Training For Training

Finite games have an endpoint; there’s a winner and the game is over. You can play again, but that’s a new game. Infinite games have no endpoint and no winner; the purpose is to continue the game.

I heard someone say, “the purpose of training is not so that you can train more”. I disagree. I think the purpose of training is exactly so that you can train more. Training is an infinite game.

It’s possible to think that training has an endpoint because you train for a race, an event, or for a personal best effort while anything else is just exercise, where the purpose is health, fitness, or being able to play with grandchildren. You train for a race then do it again in a series of finite games. I still disagree.

Races, events, and personal best efforts are just things. Moments in time. Markers at best. Singular experiences. They are the Christmas presents of a running life…in so many ways.

Throughout our lives, the game may even change. How, when, and why we play may also change. But the game is infinite. Training is an infinite game. We train today so we can train tomorrow.