2 Minute Read

Train for who we’ll be in 2035, not just what we can do this season.

Rethink the Metric

Most of us train in short cycles: 12-week blocks, upcoming races, new seasons. And it makes sense. But it’s also why so many athletes burn bright, then fade. We chase fast results and treat each cycle like a test of worth. But the real metric is not this season’s PR. It's who we’re becoming, over a long period of time.

The best athletes aren’t just talented. They think big picture, and over much longer time horizons. They trained through injuries, jobs, kids, and chaos. They’ve rebuilt, adjusted, and stayed. When we zoom out far enough, the goal shifts from hitting a single peak to becoming an athlete whose baseline keeps rising. Thinking short-term demands intensity. But thinking long term demands sustainability.

We stop gambling for fast fitness and start building a system that can actually last.

Build a Durable Body

A body that performs for ten years isn’t just "in shape." It’s resilient. Fitness fades quickly, but durability compounds. That means:

• Aerobic depth from years of mostly easy running, so recovery is faster and volume doesn’t break us.

• Connective-tissue resilience from consistent, predictable loading. Progressive long runs, light strides, uphill work, and recovery weeks that let adaptation lock in.

• Strength as insurance: basic lifts (performed well) that make every stride more economical and protect us from injury.

• Injury policies baked into the system: maintain the courage to stop early when something feels off.

The idea is simple: going slower now is often the fastest way forward later. Sustainable training doesn’t mean soft. It means unbroken. And unbroken training is the most powerful stimulus there is.

Build a Durable Identity

Results lag behind effort. And identity lags behind both. A ten-year athlete identity is built through promises kept in private: the same warm-up, the same window of time, the same small rituals that anchor us to the process. This is routine. We don’t rely on motivation. We rely on consistency.

Every time we show up, we reaffirm who we are: someone who follows through. Each day is a vote towards who we want to be. Over months and years, those votes accumulate until there’s no longer a question of if we’ll train. We just do.

The result isn’t just discipline. It’s peace of mind. Because when we’ve built an identity around consistency, we no longer have to negotiate with ourselves. Routine becomes our operating system.

Plan for Chaos (So We Keep Going)

The next decade won’t be neat. Life will interrupt training again and again. And that’s okay. What matters is whether the system survives.

Life is hectic for everyone. Work piles up, schedules change, injuries happen, and motivation fluctuates. It’s reality. And it's guaranteed. The key is to plan for it instead of pretending things will always be smooth.

A durable training plan expects turbulence and makes room for it. Some weeks will require shorter sessions, extra recovery, or modified goals. That’s fine. What matters is that we keep going. Because consistency through chaos is what builds long-term progress. And the athletes who plan for interruptions are the ones who stay in the game.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s continuation. 

The Long Game Mindset

A ten-year PR isn’t just about "getting faster." It’s about chasing depth. The kind of growth that changes how we think, train, and live. When we train for the long game, we don’t just become fitter athletes; we become steadier people.

We learn patience. We learn to value compounding over intensity. We learn to find meaning in the process, not just the result. That’s why this approach feels so freeing: it replaces anxiety with direction. The work we do today will still matter ten years from now.

And this is valuable in all aspects of life. 

Wrap It Up

Chasing season PRs is fine. But chasing a ten-year goals matters more. Because that’s the one that reflects who we’ve become.

When we train for a decade, we trade hype for identity. We choose durability over drama. We build a body and a mindset that can handle anything life throws at us. And still show up the next day.

Stay in the game long enough to let consistency do its work.

With this mindset, we build a routine we love and train consistently. Because with consistency, we build passion.