Eight questions, no equipment. These catch what a stopwatch cannot — where your race actually falls apart, and what you have not been doing. They are weighted below the measurements in step two, deliberately.
Question 1 In a race, where does it actually fall apart? The failure point is the single most informative thing you know about yourself.
The last few runs — I hold pace early, then it drains away Every run feels slow, even the first one The loaded stations — sled, lunges — my legs give out Grip and upper body — carries, sled pull, ski I'm redlined and gasping from about halfway
Question 2 At the end of a hard 1 km, what stops you? Separates a breathing ceiling from a muscular one — the two get confused constantly.
Breathing — I can't get enough air My legs — they're burning and won't turn over Honestly both, about equally Neither — I just can't hold the pace, it fades
Question 3 Honestly, how many hours a week have you trained for the last three months? Aerobic base is bought with time. Below about five hours, it is almost always the limiter.
Under 5 5 to 8 8 to 12 More than 12
Question 4 How long since you lifted heavy — sets of five or fewer, genuinely hard? Strength decays quietly and is the cheapest thing on this list to get back.
It's in my week right now A few months A year or more I've never really trained strength
Question 5 Longest single run in the last month? Durability is built by repeated long exposure and nothing else substitutes for it.
Under 5 km 5 to 10 km 10 to 16 km Over 16 km
Question 6 On an easy run, can you hold a full conversation? If easy runs are not easy, the aerobic base never gets built and everything else is compromised.
Yes, comfortably Short sentences only Not really — my easy pace is fairly hard I don't really do easy runs
Question 7 Wall balls at race weight — what happens? The last station, and the one that most often turns a good race into a bad one.
I can go unbroken or close to it I break into sets but keep moving It becomes a grind of singles My shoulders fail before my legs do
Question 8 The sled push at race weight? A sled that feels immovable is a strength problem; one that feels slow is a power problem.
I can jog it Steady walk, no stops Slow grind with stops It barely moves
Next — the test battery