Track season was almost here, and despite setbacks, I was determined to show up ready. After an unfortunate halt in my training, I spent weeks building back mileage and sharpening my speed. In this video, I take you through several key workouts across LSU and Kansas City, share the mental framework I adopted from Dr. Peter Attia on habit-building, and lay out exactly how I planned to be unstoppable heading into the indoor season.
Building Back for Track Season: Jumping Back Into LSU Workouts on Limited Mileage
Coming back from time off, I had to be smart about how I re-entered team workouts at LSU. My teammates were further along in their training, so I modified my approach accordingly. As I explained in the video, “Since they’ve all got a longer workout than me and I’m still building back mileage, I’m going to be jumping in like halfway through their reps and jumping out a little early.” That meant hopping into the middle of the group’s session, doing what I could handle, and not pushing beyond what my body was ready for.
After finishing the running portion, we moved into the weight room. It was business as usual with the team—fueling up on eggs (a staple I ate every single day over the summer) and joking around with my teammate Rhen Langley about his egg recipe. His secret? Garlic powder, Tony’s seasoning, and red pepper. The camaraderie and routine of the weight room is one of those little things that keeps you grounded as a college athlete.
Sprint Work: Why Speed Matters for a Middle-Distance Runner
One of the biggest areas I needed to address was my speed. In the video, I opened up about a pivotal moment from the previous season at a meet in Miami. My coach had put me on a 4×400 relay, and I split around 51 seconds. Afterward, my coach told me straight up that I was going to be a 1500-meter guy, not an 800 guy. As I put it, “If you want to be competitive in the 800 in college, you got to be able to be running at least like 47 mids. My little 51 was not gonna cut it.”
That honest feedback from my coach became a driving force behind my sprint sessions. Out in freezing conditions, I worked through 30-meter fly sprints and 60-meter repeats, following the rule of thumb of one minute rest for every ten meters sprinted. Later I moved to a 150-meter rep at 400 pace and a 300 at 800 pace—smooth and controlled, not timed, because the focus was on mechanics and building a speed foundation rather than chasing numbers in the cold.
How I Ended Up Running in Maxflys as a Distance Runner
When I posted a picture of my Nike Maxfly spikes on my story, a lot of people asked why a distance runner was wearing sprint spikes. The story behind it is actually pretty funny. A teammate who was a sprinter transferred after the previous year, and all his gear was up for grabs. As I shared, “Turns out we wear the same size in spikes, so now I have two pair of Maxflys to my name.” Sometimes the best gear finds you when you least expect it.
The Habit-Building Framework That Changed My Approach
The most impactful shift I made during this training block had nothing to do with physical workouts—it was about mindset. I had been listening to a podcast by Dr. Peter Attia about changing and building habits, and the key takeaway was that you cannot change your entire life at once. Instead, Attia’s approach is to find your single biggest weakness and focus exclusively on that.
I took this to heart and created a personal exercise around it. I wrote down everything I could think of that makes a great track athlete, then identified the one area that could give me the most improvement. My answer was prehab. As I explained, “To be a great track athlete, you have to be consistent, and that’s the biggest thing that I’ve struggled with—just putting together months and months of training.” With four major injuries in the previous two years, my new daily commitment was simple: three prehab exercises every single day. If those three exercises got done, the day was a win regardless of anything else.
300-Meter Repeats in Kansas City: Building Back Smart
During a training block in Kansas City, I tackled a session of 8 to 10 by 300 meters at 1500-meter pace. The target was around 45 to 47 seconds per rep. The key principle guiding the session was patience. “I’m already building back volume,” I noted. “I don’t want to also build back my intensity because that’s a recipe to just get re-injured and I don’t want that.”
The workout was a grind, and I was honest about where my fitness stood. After running a 47-second rep, I admitted on camera, “I am out of shape. If I had to race right now, I would not be ready.” But instead of getting discouraged, I kept perspective: “Luckily, we got 30 more days. Let’s go baby.”
The Takeaway: Consistency Over Perfection
This training block taught me that coming back from adversity is not about dramatic breakthroughs—it is about showing up every day, doing the smart work, and trusting the process. By focusing on one keystone habit (prehab), keeping my intensity in check while building volume, and addressing real weaknesses like speed, I set myself up for a strong indoor season at LSU. The road back is never glamorous, but with 30 days to go, I was ready to put it all together.
What is the one area of your training that, if improved, would make the biggest difference? I challenge you to try the same exercise I did—write it all down and pick just one.
Want More?
Follow along with my journey as a D1 distance runner, content creator, and entrepreneur. New content every week across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and this blog.