Something I think about a lot in writing is the benefit of just getting a draft on paper. All my best work begins as a crappy first draft. Because ALL my work begins as a crappy first draft. There is no magic, just revision: chipping away, word by word, with a mental c...

 
Performing by its nature is uncertain. Some days you have it, other days you don’t. It's easy to perform when everything clicks and you are in the zone. It's much harder to perform on an off day.
 
When it comes to performance often worry about the ceiling, the grea...

It's kind of hard to believe that this is the 150th issue of the Peak Performance—soon to be formerly known as Peak Performance, more on that in a bit—newsletter. This endeavor started just over three years ago, as a way to keep our intimate following abreast of our pr...

October was a good month of reading for both of us. We're in the calm before the storm of launching something new (more on that in the upcoming weeks!) so we had plenty of time to dig into books, essays, and articles. The books below are linked to Amazon given that is...

"The athlete that dwells in each of us is more than an abstract ideal," said George Leonard, the philosopher of human potential and Aikido master. "It is a living presence that can change the way we live and feel."

I love this quote because it is true. Everyone can bene...

At the Canadian Olympic marathon trials, the odds on favorite was Cam Levins,  who had recently broken the 43-year old national record in the marathon. It wasn't Trevor Hofbauer, a former basketball player who had risen through the ranks of amateur running to notch a v...

Lots of people make things overly complex. Sometimes complexity is necessary but often it's not. A lot of times people make things complex so they can sell them. It's hard to monetize the basics; but come up with an intricate and sexy-sounding approach to something and...

Whenever we see or experience something that challenges our expectations, we search for a reason. How did I accomplish that feat or why did this happen to me? In this weekend's marathons extravaganza highlighted by Eliud Kipchoge breaking 2 hours for the marathon, the...

"If other people could hear my inner dialogue during competition, they'd think I was certifiably crazy." That refrain is one I've heard from countless people, regardless of the sport or activity they are pursuing. Our self-talk can be a strange world. One filled with...

Earlier this week, Outside published an interesting article on Magda Boulet, a 46-year-old ultra marathoner who is running strong as ever. Boulet moved up in distance to ultras from the marathon six years ago, at age 40. Her story contains important lessons on aging, a...