"Winning Ugly" tactics for the runners who were not bestowed with natural talent

Here is a book that most runners would scoff at.

It is nearly useless if you don't race often.

In fact, reading this book would probably sour your running if you don't like to compete as it dives deep into the "ugly" mental side of competition.

However, anyone who races often and even likes to get a little competitive on race day will find this book a goldmine of knowledge:

"Winning Ugly" by Brad Gilbert

Brad Gilbert, an admittedly B-level tennis pro, dives into the mental warfare tactics he used to beat A-level talents on the tennis tour.

You should understand this about Gilbert.

He didn't have a lot of natural talent.

He was nearly always physically outclassed on the tennis court by faster and stronger competitors.

But, he was able to win more than his fair share of matches with an iron fortress of mental strength & preparation.

While the book goes into a lot of different tactics, I would like to focus on one that will make a big difference for runners who were not bestowed with a lot of natural talent.

Here is one of his strategies:

Gilbert meticulously created a game plan for every opponent he faced. He understood their weaknesses, strengths, and tendencies. Then, he stepped out onto the court and exploited each and every one of these flaws in his opponent's game to his advantage.

On a tennis court, tennis player are working against an opponent.

On race day, runners are working against the race course.

Let's take Gilbert's tennis strategy and apply it to running.

The heat, wind, but, mostly, the hills are your enemy on race day.

Each of these challenges are all working against you to slow you down.

If Gilbert was a runner, I am sure he would study the course. He would understand at what mileage each of the hills come and what gradient those hills are.

He would practice exactly how hard he should be approaching those hills and ensure he had the fitness to execute his game plan against the specific challenges he expects on race day.

Remember, Gilbert was not one of the best in the world, so he had to take every step to ensure he did well.

The best of the best runners don't need to do this.

They are fit enough to "out muscle" challenges on race day.

But, if you are not naturally gifted & are not one of the best runners to walk the Earth, you need to be prepared for the opponent you expect to see on race day.

Stryd gives you a power target that you can use to conquer all the challenges you expect to see on race day such as wind, heat, and hills.

You can get Stryd here: https://store.stryd.com/

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- Angus