Rock Bounding and Swimming On A Trail Run

Many folks have asked: where do you train? Well, that is a complicated question as it really depends on what's on my calendar at the moment. Like most of my closest friends, there are so many different types of races that I want to do and the quantity is high. Swimrun, trail runs, mountain bikes, adventure racing, and the list goes on. We can't race every weekend (although I've tried) so we end up picking a few select ones and punch them into the calendar. Of course, you cannot do so blindly, as you have to keep in mind what the training will look like. I don't know of anyone that can peak for several A races in one month, so putting them on the calendar as such would be futile. Instead, the ones that make the cut still have to be done so in somewhat of a strategic fashion. After all, it is racing, so you want to be able to do your best. I've missed many races that I would have LOVED to have done, simply because the timing just didn't make sense from a training and racing perspective. *cough, cough* Swimrun Tennessee *cough, cough* I digress.

So where to train? Over the past couple of years, I've picked up swimrun as a sport that I love along with XTERRA. This has resulted in the first half of my year typically focused on XTERRA and the later half typically focused on swimrun. It's not uncommon to find some of the swimrun races sprinkled into the first half and vice versa, but the focus usually pans out as stated. With that said, the latter half of the year, I usually end up doing lots of trail running in addition to pool/openwater swims. As an explorer-at-heart, I also love getting into the mountains and off of the beaten path, er, trail. The result? Training runs like in this video:

It's great to have some like-minded friends such as Jan Kriska and Patrik Rung. When you have friends like this, the adventures and explorations never seem to stop or be full of new and exciting places.