Week 38 Devo | Take Up Your Cross
When I was in college, I HATED pre-season conditioning. I am not a great runner, and the timed mile was the foundation of our conditioning program. We also did this thing called ‘Ladders.’ We would run 1 sprint, then we would jog back. Then we would run 3 sprints, and jog back. Next was 5 sprints, then 7, then 9, then 11, and finally, we would run 13 sprints and jog back. After that, we worked our way back down, running 11, then 9, then 7, then 5, then 3, and finally finishing with 1 last sprint. Before we did the ladder, we would do a timed, half-mile warm-up, and after the ladder, we would do a timed, half-mile cool-down. Those days were HARD. But halfway through my freshman year, I realized something: the conditioning was getting easier and easier, and I was starting to feel stronger and stronger physically and mentally. I then started to attack the workouts. My mantra became, “Beat the workouts; don’t let the workouts beat you.” I wasn’t the fastest, but I would push myself t...