Calm Is Fast
Vancouver, the Rebuild After Toronto, and the Road to Sweden
After Toronto — Rethink. Retool. Rebuild.
Toronto didn’t break me, but it exposed something important.
The engine was there.
The will was there.
The competitive fire was there.
But the system wasn’t.
I wasn’t out-trained — I was out-organized.
I didn’t need more grit — I needed more clarity.
So after Toronto I made a decision:
I would rethink the approach,
retool the training,
and rebuild the athlete — not from scratch, but from truth.
Not more volume.
Not more intensity.
Not more chaos.
Just better alignment.
That’s where this journey really started.
The Build to Vancouver — Quiet Work Over Heroics
December wasn’t glamorous.
A cold mid-month, travel, life, fatigue, holiday noise.
No big mileage weeks.
No viral workouts.
No chasing fitness.
Just the right work:
Hybrid flows instead of random circuits
Echo Bike & Assault treadmill pacing instead of ego splits
Three-breath resets to control heart & head
Strength second, not first
Nervous system first, not emotions
It stopped being about feeling fast.
It became about staying coherent when it counts.
Race Day — Control Over Chaos
Warmup was simple.
No heavy stations.
No adrenaline fishing.
No trying to find magic.
Just rhythm:
RowErg → SkiErg → BikeErg seated → BikeErg standing → Echo Bike → Assault
From the first station, the difference was obvious:
Sled push: smooth, full lengths, no panic
Sled pull: ran the transitions, stumbled once (line step penalty), stayed composed
Runs: pace returned on its own instead of being chased
Burpees + Farmers: confident, no rest breaks
Lunges: shaky first steps, then breath → control → pace
Final time: 1:22:14
With the penalty removed: ~1:19:14
Not perfect.
Repeatable.
And repeatable is how you win big races.
The Honest Weakness — And the Fix
Wall balls.
Not because fitness failed — it didn’t.
Not because I panicked — I didn’t.
But because training space didn’t allow real reps.
Low basement ceilings, cold garage, limited arc.
I built capacity, not confidence.
That was on me —
and it’s already solved.
The station is now moved upstairs, full height, proper mechanics.
This isn’t a setback.
It’s one of the easiest minutes we’ll ever take off a race.
Vancouver Wasn’t the Peak — It Was the Confirmation
This race didn’t tell me “you made it.”
It told me we’re aimed correctly.
What changes:
Wall ball specificity
Faster re-acceleration into runs
Slight efficiency gains on sled pull footwork
More composure in lunge entry
What stays:
Hybrid flow structure
Calm-first pacing
No chasing volume
Nervous system training before ego training
The Road Forward — Sweden, June 19
The goal is simple:
Be strong enough to stand on the podium and know I belong there.
Not by chance.
Not by luck.
By design.
Calm is fast.
Precision beats chaos.
Rhythm survives fatigue.
That is what Vancouver proved.
That is what Sweden will demand.
That is what we’re building.
Closing
Toronto forced honesty.
Vancouver proved the rebuild is real.
Now the road points forward.
Not chasing fitness.
Building identity.
See you in Sweden.