We’re in January now; this is a typical time for a reset and resolutions. While I’m not as opposed to the over-promise and under-deliver style of the new year’s resolution crowd (at least their head is in the right place) as some fitness industry insiders may be, early January still makes for a good opportunity to set a game plan and prepare for the months ahead.
I have a few events that I typically keep on my schedule year after year. These events ensure that my fitness can’t fall too far below baseline without creating an embarrassing painfest when the events come knocking. I’m going to go over some of these events to provide some insight as to how I try to maintain pretty high physical fitness standards, integrating the training into my day-to-day without fitness taking over my whole schedule (though it does take over a good bit of my professional life).
I’m also putting these events out there as an open invite. As I write this, the first of these events is still more than 6 months away, giving you plenty of time to plan and train. I’ve already pulled along a handful of athletes from the gym to a few of these and I welcome you to utilize these same events or similar events to get your head and fitness status moving in the right direction. Find what works for you, put it on the calendar, then prepare.
Now here’s what I have on my calendar and what I’m preparing for in 2026:
Great Chesapeake Bay 4.4 Mile Swim & 1 Mile Bay Challenge (June 14)
In 2025, 14 years after my last competitive swim, I signed up for a 1-mile swim in the Chesapeake Bay. This was my first ever open water swim and I had a simple goal of completion and gaining an understanding of the open water swim process. I was also motivated by a desire to beat fellow Ruthless Performance coach and current collegiate swimmer Jake Hillibush. My usual style of heckling Jake without any real swim-specific training got me across the finish line, but not before the Mahanoy City Madman was able to get it done (he whooped me by more than I’d care to admit).
This year, by chance, we both drew limited-entry slots in the lengthier 4.4-mile swim in the third and final selection round. This year we’ll be entering the water bright and early to cross the full 4.4 mile length of the Chesapeake Bay. Perhaps Jake’s days as the top finisher are numbered, perhaps we’ll work together to draft and pace each other, or perhaps this is what I want him to think until we’re 50 yds. from the finish line on the western shore.
To get my cardio up and hone in on my swim-specific skills, I’ve been swimming twice per week. One sprint (fun) training session and one yardage-oriented training session. As we get closer to the event I’ll add in an additional swim day and begin to hit my cycling sprint course which will build up my endurance for this while also getting me ready for the Ben to the Shore Bike Tour, which is two months beyond the swim.
4.4-Mile Swim Registration has ended but the 1-Mile Swim registration just opened. Interested in open water swimming? This is a good opportunity to give it a try.
Details here: https://runsignup.com/greatchesapeakebayswim
The 39th Annual Ben to the Shore Bike Tour (July 26)
I’m more excited for this bike tour than I’ve been in a few years. Prepping for the open water swim in mid-June will give me a better base of cardiorespiratory endurance than I’ve had going into my Ben to the Shore Bike Training since 2019 when I was preparing to cycle 4,000 Miles Cross-Country.
In 2023, I had my best performance in this 65-Mile Cycle from Philadelphia, PA to Atlantic City, NJ. I finished 11th overall, while riding my quite heavy steel-framed Surly Long Haul Trucker. My training consisted primarily of a 4.85-mile sprint loop around my hometown 3-4 times per week. Only in the two weeks leading up to this event did my weekly training volume surpass the single-day 65-mile event distance. But now, with a greater base of cardio than I’ve had in 7 years, I’m interested in seeing how close I can push to the front of the pack.
This is a fun event overall with a shorter ride option available but 65 miles on a decent bike is much more doable than you might think. This event also supports a good cause: The Families Behind the Badge Children’s Foundation. They help families of fallen and injured first responders. A good cause and an ample supply of first responders along the route also keeps the event quite safe–even if you are biking the causeway to the beach on a busy summer Sunday.
In 2022, I had a slower finish but a first for the event, in the first dog to ever complete the ride. You can read more about my ride with Kronos here.
Interested in riding alongside of me and our team? Message me about joining the Jim Thorpers they’re a fun group–a drinking team with a cycling problem–as they typically put it.
Details here: https://www.fbbcf.org/copy-of-the-ben-to-the-shore-bike-tour-1 or find the Jim Thorpers Bike Team on Facebook.
Salmon Fishing, Talkeetna Alaska (Late August)
This is worth putting in here because of what it says about my broader training style. Outside of the few endurance events that I complete routinely, much of my training routine is predicated on ensuring that my physical fitness is not the limiting factor when deciding what I’m doing or what I’m capable of.
As I lead into these various training events my skill-specific training (like cycling or swimming) may occupy 2-6 sessions per week, however, this is on top of my in the gym strength and conditioning training which is typically a 4-5 day training rotation. In the gym, I’m training like I train most of our athletes, focusing on strength, balance, posture, etc.. By maintaining a high degree of overall fitness I can wade deeper while I’m fishing without worrying about losing my balance, I can comfortably move around at high elevation without gassing out, I can carry a heavy pack, and so on. Everything gets easier as you get in better shape.
If maintaining a robust, year-round strength and conditioning regimen wasn’t part of what I did, specific aspects of my fitness may limit me in my various outdoor pursuits–fortunately, it does not, and I can keep climbing.
28-Mile March for the Fallen at Fort Indiantown Gap (Late September)
Speaking of outdoor pursuits, I enjoy the 28-Mile March for the Fallen at Fort Indiantown Gap because it ensures that I’m in good ruck shape come the fall hunting seasons. The first time I did this event was in or around 2012–it may have been the 1st-ever March for the Fallen at Fort Indiantown Gap. After a few years off, I got back into this event after being prompted by some of my friends. Now, this event is a staple for me, when it fits my schedule.
This is a 28-Mile ‘March’ which qualifies it as an ‘Ultra-Marathon’ by some standards, as it is beyond the length of a marathon. This is a timed event though I typically just aim for completion. I typically enter the 28-Mile Heavy division which means that I’m completing this with a 35 lb. Ruck. The first 10 miles or so never bother me much, but it goes downhill pretty quick thereafter. This past year I felt better at the end of the event than I ever have previously. In part, I’d attribute this success to a continual rotation of CBD, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen throughout the event (not a strategy that I would recommend), but more broadly I made sure to keep rucking part of my routine throughout the entirety of the summer.
The National Guard provides water and snack stops every two miles, meaning that I’m typically not even hungry when the event wraps up (I didn’t count precisely but I think I got somewhere around 3,000 calories of gatorade alone last year during the event).
Details typically come out some time in the summer. The 28-Mile Heavy is a hard event, but there’s a 28-Mile Light, a 14-Mile Heavy, and a 14-Mile Light. Again, this is a good cause and an interesting event to keep on your radar.
March for the Fallen at Fort Indiantown Gap – Details TBD
Wildcard: Mount Elbert Summit
I don’t know if I’ll bag the highest peak in the American Rockies this year, but if I can string together 6 days away from the gym, I can make it happen. Again, by maintaining a high level of physical competency, I can attempt a summit like this last minute without too much prior training specific to this summit.
Asides from being the highest point in the Rocky Mountains and Colorado, this is also the highest peak in the United States that a dog can summit. My man Kronos has been with me on a handful of State High Point Summits including Kings Peak (Utah), Black Elk Peak (South Dakota), Black Mesa (Oklahoma), Mount Mitchell (North Carolina), Mount Washington (New Hampshire), Spruce Knob (West Virginia), and Wheeler Peak (New Mexico).
Since Kronos is almost 11 years old now I know we have a limited time and a lot to do–but I think the same could be said for the rest of us.
Kronos King’s Peak Summit
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No matter what your goals are for this year, big or small, we can help get you there. Contact us to learn about our in-person and online training. Its a new year with new opportunities. Don’t squander it.
-John