The Rule of Thirds and Holding Your Egg Loosely
Lessons from Alexi Pappas and Kara Goucher
In January, I wrote about two of my coaching principles—stacking bricks and prioritizing frequency—that contribute to success in endurance sports (or in any discipline). If you missed it, check it out below:
Today, I share two more ideas I encourage my athletes to embrace as they embark upon their fitness journeys. Let’s dive in.
The Rule of Thirds
When Alexi Pappas appeared on The Rich Roll Podcast four years ago, she shared a concept she learned from her coach when training for the 2016 Summer Olympics: the rule of thirds.
A third of the time, you will feel crappy. A third of the time, you will feel okay. A third of the time, you will feel good.
When you have a bad day, know that a better one is around the corner. When you have a good one, enjoy it, as all days won’t feel that way. It reminds me of the trope, “this too shall pass.”
When chasing an audacious goal or doing something hard, it’s important not to over-index on a particular day, week, month, or even season. Ride the wave—good and bad—and keep showing up.
In TrainingPeaks, the software I use for my training programs, I encourage my athletes to leave post-activity comments, rate perceived exertion on a scale of 1-10, and log how they felt using a frowny or smiley face.
While I value regular, two-way communication, I realize not every session is noteworthy. However, I ask my athletes to provide subjective feedback and document the outliers. If something went remarkably well or terribly bad, pay attention. What contributed to that overwhelmingly positive or negative experience? Reverse engineer it. Ask why.
Maybe you hit your sales quota and the exciting professional news carried over to your athletic life. Maybe you were well-fueled, caffeinated, energetic, rested, and relaxed. On the other hand, maybe your toddler threw up until 4 AM and sleep-deprived the entire house. Maybe you were run-down, fasted, dehydrated, fatigued, and stressed.
We tend to journal when shit hits the fan, when we don’t get our expected result, and when we’re in a funk, but success leaves clues too. What were you doing when you were rolling? Recognize the patterns. Experiment. Refine. Repeat.
Hold your Egg Loosely
In January 2024, I attended a panel at Fleet Feet, a running store in Boulder, with elite marathoners Kara Goucher, Briana Boehmer, Noah Droddy, and Sara Vaughn.
In the interview, Goucher mentioned one of her happiest running seasons was 2016. She was a “full human”—she became a mom and had a healthy relationship with her husband. However, she didn’t make the Olympic team that year.
While she didn’t have the outcome she worked for, she was surrounded by great people, was doing things for the right reasons, and felt she “wanted to” versus “had to” pursue her dream. She loved the process and separated her identity from her results. There’s far more to life than sport, even at the highest levels.
During the conversation, Jon Levitt, the host of For the Long Run Podcast, echoed this theme using an analogy: treat a goal like an egg in your hand. If you hold the egg too tightly, you’re going to break it. But if you hold it loosely while keeping it close, it’s less likely to crack.
However, if it does, remember the Japanese concept wabi-sabi. Wabi-sabi teaches us to find the beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and simplicity. The flaws and asymmetries make a piece unique, increasing its value.
So give yourself grace. Be malleable. And when rigidity inevitably breaks you, as it did for me in my Kona build, learn from it. It’s all part of the story you will one day tell. The bigger the dragon, the more epic the hero. Heroes use pain, villains are used by it.
Great post Adam! So many lessons there. Similar lesson we learn in ultras - don't get too excited when you're feeling good, and don't get down if you're feeling bad. Ride the wave of emotion with control and focus.