March 23, 2021 – Fresh Start

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Hi Crew! 

 

First up, way to go Achilles runners! We still have a number of ppl running their races next weekend (good luck!) but some of us did ours on Sat. Notably: Sean Forest came out of the woodwork with a 5K PB of 21:01, Brianna who decided to forego the 18 minute mark altogether and ran a 1 min and 1 sec PB of 17:59, Amy Robinette (virtual LES member from the west end) who ran a 10K PB of 41:57 and I ran 37:42 for which I credit all of you who came and cheered and those who paced me to the finish! Oh, and big shout outs to our generous runners/pacers who ran to help others – Carolyn and Cullen! Carolyn realized at the start that a race wasn’t what her body needed, but turned the disappointment into an opportunity to help someone else. And Cullen was totally game for whatever pacing duties we threw at him (in this case he ended up being versatile enough to adjust mid-race to a 6 second per km faster pace than he’d been prescribed). Yay team!!! 

 

What I’ve been thinking about this week is about fresh starts. There’s something about spring and a change in the weather that brings about the feeling of renewed energy and re-evaluation. The feeling of a Fresh Start is interesting. It doesn’t land on everyone at the same time, and you can’t force it if you’re not feeling it. I heard a great analogy about a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. When they go into their cocoons, caterpillars actually digest themselves and dissolve into a goo which reforms into a butterfly. But they require every single cell they had as a caterpillar in order to make up the butterfly. If they go in too early, they won’t be able to turn into a complete butterfly.  

 

Similarly, only you will know when you’re ready for a change or fresh start of some sort. When you are, you will feel the energy and impulse to change or transform something in your life. And turning a page is a perfect place to start. In studies of baseball players who are traded to new teams in different leagues so their batting averages are reset, those who had lower averages brought them up after the switch. A blank slate allowed them to let go of past identities, and create new realities with new visions.  

 

I think we’ve done very well in weathering a long COVID winter. It took grit and determination and inner strength. It’s definitely not all downhill with the wind at our backs from here, but if you’re feeling the energy of a fresh start, you can evaluate what you have liked and want to keep in terms of habits and routines you’ve set up, and what you might want to change or leave behind.  

 

No one knows what will come next. It will still be different than anything we’ve experienced. But we’ve done a whole year of living with a pandemic now. We have the wisdom and confidence that comes from that, and can set ourselves up well for a new fresh start if we want to. 

 

Onto workouts for this week! 

 

  1. 2 mile tempo (half pace) 3 min rec, 4 x 800 w 1:30 @ 5K pace-ish (if your raced Achilles, slow it down and do a couple less)
  2. If going by time: 12 min tempo, 3 min easy, 4 x 3 min hard w 1:30 easy
  3. Tempo for this week (ATB racers don’t have one – you have some work embedded in your LR): 3 x 12 min w 3 min easy (ease into these and see if you can pick up the pace by a few secs/km for each set) 

 

Have fun and see some of you on the roads! 

 

xo 

 

Seanna 

 

December 28, 2020 – Hope

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Hey Everyone! 

 

Hope everyone’s having a good unstructured holiday. I know I’ve taken a break from looking at and posting on logs – I will get back to that next week and looking forward to reading what you’ve been up to!  

 

One thing I’ve been thinking about a fair bit is the idea of maintaining Hope. Hope is such a powerful motivator. I think it’s even a superpower. I’m not talking about rose-coloured glasses or false optimism or just crossing your fingers and closing your eyes and hoping for the best. I’m talking about really believing in a potential positive outcome, and using that belief to work to make it happen. If you give up hope, you stop trying. I can definitely see how people can fall into this trap when it feels like your efforts aren’t getting you anywhere. But when what we were hoping for doesn’t happen, we have to persevere in finding hope in something else. 

 

I’m thinking in part of Sara Hall, who just ran the second fastest marathon of any American woman. This great article sums up her drive and attitude well. Basically, she failed at making the Olympics and failed again in the next round at 37 years of age. She was looking at a pandemic year with no races scheduled. So she swung her hopes from one dream to another, trained with that hope and vision in mind, found a race put together for elites, and raced to a world class personal best time (2:20:32) which was nearly an American record. 

 

It’s easy to let our hopes get dashed. But the sense of defeat and helplessness when they do is paralyzing. This is true for big and small events. I was cross country skiing the other day along a trail which started winding up. And up. And up. At each turn I thought, “the top must be at the end of this rise” so I worked my way up, and then saw that it was only winding around another incline. If I had seen the entire hill stretched out in front I probably would have lost hope and turned around. But each segment kept me buoyed with hope until I finally made it to the top.  

 

For big picture examples I think of climate change, racial injustice, economic disparity, human kindness and morality. Hope for the positive outcome in all of these areas is easily dashed, but we have to fight to hold onto it. That gives us the energy to keep working towards what we want. And eventually we’ll get to a new reality. Like Sara Hall, it may not be the reality we initially envisioned, but it will be something great! 

 

So, if I could give you all one gift for 2021 it would be the gift of hope. If hope is the flame that lights our way through a dark tunnel (which is what I read when I looked it up), then even if it is a small little flame quivering in the wind, we have to protect it from going out with all our might. And if it does happen to get extinguished, we have to struggle to light a new match, even if it’s wet and windy and our matchsticks keep breaking. It’s not always easy to hold onto hope, but it is the best way forward. That will be our superpower. I think 2021 will be a great year for all of us. 

 

Workouts for this week: 

  1. 8-15 x 1 min on, 1 min off. I like this one to keep the legs spinning. 
  2. Tempo option: 3 x 8 min w 3 min easy 

 

Happy New Year Everyone and looking forward to seeing y’all in 2021!!! 

 

xoxo 

 

Seanna 

 

December 22, 2020 – Running Gently

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Hi Everyone! 

 

Greetings from snowy Gatineau Park. It is quiet and beautiful here. I’ve gone for a few runs along a snow covered rail path which is lined on one side by the Gatineau River and on the other by pine trees. It is not fast running. Every step slides or wobbles a little. But it is what my body and mind are craving. I keep having the phrase of my old running hero Grete Waitz go through my head: “Run Gently”. 

 

For those of you who don’t know, Grete was a pioneer of women’s marathon racing. She was the first woman to race it competitively and run it in similar style to her track background standards. In 1979 she was the first woman to run the marathon under 2:30, and she never looked back – going on to win multiple championships and running a PB of 2:24. Grete could run like a bad-ass.  but she also knew how to run gently. 

 

I remember reading her biography and running logs when I was a teenager. I wanted to absorb all the “secrets” of my idols. I was struck by this term which showed up in many of her entries – Run Gently. It didn’t say easy, or slowly. There were no times attached. I’m not sure if it was a direct translation from a word in Norwegian or a slight mis-translation on her part. Either way, I’ve always loved it. Gentle listens to your body. Gentle doesn’t have a pace attached to it. I think Gentle doesn’t even have to be ‘slow’. I did a ‘gentle’ version of a tempo the other day and really enjoyed the effort and feeling. Just keeping my body where it wanted to be. There are no red lines or struggle in gentle. As much as you can, gentle means floating.  

 

So that’s what I’m doing until the new year. Channeling the Norwegians and running gently on snowy trails with some x-country skiing and hiking mixed in (as an aside, another hero of mine from that era was Ingrid Kristiansen (2:24 marathoner), also from Norway, and both women mostly only cross country skied as training in the winter). 

 

Many of us right now could use being gentle on ourselves. Say it to yourself as you head out: Run Gently. It feels like kindness and self-compassion. Let’s give ourselves a break from grit, and guts, and toughing it out for a week or two. (I know y’all – we will get back to that!) For now I think we could all use some gentle running – for our minds and our bodies. 

 

Workouts for this week: 

 

  1. Gentle running 
  2. Gentle tempo or fartlek (this is just going ‘comfortably hard’ for as long as feels good if you need to stretch out your legs – I won’t prescribe times or paces) 

 

Stay safe, healthy and enjoy the holidays! 

 

Xo 

 

Seanna 

 

December 15, 2020 – Trees

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Hi Gang! 

 

First up, congratulations to everyone who ran the virtual Tannenbaum 10K. It was so nice to see so many people supporting an industry which we enjoy during good times, AND as an added bonus, supporting a charity for a local community centre which relies on all of us. Thank-you!!! 

 

People ran on various days at various times, and I think most of us dealt with classic Tannenbaum conditions. Some had black ice, some had pitch darkness and cross-country puddles, and some had gale force winds. What I love is that we all went out and did it anyway and didn’t make excuses. That’s the Tannenbaum spirit! (also the fact that a number of you came away with PB’s was very impressive – I guess if you train in it, you can race in it!) 

 

So speaking of Tannenbaums, my thoughts this week have been lingering on trees. I was reminded of them again as I stumbled upon this quote by William Blake: “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in the way. As a [person] is, so [they] see”. 

 

This made me think about my relationship to trees at this time of year. 

 

I love trees in the summer with their full canopies of rustling green leaves which suggest life and energy. I feel awe looking at them in the fall with their bright reds and oranges and yellows and sometimes wonder how it’s possible that something in nature can be so eye-poppingly beautiful. When they’re blanketed in snow, they feel safe and quiet, and beautiful in a calming way. But right now, they are dark and straggly – some still with the odd withered brown leaf clinging to a skinny branch. At first glimpse, they don’t look beautiful at all. But I’ve decided I need to work harder to see it, and I’ve found when I do, I still can see a lot of beauty. If I pan out, I notice their silhouettes against the sky and the interesting shapes they make as they reach up and out together. I notice their sturdy trunks with varying geometries as they branch up to support the whole network above. I’m reminded of how strong and resilient they are and for some reason I start to feel emotional with gratitude for their dependable presence. There is sometimes a lone cluster of brown leaves clinging to a branch high up, and I realize they are providing safe, cozy homes for squirrels and other creatures. And what is more beautiful than that?   

 

So that’s my challenge to you over the next few weeks – really look for and see the beauty in nature out there. Soak it in on your runs. There truly is a lot of beauty, and maybe if we force ourselves to see it we can flip it around to be: “as a person sees, so the person is”.  

 

I love all of you beautiful people and with that I think we should wrap up the group training for this year. 

 

I’ll continue to send a weekly note with some workout options – feel free to meet up in small groups (I know you know how to reach each other!) I will keep it to fartlek/timed efforts over the holidays, and/or hills. You don’t need to do a lot to maintain – just touch base with your fitness now and then. It is WAY easier to maintain than it is to rebuild (especially after 40 😉 ) 

Workout options for this week: 

  1. Pottery Rd Hills or Beach Hill (I will be at Pottery early bird bc I have a tight sched) 
  2. Fartlek: 3-2-1 min Hard, 1 min Easy – repeat 3-4 times w 3 min easy bw sets 
  3. Give tempo a break this week. Y’all deserve it after Tannenbaum! 

 

xo 

 

Seanna 

 

December 8, 2020 – Mastery vs Status

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Hi Everyone! 

 

Just a quick note on some thoughts I’ve been having this week. Some of us are doing the Tannenbaum 10K virtual race this week. Traditionally our crew has capped off our season with this race and celebrated together. This year will be different, as it is with most things. 

 

I do think this year has been a gift in how we’ve been forced to change perspectives. Specifically, I’m thinking of an article someone sent me on pursuing Mastery vs. Status. So much of what our culture traditionally values is based on status. Our job titles, our subscribers and likes on social media, our athletic accomplishments and times. We assume that these metrics mean something and so we start chasing them. And the problem with this is that we lose touch with our own intuition and intrinsic reward. Also, we will never be satisfied because there is always someone who has a better title, a faster time or more likes. 

 

 If you write a beautiful poem or create a piece of art that you’re proud of, or develop a meaningful connection with someone in need, or find yourself in ‘flow’ on a run and go further and faster than ever, and no one can see or judge these things, are they still valuable? I would say they should be more valuable because no one else is influencing you. This leads to deeper confidence and happiness. 

 

People who are guided by a sense of mastery vs. status are led by their own intuition vs. the validation of others. A hard place to stay in our society. A hard place to stay when running a race. I think if you can master this mindset while racing, it might transfer over to other areas. 

 

So approach your race as your own thing. Truth is (sorry everyone): no one else does care about your time. See if you can enter a mindset of being your own judge of how well you do. Don’t offer excuses, don’t be proud of a time. Just be excited to have the opportunity to launch into something, and then go and do it. For you.  

 

The article leaves us with three indicators of whether we are being guided by status or mastery (and I’ll paraphrase for running purposes):

  1. If envy of other peoples’ times is a problem for you, then you are being guided by status. 
  2. If you let a metric (say, one rigid time goal) gauge what you are doing this for, then you’re allowing the validation of others to dictate what you’re doing.  
  3. If you base the quality and value of your training on one performance, and not how you felt while doing it, then you will never be confident in your own judgement. 

 

So let’s go out and have fun and celebrate each other, and maybe not even post our times! Imagine. And let’s try to keep touch with this approach going forward. Trust yourselves. Choose mastery over status every time. 

 

Ok, onto workout options for this week: 

  1. Taper workout! (you can still register for the race if you want this one! Or just do the taper workout – remember: 75% is a great option): 2 x 800 @ 10K race pace w 1:30 rec, 2 mins, then 4 x 400 a bit faster w 1:15 rec 
  2. Not taper workout: repeat the above after a 3 min rec 
  3. If doing this timed, 2 x 3 mins w 1:30, then 4 x 1:15 on, 1:15 off  
  4. Hills!!! Any combo 
  5. Tempo: 3 x 10 mins w 3 min easy 

 

Meet up Here: (please keep it to 10 – I will happily run East along the path this time with anyone who likes if we have over 10 going West – not totally sure of distances so we can do the first one by time)

 

xo,

 

Seanna 

December 1, 2020 – Share your energy

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Hi Everyone! 

 

Yay winter! It is actually beautiful out there right now. I saw lots of runners out on the boardwalk early this am, enjoying the first snowfall. Just don’t forget your lights everyone! 

 

I just realized that today is Giving Tuesday which lines up well with my thoughts for this week. It’s not about giving financially, because this is the last group I need to mention that to (I am constantly inspired by the philanthropy in this crew) but about being generous with our energy.  

 

My energy is what I find is most needed by others in my life. The energy to be present, to listen, to physically help with something or get something done, to accompany, to nurture, to participate fully. I am also very good at using up all of my energy in one go so there is nothing left for anyone else.  

 

So I came up with a number. 75%. I was thinking about this the other day when an athlete I was coaching was supposed to be doing 800’s. She stopped after one and said, not today. I said, why don’t you do 400 of every 800? So she did that and completed the workout and came back to the following workout refreshed and recharged. I did this for myself last week as I gave myself a shorter workout to save energy for a race. I came away feeling energized and recharged, not exhausted. I had the thought – why don’t I do this more often and not just for selfish reasons? Leave some energy on the table to share with others. And then really do share it.  

 

Many of us in. this crew have two settings: All or Nothing. Let me propose 75% to you. You don’t have to do every ‘Hard’ effort at 90-95%. Those are beneficial for certain things, yes, but do they leave you with the ability to be energetically generous? Why not set an intention to work at 75% sometimes. It feels good, it lessens the pressure, and it leaves you with energy. You will still gain fitness. Remember, just doing that twice will get you to 150%! (ok, made up fitness math), BUT these do keep you consistent which counts for a lot!  

 

So on to workout options for this week – remember – please keep the numbers to 10 max at each time/location. And only do what you feel comfortable doing!  

 

  1. 4-5 x 1200 @half marathon pace (so like tempo) w 1:30 rec. (the path will likely be cleared as it is quite consistently ploughed and salted, but let’s really err on the side of taking it easy if it’s slippery) – 75% option – do 3 of them and go have coffee  
  2. 4-5 x 4 min ON, 1:30 OFF 
  3. Hills! Although might be slippery so be careful 
  4. Tempo: 15 min tempo, 3 min easy, 8 min slightly faster, 3 min easy, 4 min a touch even faster 

 

Have fun! 

 

Seanna 

 

November 24, 2020 – Run the mile you’re in

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Hi Everyone! 

 

Well, here we are in lock-down mode again. Remember, this is a mental game and luckily as endurance athletes we are well equipped to handle it. I loved Alex Hutchinson’s article about how living through this pandemic is like running a marathon with an ever shifting finish line. Basically, humans (and most other animals), are very good at pacing ourselves to a fairly exact degree when we know where the finish line is. However, if the finish line moves, we risk mentally and physically falling apart. 

 

One of my favourite running sayings of all times, because it rings true in so many settings, is this: RUN THE MILE YOU’RE IN. This is the key to “success” in this race. Don’t anticipate or dream about the finish line. Just focus on right now – and you will be able to keep doing it. 

 

I say we’re well equipped to handle this because I know we’ve all experienced a scenario like this one: when I run tempos once a week, they are by time, not distance, and they are quite intense for me. I can’t see my finish line. In order to know where I am, I have to look at my watch. More than once I have looked at my watch, seen too great a time left for my perceived level of effort, and it was like someone just threw me a 25lb weight to carry. 8 minutes! I can’t possibly go on. And my body just stops. So now I don’t look. I asked the crew I run with and they all have the same strategy. No one can bear knowing where or when the “finish line” is. Instead, we all just focus on the current minute. Is this ok right now? Yes. Then I can keep going. Last weekend I was working stride for stride with a teammate and I finally looked in the last 2 minutes of our 28 minutes of work. I noticed she had not glanced at her wrist at all. I nearly said “2 minutes – let’s go!” in encouragement but thought better of it. Later we chatted about this and she said “thank god you didn’t say that. It would have crushed me”. She was literally going second to second.  

 

So what does this mean for us in this lockdown? Don’t look down. Don’t look at your watch. It will end. Sometime. Play whatever mental game you need to in order to continue putting one foot in front of the other and we will get there. But knowing when that is might feel like that 25lb weight, so just keep running the mile you’re in.  

 

On that note, this week I believe many of us have hills on tap. I think that tends to be fine for numbers – there are two locations and a wide variety of times that people go. Going forward, we will really have to keep the numbers at each location to 10 or under, so if you see more than that on the spreadsheet please start a new time/location.  

 

Workout options: 

 

  1. Hills! Pottery or Glen Manor 
  2. Fartlek – How about 4 x (3-2-1) minutes Hard w 1:30 easy, 3 min easy bw sets 
  3. Tempo: 30 min straight-up (ooh, you’ll have to work on the mental piece here! Start off a bit slower than usual) 

 

See ya soon! 

 

Seanna 

 

November 17, 2020 – Conversation with my oldest friend

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Hey Gang! 

 

What I’ve been thinking about this week is what running means to me and what I want to get out of it this winter. Sometimes it’s great to have a task master to keep you on track  – we all know when we need that. But that’s not always the role we need running to play. I decided to have a conversation with running about my goals this winter. This is completely personal, but thought I’d share it because it might be helpful to have a similar conversation with your running as to what you want from him/her.  

 

A conversation with my oldest and truest friend – Running. We love each other, but every now and then we need to sit down and have a serious talk. 

 

Me: “Hi Running. I’ve been thinking. I’m worried about this upcoming winter with all of the closures and limited social opportunities, along with the darker, colder, shorter days. I just want to let you know I think I’m going to be relying on you more than ever, so please be prepared and be there for me”. 

 

Running: “Sure, happy to help. What exactly do you think you need me for, so I can be clear?” 

 

“Well, you’ll be my social outlet for sure – that’s super important. I need to use you to be with my friends and to laugh and connect with people. I need you to be available when people in my family want to run together because I facilitate some of their access to you. I will need you for my thought clearing solitary runs. I will need you as an emotional outlet when I’m angry or stressed. I will need to use you when I just need to force myself outside for some fresh air, nature connection and mental health. And I would like you to keep me energized enough to be present and available to take on adventures and activities with my family, not drained and tired”. 

 

“Ok, I can do that”. 

 

“Thanks so much – love ya!” 

 

“I wasn’t finished. You often ask too much of me. If I am going to commit to this role for you, you need to let go of some of the things you normally ask of me”. 

 

“Like what?” 

 

“Don’t use me to measure your sense of accomplishment and achievement. Don’t use me to compete with yourself and judge yourself and continually try to better yourself. Protect me from getting tied up with your ego. Care for me and nurture me and love me back. Don’t abuse me”. 

 

“Do I do that?” 

 

“Seanna, I’ve been with you for over 30 years. You know I’ll always love you but yes, you do. You sometimes wring me like a wet sock to see how much you can squeeze out of me. When you don’t treat me well, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to be there for all that you ask”. 

 

“Well, you’ve broken my heart many times too, and I always come back”. 

 

“And I always come back too. But sometimes it takes time. And you’re telling me you don’t want this winter to be that time. So let’s treat each other gently for a while and give you what you say you need”. 

 

“Ok I will do my best. And Running? I love you”. 

 

“I know”. 

 

 

Once you figure out what you want, it’s more of a mindset on how you approach things – even workouts and races. You can approach them as a chance to play, run with others, or work hard and improve! It’s totally up to you. 

 

On that note, here are some workout options for this week: 

 

  1. 3 sets of 4 x 400. 3 mins between sets, 1 min rec for first set, 1:15 for second set, 1:30 for third set. (each set getting a couple of seconds faster, so start smart!) 
  2. Fartlek: 3 x (4 x 1:30 on, 1min to 1:30 off) 
  3. Hills – as always – throw them in sometimes! 
  4. Tempo: 15 min tempo, 3 min easy, 8 min slightly faster tempo 

 

Have a great one! 

 

Seanna 

 

November 10, 2020 – Motivation and ability

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Hi Everyone! 

 

I think I’m not alone in feeling a renewed sense of hope and optimism for the world after the weekend’s US new president and vice-president announcement. Hope and optimism are very strong forces and motivators. Let’s use them. 

 

On that note, I was listening to a podcast on motivation and habits. What stuck with me was the idea that motivation and ability are compensatory.  

 

What this means is: 

 

  1. When your motivation is low, your ability to do something has to be high – ie. It has to be easy for you to do. Otherwise you won’t do it. 
  2. When your motivation is high, you can ask yourself to do hard things.  
  1. Increasing and sustaining a high level of motivation all the time is impossible.
  2. Therefore, you have to constantly be tweaking what you are demanding of yourself and/or others so that what you are asking for matches the level of motivation.

This makes so much sense to me as a coach and parent and I’m sure it resonates with managers and teachers as well. Before asking yourself or someone else to do something, you have to assess the level of motivation, because the ability to do the action will depend on that. And instead of getting irritated or annoyed that the person (or ourselves) aren’t doing it, we need to make the action easier. Bring the demand down to meet the level of motivation. 

 

Here are some examples:  

 

I want to eat more vegetables, but I’m not super motivated. For breakfast I eat whatever I made the kids (not vegetables) and lunch is what is easy and satisfying from the cupboard (not vegetables). Because my motivation is low, I need to make it super easy. I need to tell myself I will eat one baby carrot today. Easy. That is all. Success. And small successes breed motivation. 

 

After New Year’s I’m super motivated to eat more vegetables and I can use that motivation to do harder things. I can start buying and cutting up more fresh vegetables and learning to cook new meals with lots of vegetables. My motivation won’t last, but while it’s there I can do the harder things. And then maybe, just maybe, they become easier.  

 

With running, when I’m feeling motivated, I can set out for a hard 25km run and lean into the pace and get a lot out of myself. I’m working towards a goal and have energy and desire and am enjoying working hard.  

 

When I’m not motivated I can’t ask myself to do that. 25K is way too daunting. So much so that I have trouble even getting out the door. Instead, I need to ask myself to go for an easy run with friends or even a 20 minute jog. Small things that match where I’m at. I don’t do nothing – I do a tiny thing. Success. And then a tiny bit more motivation. 

 

This is not rocket science but is so important to understand when asking ourselves and others to do things. Instead of constantly fighting for more motivation and higher achievement, let your demands be dictated by the waves of motivation. Because it does always go in waves. And by matching those two things you are always setting yourself and others up for success. 

 

On that note, if it helps your motivation to sign up for a race, join a LES Tannenbaum team!  

I’ve registered myself and the team LES Masters Ladies – so if you want to join that team go for it! 

 

And on to workouts for this week: (and remember, if you’re currently low motivation, make it easier! Do one or two intervals. Just don’t do nothing) 

 

  1. Up to 5 x 800 w 1:30 rec, 3-4 min rec, up to 5 x 400 w 1:15 rec 
  2. Fartlek style: up to 5 x 3 min Hard, 1:30 easy, 3-4 min easy, up to 90 sec Hard, 1 min Easy 
  3. Hills if you haven’t done ‘em! 
  4. Tempo: 5 x 5 min tempo w 2 min easy 

 

 

November 3, 2020 – Best in your category

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Hey Gang! 

 

I guess yesterday we had a little reminder of what running in the winter is like. And we managed! We’ll be able to do this. 

 

Here’s something that I was thinking about and inspired me this week. I was chatting with a friend who is a very accomplished runner. She has been a multiple national team member and elite runner, and now has a professional career and two young kids. She still loves running and working-out hard and setting goals, but was wondering how to stay motivated when she very likely won’t be setting any personal bests since she can only put so much into her running now. 

 

I thought about an interview I read with Lisa Bentley – 11-time Ironman Champion and super inspiring human. She has placed 3rd in Kona. Lisa also has Cystic Fibrosis. One time she showed up at a race with a lung infection. And her inner monologue became, “Well, I’m going to be the best person out here today with a lung infection”. And she went on to beat many healthy competitors. 

 

This mindset can take us so far. You might not always be the best you’ve ever been, but you can be the best ….. (fill in the blank). The best competitor who is dealing with daily teen drama while also meeting deadlines and not getting the best sleep? The best competitor who is coming back from injury and hasn’t really done any speedwork? The best competitor who had too much Halloween candy and is feeling a tad tired and unmotivated? You can choose the category that works for you and be the BEST you can be in that category.  

 

I find this so inspiring and motivating because we can all define what our own success means. And we can still keep trying to be our best – regardless of what that looks like on any particular day. 

 

On that note, I know a bunch of us are registering for the Tannenbaum 10K. Here’s how it works: There are 6 categories of teams: Men’s, Ladies’, Mixed, and all of those in the 40 and over categories. Any number of people can sign up for a team, but only the top 4 will count, like in x-country. No one knows who the top 4 will be, so everyone runs their best and if someone is having a rough day a teammate will be there to fill in. So no pressure!  

   

Then we can register here: http://www.tannenbaum10k.com/ 

 

If you’re the first person on a team, just register the team name and others can join. 

Registration is $70.00 and part of the fee goes towards Centre 55  – a community centre which does a lot of good work supporting people in the Beach neighbourhood.  

 

Ok, workouts for this week: 

 

  1. Pottery Rd Hills! These are great to keep in as it gets colder. Any combo of long and half hills. (anecdotally, I seem to find that after hills my tempos on that week are stronger – anyone else? Maybe the variance from speed helps every few weeks…) 
  2. A workout I enjoyed last week when lower motivation: 2-4K ‘warm-up’, little strength workout (try one of Kerry’s on file!), 2-4K ‘cool down’ 
  3. Tempo: 2 x 10 min tempo w 3 min easy – add 4-5 x strides at the end (seriously – do) 
  4. Fartlek: 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 min Hard w 1 min easy (2 min on either side of the 5) 

Have fun! 

 

Seanna