no matter how exhausting the night might have been,” he said.

With only a week and a half of training to go, the focus on track work is heating up. Having spent the past couple weeks building foundational strength with tempo runs and work in the gym, the attention has shifted to picking up – and maintaining – pace on the track. With the three guys shifting a higher percentage of their workouts to speed days, they’re working harder, cashing out earlier, and putting in the toughest work they’ve put in this month.

As none of the athletes had a background in speed training before the month, the increased frequency and intensity of track days is pushing Josh, Tom, and Taylor outside of their training comfort zones. While the three have been able to hold fast paces for short distances, holding their mile pace for distances above 400m has become a clear challenge. This was especially true during Adam’s prescribed 800m / 600m / 400m / 200m track workout last week, where the three athletes had to run all four distances at or below their mile pace.

“After the first 800m piece, it was tough for the guys to hold on,” Adam said.”They sold out on the 800m, and as a result, they were getting their butt kicked for the rest of the workout.”

That’s why, as the time trial day inches nearer, the guys are devoting more focus to the track. The three have all committed to prioritizing track work this week, with Josh slotting in an extra track session instead of an endurance day.

“These speed workouts have crushed me much more than the endurance days,” he noted. “Since I’m feeling a lot more from these speed workouts, I’m focusing more on including more of those in my training schedule, since that’s where I feel I have the most room to improve.”

For Adam, the goal of the track workouts – and the reason he’s continuing to up their intensity – is simple.

“The guys’ ideal mile paces are paces we haven’t run for four complete laps yet, so we’re using these track workouts to try to piece it together,” he said.

While Josh, Tom, and Taylor are pushing their speed work heading into the home stretch, they’re also prioritizing recovery. The speed workouts are the most physically taxing – for the guys, they’re largely uncharted territory – and they push them in new ways. As such, Adam has stressed that recovery is key. Instead of solely training hard, he’s instilling the value of training smart. He’s encouraging the guys to push their bodies more and more, while also stressing the critical nature of not making speed work the sole facet of their training.

“Especially toward the end, recovery becomes more and more important,” Adam said. “At the end of the day, if you’re injured, you can’t run – and you certainly can’t run hard. That’s why it’s all about taking it one workout at a time.”

Because the speed workouts have proved to be physical bruisers, they’ve forced the guys to prioritize not overdoing their training regimen. In particular, Adam has stressed the importance of including recovery components in their training. From long cooldown and stretching sessions to active low-intensity jogs, recovery has become a critical ingredient in the athletes’ approach.

For Taylor in particular, he was met with nagging hamstring issues the first couple weeks of training. However, as Adam has stressed the value of training smart – as opposed to hard – Taylor has noticed a perceptible shift in how he’s feeling on the track now.

“For the first couple weeks, my hamstrings were way more sore than I thought they would be,” he said. “However, I’m feeling better in that my legs are really getting used to it. Simply put, my legs just don't feel as tired and heavy as they were at the beginning of the challenge.”

With only ten days left in training, we asked Adam – and the guys – how they’re feeling.

Josh: The strongest runner in the group, Josh shifted his focus this week to prioritize his speed work over his endurance and strength training. However, while Adam notes that he’s the most serious of the runners in the group, he has also come to the realization that his initial five minute mile target may be ambitious. While he continues to feel like he’s improving, he isn’t sure how much quicker he can get in the next ten days. As such, he’s adjusted his focus from sub five minute mile to low five minute mile – and he’s confident he can get there.

Taylor: After running a 6:04 mile the first week, Taylor is continuing to work to get that split below six minutes. He’s putting everything he can into every session, and he’s not leaving any gas in the tank. While he had struggled with his hamstrings early on in the challenge, he’s feeling stronger, faster, and less tired. Characterized by Adam as the strong athlete in the group, Adam is convinced he’ll be ready to go by the time of the trial.

Tom: While Adam notes that Tom is struggling a bit more than the other guys, Tom’s moving faster during his tempo runs and still feeling good. Tom had a difficult time with one of the track workouts last week; however, he used that day as an opportunity to recommit to pushing himself as hard as he can. Believing he still has room to go, Tom is confident that if he keeps putting in the work, he’ll put out a time he’s happy with.

The three guys Adam recruited to complete the challenge aren’t professional athletes or medal-winning runners. That doesn’t mean they’re shying away from a domain they haven’t trained a ton before. Each week for the rest of the month, we’ll be profiling one of these guys, learning who they are, how they trained, and why they’ve committed to Speed Month. This week: meet Taylor Gerhardt.

Taylor Gerhardt doesn’t sit still. As a firefighter and a landscaper, he’s constantly on the move, whether it’s responding to calls or completing a grueling landscaping removal. However, prior to this month, he had never focused on his speed. That’s exactly why he committed to the challenge.

Working 12 days a month at the station, Taylor spends his other days landscaping and fits the gym in around both of those. However, his constantly-changing schedule – especially when he’s on call – makes it tough to find a constant time to put in the work. However, he doesn’t use that as an excuse to stop training.

“It’s hard to get in a good workout at the station,” he said. “You can start a workout, but you never know if you’re going to finish it. That doesn’t give me an excuse to not work, though; instead, it’s all about finding quick and effective workouts.”

The day is here. Tune in to this morning’s livestream to watch Josh, Tom, and Taylor compete for the biggest time improvement over the course of the month. You don’t want to miss it.

WHAT:

The Final Time Trial

WHEN:

October 31, at 9 a.m. Eastern

WHERE:

Instagram Live

@tenthousand.cc

It’s been four weeks. From long runs to punishing sprints to tough lifts, Josh, Tom, and Taylor have pushed their bodies to their physical limits as they’ve gunned to improve their mile times. Now, with the stage set for the final time trial, they're cementing their goal times and laying everything out on the line.

Over the past couple weeks, Adam’s track workouts have been instrumental in ensuring that the guys’ final times will be as strong as they hope. Because they previously hadn’t hit the track often before, these workouts have become invaluable.

“When you’re trying to run a fast mile, you have to put in a lot of work running at that pace of even quicker,” Adam said. “That’s exactly what these track workouts allow you to do, and that’s what’s helped Josh, Tom, and Taylor alike.”

With their increased time on the track, the guys feel increasingly prepared for those four final laps. However, that doesn’t mean nerves aren’t getting to them. For all three of the guys, their relative newness to training for speed is leaving them with more nerves than they’ve previously felt before competitions.

“Honestly, I’m a little nervous and anxious.” Taylor said. I’ve set expectations for myself that I don’t want to fall below, and the thought of not exceeding my expectations alarms me.”

That’s why all three guys have spent the past week dialing in their training and making sure they’re ready to go. From squeezing in an extra day on the track to getting in an extra recovery session, the guys are doing all they can to ensure they’re ready to give it their all at the final time trial – not just for themselves, but so that they can come out with the greatest time improvement compared to the other competitors.

While Tom, Taylor, and Josh all came into the month with little speed experience, that didn’t stop them from setting ambitious goals. Now, after spending the month training, the guys have all become noticeably faster – and they’re being realistic about what they think is possible for their final time trial.

Running a sub-six minute mile in his initial time trial, Josh came into the challenge as the quickest runner. Following that first run, he set the goal of running a sub-five minute mile by the end of the month. While Josh doesn’t quite think he’ll cross that mark, he’s set his sights on a 5:15 mile.

“I’ve done a couple workouts with lesser distances at that pace, and I’ve hit that time,” he said. “I’m feeling confident that I’ll be able to do the same in the mile.”

Taylor, whose first mile was in the low six minutes, wants to bring that pace down to six minutes flat. He ran his first mile without ever having trained for speed before, so he’s confident that after spending a month training, he’ll be able to hit his goal six minute pace.

“Coming in, I had no expectations,” he said. “However, as the month has progressed and I’ve continued to run hard and feel better doing so, I feel ready to hit a six minute clip.”

Starting the challenge as the slowest runner in the group, Tom didn’t know what to set as a goal initially. However, following that initial 6:53 run and the first week of workouts, he set an ambitious goal: to improve his mile time by a minute. While he doesn’t quite know if he’ll hit that clip, he knows he’ll be much quicker than he was just a month ago.

“I set an ambitious goal, but that’s who I am,” he noted. “Maybe I’ll surprise myself.”

From the coach’s perspective, Adan is confident that all three guys will PR. However, he’s not completely sure who will win the challenge itself – that is, who will have the greatest percent improvement compared to the beginning of the month. Focusing primarily on Josh and Tom, he thinks they’re neck and neck – but he has a prediction nonetheless.

“I think Tom is the dark horse to win,” he said. “He’s been putting in the work, and he was galvanized by that first mile time, where he did place below everybody else. I really think that could be the surprise.”

With the final time trial almost here, Adam left the guys with the keys to success he’s taken from his experiences and that he knows will ensure they leave it all out on the track

1. A solid final run workout. Building off the skills built on the track for the past month, the final running workout is 30 seconds hard / 1 minute rest, where they are pushing their threshold. Those 30 seconds on will be faster than their mile pace, but it will allow them to feel good and fast heading into the final time trial.
2. Getting sleep. It’s tough to do with their packed schedules, but being well-rested is crucial.
3. Proper hydration and nutrition. Eat well and drink well in the days leading up to the challenge. It’s one of the easiest things to control, and it’ll pay off in spades.
4. Not coming out too hot on the first lap. That’s a recipe for destruction, so if the guys can say smooth and comfortable for the first and even second lap, they can make the all-important decision in the third lap: whether they want to kick it up a notch and push, or settle in and stay where they are. By taking the first couple laps at a more comfortable pace, it allows them to really attack the final two laps.

The three guys Adam recruited to complete the challenge aren’t professional athletes or medal-winning runners. That doesn’t mean they’re shying away from a domain they haven’t trained a ton before. Each week for the rest of the month, we’ll be profiling one of these guys, learning who they are, how they trained, and why they’ve committed to Speed Month. This week: meet Tom Campbell.

Tom Campbell has been spending the last few months working in the crosshairs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overseeing all surveillance testing at a university with a total enrollment of almost 25,000 students, Tom has been tasked with ensuring that all students are staying safe, acting healthily, and being tested frequently. On top of that, he’s also spending much of his week in classes as a second-year Ph.D. student studying kinesiology and rehabilitation. And, if that wasn’t enough, he also decided to commit to Speed Month.

Tom’s been an athlete his entire life, but he’d never been a big runner. While he started doing CrossFit over four years ago, his running routine involved – at most – one run a week. However, his runs were never speed-focused – he’d use his weekly run as a chance to push distance rather than pace. That’s all to say he’d never focused on speed before.

Seeing Adam’s 5-500 challenge, though, he wanted to begin to focus on speed. However, he knew it’d be a challenge – and the first time trial proved that. While his initial 6:53 mile was not a poor showing by any means, it was the slowest of the group. Rather than scare him away, that made him lean in even further.

“Being the slowest of the three forced me to stay really diligent with the training,” he said. “Frankly, it’s a lot of why I followed Adam’s program to a T.”

As he continued training, he began to feel better on the track. He credits much of this to the moments of failure he experienced throughout the challenge, especially at the beginning. For him, those workouts that left him feeling absolutely wiped out were what most pushed him to keep working.

“There was one workout in particular that absolutely sucked for me,” he said. We were doing 800m repeats, and I fell behind everybody. I just couldn’t keep up. What that did, though, was remind me that I had to keep putting in the work, as I didn’t want something like that to happen again.”

Soon after coming in with no expectations whatsoever of how he could improve over the course of the month, Tom decided to set an ambitious goal. Wanting to improve his mile time by a minute over the course of the month, Tom decided he would try to run a six minute mile for the final time trial.

“I’m a very ambitious person, so I set very ambitious goals,” he said. “This was the epitome of that.”

As the time trial approaches, Tom has revised that goal slightly, but that doesn’t mean he won’t go out without a fight.

“I’m not sure if I’ll quite get to that six minutes, but I’m going to do everything I can to get there,” he said. “If not, as long as I beat Taylor or Josh, I’m happy.”

Last weekend was the moment of truth. After a month of training, countless hours on the track, and numerous moments of pain and failure, Josh, Tom, and Taylor laid it all out on the line. The results were nothing short of impressive.

After working together for a month, all three guys tackled their final mile the same way. Out of the gate, the goal was simple: to develop and settle into a quick – but not especially uncomfortable – pace in the first two laps. It got more difficult at lap three, though. At this do or die moment, it’s all about commitment – either you’re fully in, or you’re going to take a step back and dial down the intensity a bit. While Tom and Trevor struggled a bit here, Josh pushed through, still gunning for that low-five minute mile. For all three though, the strategy for the fourth lap was identical: to completely sell out.

They all gave it their all, and their final results reflect that.

Adam Klink came into the month with a simple goal: to turn guys who rarely trained for speed into faster, stronger, and more intense runners. By all accounts, Adam’s goal was realized. With all three athletes improving their mile times by about – if not more than – 20 seconds compared to the beginning of the month, he watched as Tom, Josh, and Taylor challenged themselves and became better athletes.

“Being able to PR mile times as much as they did with only four weeks of training is remarkable,” Adam said. “To see two of these three guys run a lifetime PR was a testament to the work they put in and the dedication they showed.”

Watching as one athlete improved his PR by 29 seconds to get his mile down to a 5:14 – the day after eye surgery, no less – was a personal highlight for Adam. Josh, who started the month at a high-five minute mile, paced the mile well, ran with a gameplan, and looked strong. For Adam, seeing this performance from a CrossFitter spoke to the intensity with which he approached his training.

More broadly, the athletes exceeded Adam’s expectations not only in their athletic performance, but also in their confidence.

“Between the first time trial and the last, the biggest change was their confidence,” Adam noted. “The confidence they showed in the first two laps as they settled into a pace from the get go was impressive. The fact that they looked smooth and in control the whole time was the biggest change.”

And, with the month over and the guys more dominant runners than ever before, Adam is convinced that the guys will continue to incorporate running into their workouts.

“I think they have realized they have another side of their training that they can develop.” he said. “CrossFit is about endurance and intensity, and so is running, so I know that the guys will incorporate track workouts and add intensity in their running to carry that over to their CrossFit workouts as well.”