Posted by: Ross Leonhart
We continue our Time to Get Training series with adidas Terrex runners Jeshurun Small and Josh Eberly.
For Jeshurun Small and Josh Eberly, there has been a new mental component when training for the return of trail running races this summer, starting with the GoPro Mountain Games in Vail.
“It’s going to be tough because I think a lot of people have harnessed all of that energy in the last year and you see some of these races where they come out screaming,” said Eberly, a Mountain Games regular who is the head trail running coach at Western Colorado University in Gunnison. “For me personally, these shortened up races (5Ks and 10Ks) I almost have to be pressing on the gas as soon as I can.”
Eberly said he doesn’t do a ton of hill workouts, but he definitely integrates hills into his longer moderate runs. With the adidas Terrex 10K Spring Runoff, the Nature Valley Apres 5K and the JUNK Brands Pepi’s Face-Off at the Mountain Games, Eberly is doing more intense speed training to “wake” up his legs again after a long winter of base building.
Small, who grew up in Golden, is looking forward to competing at the GoPro Mountain Games for the first time.
“The Mountain Games is the first race in maybe five or six months, so it’s definitely going to be a rust buster,” said Small, who went through Eberly’s program at Western Colorado University. “This will be my first time at the GoPro Mountain Games. I’m super excited. I’ve always wanted to be racing at the 10K out there.”
Growing up in the mountains, Small enjoys training at altitude and the advantage it can give athletes. In addition to running, Small keeps the legs fresh year-round with other outdoor exercises. Last spring, he hiked to the summit of Mount of the Holy Cross, skied down and then mountain biked out of the trail.
“For me, training at high altitude gives you an advantage over people training at lower altitudes,” Small said.
Both Small and Eberly will be representing the adidas Terrex brand at the event. Joining adidas Terrex four years ago, the two have seen dramatic progress in the brand.
“Seeing them from the beginning and how they’ve really evolved shoes, they’ve definitely been hitting the nail on the head with the new stuff,” Small said. “I’m excited that their a title sponsor and I think this is going to be a good event where people can try out some stuff and hopefully see people at more races with adidas and Terrex stuff. I’m super stoked with where the brand is going.”
For athletes looking for training motivation, Eberly encourages you to look inward.
“There was a big void last year with the cancellations, so we had to really dig down deep and figure out why we still love running in the first place,” Eberly said. “For a lot of us, it wasn’t about results.”
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