Posted by: Shauna Farnell
The 2021 GoPro Mountain Games are only a smidge more than a month away – and that means it’s time to get training!
Today we embark on a multi-part series called “Time to get training.” We’ll check in with Mountain Games pros, as well as everyday “Joes”, to see what they’re doing to get ready for the event.
If you haven’t been hitting the trail, treadmill, gym or river, don’t worry you’re not alone! The way we humans have handled our free time during the pandemic changes faster than springtime mountain weather. Some have doubled down on eating pizza, drinking beer, doing puzzles and binge-watching every show on Netflix. Meanwhile, others have snapped up every piece of recreation equipment available in the free world. They’ve been grinding on Peloton, doing daily yoga, pumping iron or getting outside to adventure, explore and get their heart rates up with whatever means possible.
The beauty of the GoPro Mountain Games is that it draws every level of adventurer. But if you’re one of those who has been getting the bulk of your adrenaline fix via a screen while mindlessly gorging snacks over the last few months, turn the TV off right this minute, stop scrolling, drop to the floor and give us 20 (push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, meditative breaths … NOT Cheetos)!
Seriously, you’d better start at least partially transforming your COVID couch potato because the GoPro Mountain Games are BACK and only a few weeks away (June 10-13). That means it’s time to get yourself ready to face other life forms besides your cat and conditioned to mingle among (or compete against) the fitness-minded.
For inspiration, we’re kicking off our “Time to get training” series with the incredible Joe Gray … and remember, even Joe has bad days!
Joe Gray (runner) (@joegeezi): A World Mountain Running Champion, Joe’s status as a powerhouse has been in play for a while. He’s the guy you see jogging all over Vail during the Games even when there are no races happening. It never stops him from crushing one comp after another. His typical training day involves “a morning run … at times followed up with an evening jog.” You gotta believe his “evening jog” is probably something close to a dead sprint for we mortals. He rarely discloses specifics of his training regiment, but mentioned that in absence of races throughout this pandemic, he’s “been doing a lot more vertical.” Let’s not forget, this is the guy who holds the record for the fastest time (17 minutes, 45 seconds) up the Manitou Incline (that wall of stairs in Colorado Springs that gains almost a mile in 2,000 vertical feet). If someone like him has found a way to become even faster and fitter in all of this, uh … WATCH OUT.
Up next…
…and more on the way!
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