Phillip Kriss, Athlete & Chiropractor

“The stupidest thing I planned to do” Why? Last year I knew a guy that ran the quadzilla (4 marathons in 4 days).  He passed me up before the halfway point at the Seattle marathon never to be seen by me again.  That had my curiosity up. How was he able to do that? Mark Casey and Heidi Kriss were also pressuring me to do this for most of the year.  I really did not want to do it. I feared training myself to run slow and/or hurting myself. It sounded painful and dangerous. I wanted a way out where I could save my precious pride, so I developed an exit plan so I could quit anytime during their run if I felt like it. In the end I thought that I’m not much of a runner, especially a fast one, and maybe I will learn something to help me reach higher levels of performance.  Then, if others with less levels of fitness can do it, so can I. Also if I can do it, why would I not at least give it the best shot I could? The training I packed in several long runs week after week.  I pract

It is important to be sweet and soft especially to others when they are hurting.  There is a time when we need to have deference and listen and be compassionate and be nice to others and ourselves. There is also a time when we need to toughen up. Not all of life’s decisions are easy or our choice on what to do next clear or what needs to be done simple and easy. Procrastination only makes matters worse. So next time you have something difficult to do or a difficult conversation you really don’t want to have ask yourself if it is a good time to be a hammer or a banana and get it done

That is what one of my buddies told me after he gave me his advice on how to swim faster. It amounted to putting out way more effort than I was used to, especially towards the end of the swim. And he made it really clear when he ended his point again saying “make no bones about it, it will be uncomfortable” The next race and in several other situations of life over the next few weeks, when the going got tough for whatever reason, I thought to myself “It will be uncomfortable” That statement has many applications. Being overweight and out of shape is uncomfortable. But so is getting up early and going to the gym. Not to mention the effort required to push away that cookie… Many people come into my office with sciatica, a radiating pain that goes down the back of the legs. After a few days if improvement, extra walking can help tremendously. It is uncomfortable at first? You bet….Does it help? Yes. Is it worth the investment of energy? Yes. Is taking drugs comfortable and conv

I don’t think most tough athletes get out of bed super early to go work out because they like it. I think they would find staying in bed much more comfortable. Getting up at 4:15 to run in the cold dark rain does not sound like much fun at all. How can anybody do that year after year and be successful at it? Would the motivation be to loose weight? That may work for a while but most attain their goal weight and back to their old habits they go. The thrill of a podium finish? Maybe, but over time that looses it’s flair, and few win forever. I think there is one common thread I have observed that make any fitness program work, and that is other people. I do know ironmen who train alone, which makes sense because you race alone. But, who would choose aloneness over doing it with others that have the same goal in mind? I found myself in a similar predicament a few weeks ago. My wife “made” me get out of bed at 4:15 and go to a strength and endurance class at our local gym with som