The Five S's of Sports Training

A quote by Ken Doherty on Runner's World online really struck me as some important information today. I really like quotes that make you stop and think. His quote goes like this:
" The five S's of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit." When I first read this I thought it was a really good quote, but then as I did my afternoon run it kept coming back to me how important the "spirit" part of the quote is. The word spirit appears in many things but is often overlooked. I know people and things that lift my spirit, and people and things that challenge my spirit. I grow from that lifting and challenging. However, sometimes people and things impact my spirit in a negative way. The spirit of running and life in general burns deep inside of all of us to some degree or another. Sometimes it's up to us to keep the spirit fire burning. Other times we depend on others. It effects our daily training and also both long and short term goals.

It would be easy to turn the five S's into a training plan. Each day work on one of the S's. The new five day S workout. Maybe we should. It would make sense. It's a good fit actually when you think of what we all do now. We do long runs, tempo runs, cross training/ strength training, work on pace and form, and then do some mental preparation for our training.

So in the spirit of running, cycling, or whatever adventure you undertake, take your spirit with you. Take care of it. If you need help, ask for it. There are those days, and it's ok. Sometimes there's nothing better that running with your buddy or running group. I think I'll start my S training plan tomorrow. How about you?

Forward we go! May your roads and trails be happy and safe!