Always learning

/in /by

Hi Everyone!

 

Huge congrats to all who raced this weekend! Andrew Higgs in the Chicago 5K who raced into crazy winds and flying blind bc there is no gps signal there, and matched his time from the track. I think that’s worth about 10-15 seconds. And then in the marathon! We had myself (BQ), Steph (BQ), Miguel (BQ)and Clare (BQ and PB). We all ran super strong races. And I’m reminded once again that the marathon really is a celebration of all the training we’ve done and that getting to the starting line in one piece ready to go is a victory in itself.

 

Having just run my first marathon in 4 years, I thought I’d reflect on and share things I thought I did well, and things I could learn from and improve on in case they resonate for anyone else.

 

Things I could learn from and improve on:

 

·     My mindset in the weeks leading up to the race. I kept reminding myself that I was older and therefore should be slower than I had been in the past. I tell my athletes that fatigue during this period is what it’s all about and that work is work, but I had a hard time buying into that myself and talked myself out of going for an A goal. What I forgot is that older also means wiser. One time when I was in my 20’s I ran the Chicago marathon and PB’d through the half and broke down at 30K. I was faster then, but I am smarter now. Also, many women in my age group ran faster than me, and a handful in the group ahead of me did too! So I will try to keep looking ahead and getting smarter, and learning from those who are blazing the path.

·     The comparison trap. I kept looking at past workouts I’d done to map the times I was running currently on top of them,forgetting that every training cycle is unique, and I bring different strengths to each one. Also every training cycle we go through becomes a bedrock layer onto which the next ones are built. So you really can’t compare. Just do what you can in the moment.

 

Things I did well:

 

·     Taper. Tapering is one of my great strengths. Lol. It does feel hard to rest completely after running has become such a part of your every day existence, and it does actually take some will power and doesn’t always feel great. But man, does it make a difference to show up rested. Less is sometimes way more!

·     Nutrition. I took more gels than I ever have in a marathon (7) and sports drink at every station. Energy was never my problem in this race – I felt topped up right till the end.

·     My mindset on race day. My self talk throughout the race was entirely positive, engaged, and optimistic. Sometimes you have to work for that mindset, and sometimes it shows up. I credit surrounding myself with great, positive people before the race, and also the fact that there was no gps signal and I couldn’t find the pacers, so I just ran by feel. No pressure, and no constant reminders telling me my pace. So I just kept telling myself I was doing great and it worked out. I also really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. Yes, it helped that conditions were perfect and the crowds all the way through were spectacular. So the mindset flowed more easily. But now, knowing what I want it to be, hopefully I’ll be able to get back there even when the external circumstances aren’t as ideal.

 

So that’s it. Sorry to make this one all about me. But I do think regardless of the times we run, we are always learning, and why learn something and not share it. We are all only getting older and wiser – a true gift.

 

On to tomorrow’s workout! Lakeshore and Leslie. 6:05 drills, 6:15 GO.

 

1.    2 x 1 mile w 1 min rest. Start at marathon race pace, and move into half marathon race pace for the second one. 2 min rest.Then 4 x 800m w 1:15. Closer to 10K pace. If you can work down to 5K pace for the last one, amazing. If not, just keep a good rhythm.

2.    If racing the TCS Full or Half this weekend:Taper workout! I’ll give you what we did before Chicago bc it seemed to do the trick: 1 mile at race pace, 2 x 400 a lil quicker. If doing the half, you can do up to 4 x 400 if feeling good. (you don’t need quite as much rest as the full marathoners)

3.    If racing the TCS 5K: 4 x 400 w 1:15 rest @ race pace. 3 min rest. 4-6 x 200 faster w 1 min rest.

 

That is all – see you in the am! (I’ll be cheering – might have to ride my bike there lol)

 

xo

 

Seanna

Supporting

/in /by

Hi Everyone!

 

Huge congrats to Jason who ran the Petit Train du Nord Marathon on Sunday! Sounds like it was a bit of a rough day as we know can very easily happen in races, but he persevered and toughed it out in tough conditions. Speaking of conditions, the Minnesota marathon on the same day was canceled due to high heat. In October! I think heat training should just become a staple part of marathon training going forward.

 

I watched an interview recently of a man who had survived an accident where he’d received 3rd degree burns to 90% of his body. Horrific, but he had come through it and had a very positive outlook. When asked why he thought he’d survived and recovered so well, he said it was because of the love and support he’d received from friends and family. His parents were by his side every single day for 4 months, his sister and brother in-law were there, his friends from all over had sent cards and signs that filled up his room. At one point he had a roommate with similar burns. That man’s mother came in once, berated him for bringing this upon himself, and left. That man didn’t survive. You might think: your body doesn’t know there is a loved one in the room and cards on the wall when it’s trying to heal. But the interviewee believed, and I agree,that there is a definite physical benefit to feeling loved and having a support system.

 

When we are training hard, doing what we love, but also challenging ourselves physically and mentally, we are not doing it in isolation. I think it’s important every now and then to recognize our support teams and thank them for their role in our journeys. I also recognize that we ourselves make up a significant part of other peoples’ support teams. I credit this crew with much of my ability to thrive in this sport. Again, support is not about physically assisting. It’s just being on your side – having your back and wanting the best for you. It could be making you a sandwich or smoothie after your run, but it could also show up as simply as asking “how was your run?” It’s caring. And it makes a difference. That’s why there is strength in teams, friend groups, family units, … we don’t thrive in isolation. If you’re wondering whether to make the time to send the note, make the phone call, or even send a facebook message to a loved one, know that it does make a difference. And remember to thank your support team at some point along this journey too – they may not know how important they are. I’ll go first: thank you all for caring, loving and supporting myself and each other. We are all stronger for it.

On to tomorrow’s workout – back to Lakeshore and Leslie –6:05 drills, 6:15 GO!

 

1.    Let’s do 3 sets of 4 x 400m. First set with 1 min rest. Second and Third sets with 90 sec rest (so they can be a second or two faster). 3 minutes between sets.

2.    Marathoners and Half Marathoners, finish with 1 mile (between tempo and marathon race pace depending how the legs feelafter the 400’s)

3.    Ppl running Chicago: 1 mile at race pace,2 x 400 a lil’ quicker.

 

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

Seanna

 

Choosing your chisel

/in /by

Hey Gang!

 

Happy September and Back-to-School and X-Country! Yes, that’sall the same season and will represent those things for me forever whether Iparticipate in them or not. There is a bit of melancholy that sometimes comeswith change, but there is also an energy – particularly with this specificseason change. I often tend to get butterflies of excitement in the fall, evenwhen I can’t pinpoint the source. 

The summer generally represents fun, less structure, relaxing,playing it by ear… many people thrive on this. I think it’s a good mode to get into at times. I can definitely lean into sloppy, chill, go with the flow mode.But then September brings a vibe of “tightening up” and I don’t mind this transition either. More structure, more predictability. And yes, it’s often busier. So now is a great time to set up systems which can help us manage everything we want to get done.

Many of us are experiencing various changes this season,with kids in new routines, maybe some or all kids have left the house,workplace energy shifts, the starting of different roles at work, etc… And of COURSE we still have our training goals and objectives. Summertime is not a time for rigid schedules and routines – that defeats the purpose and we would be zero fun. But now that things need to get done and multiple objectives need to be met, it’s a good time to find some systems that work for us and which we can fall back on so we don’t lose our minds.

Some examples of systems that provide structure and help get shit done:

Run early in the mornings, show up to Wednesday workouts(whether you just get mileage in or join the workout), run commute two days a week, plan at least three dinners for the week on the weekends, have certain days that certain people in the house cook, pay a high school kid to pickup/drop off your younger kids from school/activities, share carpooling with other parents, join a gym that is close to you (I’ve learned that pretty much all that matters in a gym is proximity to you), hire someone to deep clean your house once a month so it isn’t constant background stress, pay your bills on every x day of the month, hire a tutor if homework is a nightmare, be set up to make a smoothie with protein every morning, pre-set your coffee machine the night before a morning run, meet the group for a weekend long run in the morning even though it’s the weekend, … you get the picture. Whatever your barriers tend to be, or whatever tends to get you running around like a chicken with its head cut off: create a system for that.

This might take some time because as most of us are in the midst of some sort of change, we may not yet know what we need or what our stumbling blocks will be. I’ve also noticed that many of the things on the list above require other people’s help and support. This is a key part of the system! Know when you can’t do it alone and ask for help or outsource the task completely.That is OK! Just set up the expectations and put the system in place. We got this team – good luck on a new season everyone!!!

 

(On this note, one of my new systems is this newsletter format. Turns out gmail had identified me as spam, so my emails weren’t getting through. Trying this out as a new system which should save me some time. Hope it works for y’all!)

On to tomorrow’s workout: Lakeshore and Leslie. 6:05 drills, 6:15 GO.

1.    Let’s roll back to our standard 800’s. 6-8 of them with 1:30 rest. This is a good check in workout and gives options of leaning in or back depending on how you feel.

2.    If you are still working on developing multiple gears for different paces, do the 600 of the 800’s. You will build up to doing 800 at that same pace. But start here.

3.    At any time you can do a 600 of any of the 800’s if you need a tiny breather.

4.    People running the Georgina 10K, 5-6 x600 @ 10K pace.

5.    People running the Georgina 5K and the TrackSmith 5000: 4 x 400 w 1:15, 3 min set rest, then 4 x 200 w 1:00

 

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna

Regrouping

/in /by

Hi Everyone!

 

For races this past weekend we had Carol McFarlane who did the Barrelman Half Ironman and crushed it as a “training through” for NYC effort! Way to go. I think everyone else is training hard and there were some solid long runs completed over the weekend. Excellent job everyone! For people training for fall marathons, we’re really in it right now and it’s ok if you feel tired and it feels hard. That means you’re doing it right and are on track.

 

Along that vein, the theme I’ve been thinking about this week is the concept of regrouping. I believe the term comes from a military definition of pulling troops together after they’ve been dispersed in an attack.It’s pulling them all back to start again from a place of strength. It’s a reset of sorts, with all your resources coming back together so you can push on.

 

I think of regrouping in running in a few ways. One is the obvious– pausing and finding the people you started with mid-run or mid-workout. It’s natural to get dispersed throughout an effort, and as we’ve discussed before,there is clear energy to be found in other peoples’ presence, so pausing and physically regrouping can help to reset that energy.

 

The other way I’ve lately been thinking about it, is in personally regrouping. Like sometimes in the middle of a hard training block, or a hard effort, we need to pause, take a deep breath, rally our mental, emotional and physical resources and reset. I recently just did this during one of my ‘peak’ training weeks. I just needed a little slack, so I paused the effort for a couple of days, pulled myself together, and then got back out there. Regrouping might take a little longer than a couple of days – depending on your situation.But most importantly, it doesn’t mean you’re stopping. You’re just rallying your resources and taking a breath so that you can keep going. In the middle of last spring’s London Marathon, Sifan Hassan stopped running and stretched out her quad. She lost the pack she’d been running with and then resumed on her own. Then she went on to win the whole thing.  She paused, regrouped, and continued on. It is clearly often in our own best interests to do this when we need to. Sometimes I regroup within a race or workout just by pausing the “pushing it” feeling, and allowing myself to relax for a few minutes. I often find I can take a few breaths and then resume the effort without noticeably losing much ground. So if you’re in the middle of a hard block and need a little pause to regroup, go for  it. You are not quitting or stopping – you’re rallying all of your resources so you can pull together your best effort. I think it’s a winning strategy.

 

On to tomorrow’s workout! We are dividing up here:

 

1.    People who are running the New York Marathon have hills on tap. I think a little mix of hills and tempo is good here. Let’s do sets of: 2 x Pottery (or 400m) hill, 3 min tempo. Not a super long tempo –just getting you in the habit of resuming your running post hill effort. Take 1min bw the hills and tempo, and just cruise easy back down the hill once you’re done the tempo. 3-4 sets is probably the number.

2.    People running Chicago or TCS (or other) full or half, we’ll do 600’s on Lakeshore. Many of us have longer work in our legs so this is a way to get a bit more pep and smoother rhythm back. 6-8 of them with 1:15 rest.

The purpose here is to run smooth, relaxed,and faster than race pace. But smooth and relaxed are the primary objectives. If that feeling isn’t there, slow them down. This is about a feel more than an objective time measure.

3.    If you’re running 5K’s, you can push a little harder in these (you have fresher legs than the rest of us). 5K effort/pace is a good target.

4.    If you’re not sure what you want to do, come out, do some drills, see how your body feels, and if it’s 2 reps or just a run and cheer, do that!

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

Xo

 

Seanna

 

The power of self compassion

/in /by

Hey Gang!

 

So many races this past weekend! Exciting stuff from our crew. Both Pearce and Andrew H ran the TrackSmith 5000 on Saturday in the fastest heat of the night! Both PB’s and both have more to come. As Pearce noted, racing is a skill, and it doesn’t just correlate automatically with workouts. You just have to learn it by doing it. At Georgina we had Kerry also doing a 5K, and Cindy who ran a PB and came 2nd overall in the 10K! In the Half Marathon we had a few of us doing it as training runs for our marathons, but still some solid runs! Myself, Clare, Carolyn, and Jason. Way to go crew – inspiring runs all around.

 

I’ve spoken about the topic of self-compassion before, but I’ve been learning a little more about it, and it’s been an idea that’s been resonating with me lately. Doesn’t it feel so good when you talk to a friend and they treat you and your problems with such compassion that you come away feeling better about yourself and more confident and like you can now bravely face everything? These friends are the best. Imagine the power and confidence you’d have if you could carry a voice like that around with you all the time.That’s what self-compassion is about. It’s about learning how to be that friend to yourself.

 

Old school mentality might say that self-compassion is soft,and what you actually need is some toughening up. David Doggins style: “Get out there loser!”, “No pain, no gain!”, “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse!” This may work for some people some of the time (although I don’t think it comes from a healthy place nor does it work longterm), but studies show that people who are more self-compassionate are actually higher performers in all areas. It turns out that having a friend in your corner is away bigger performance booster than having a bully. So what does self-compassion look like? It’s not letting yourself off the hook. It’s reminding yourself that you’re human, you have landed in a certain situation, and you are doing the best that you can. And that you will make mistakes because absolutely no one doesn’t, and that you’ll learn and grow from each one. It’s a voice that says “you’re doing great – keep going” instead of “you’ll never be good enough”. It says “you did your best and there were a lot of reasons why anyone would have struggled where you did” instead of “you’re a failure”. It doesn’t say “you don’t need this – go back to sleep”, it says “I love you and I believe in you and you will never fail in my eyes”. It’s what we try to give our friends and our kids to carry around with them because we believe with all our hearts it’s true. If we can give ourselves that same reflection, and the voice in our heads is truly our best friend, we can become tremendously powerful. I love you, and I believe in you.

On to tomorrow’s workout! Let’s do a fartlek on the spit.We’ll meet at Lakeshore and Leslie at 6:05 for drills, 6:15 GO, but run into the spit for the workout portion. Bring lights if you have them although it should be ok visibility by the time we start.

 

1.    5 min tempo, 2 min easy, 3-2-1 min ON, 1min OFF. 3 min easy and repeat. THEN finish with your choice of either 5, 3, 2or 1 min as the final “set”.

 

If you just raced a 5K or need a little less intensity,keep them all tempo pace. This is one of those workouts where you can tap into your current energy situation and go by feel.

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Setting up our systems

/in /by

Hey Gang!

 

Happy September and Back-to-School and X-Country! Yes, that’sall the same season and will represent those things for me forever whether Iparticipate in them or not. There is a bit of melancholy that sometimes comeswith change, but there is also an energy – particularly with this specificseason change. I often tend to get butterflies of excitement in the fall, evenwhen I can’t pinpoint the source. 

The summer generally represents fun, less structure, relaxing,playing it by ear… many people thrive on this. I think it’s a good mode to get into at times. I can definitely lean into sloppy, chill, go with the flow mode.But then September brings a vibe of “tightening up” and I don’t mind this transition either. More structure, more predictability. And yes, it’s often busier. So now is a great time to set up systems which can help us manage everything we want to get done.

Many of us are experiencing various changes this season,with kids in new routines, maybe some or all kids have left the house,workplace energy shifts, the starting of different roles at work, etc… And of COURSE we still have our training goals and objectives. Summertime is not a time for rigid schedules and routines – that defeats the purpose and we would be zero fun. But now that things need to get done and multiple objectives need to be met, it’s a good time to find some systems that work for us and which we can fall back on so we don’t lose our minds.

Some examples of systems that provide structure and help get shit done:

Run early in the mornings, show up to Wednesday workouts(whether you just get mileage in or join the workout), run commute two days a week, plan at least three dinners for the week on the weekends, have certain days that certain people in the house cook, pay a high school kid to pickup/drop off your younger kids from school/activities, share carpooling with other parents, join a gym that is close to you (I’ve learned that pretty much all that matters in a gym is proximity to you), hire someone to deep clean your house once a month so it isn’t constant background stress, pay your bills on every x day of the month, hire a tutor if homework is a nightmare, be set up to make a smoothie with protein every morning, pre-set your coffee machine the night before a morning run, meet the group for a weekend long run in the morning even though it’s the weekend, … you get the picture. Whatever your barriers tend to be, or whatever tends to get you running around like a chicken with its head cut off: create a system for that.

This might take some time because as most of us are in the midst of some sort of change, we may not yet know what we need or what our stumbling blocks will be. I’ve also noticed that many of the things on the list above require other people’s help and support. This is a key part of the system! Know when you can’t do it alone and ask for help or outsource the task completely.That is OK! Just set up the expectations and put the system in place. We got this team – good luck on a new season everyone!!!

 

(On this note, one of my new systems is this newsletter format. Turns out gmail had identified me as spam, so my emails weren’t getting through. Trying this out as a new system which should save me some time. Hope it works for y’all!)

On to tomorrow’s workout: Lakeshore and Leslie. 6:05 drills, 6:15 GO.

1.    Let’s roll back to our standard 800’s. 6-8 of them with 1:30 rest. This is a good check in workout and gives options of leaning in or back depending on how you feel.

2.    If you are still working on developing multiple gears for different paces, do the 600 of the 800’s. You will build up to doing 800 at that same pace. But start here.

3.    At any time you can do a 600 of any of the 800’s if you need a tiny breather.

4.    People running the Georgina 10K, 5-6 x600 @ 10K pace.

5.    People running the Georgina 5K and the TrackSmith 5000: 4 x 400 w 1:15, 3 min set rest, then 4 x 200 w 1:00

 

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna

 

Cold, rational training

/in /by

Hi Everyone!

 

First up, huge congrats to all those who raced this weekend! In the Achilles 5K we had Aryn making her comeback in fine form! And in the Toronto Women’s 5K we had Ingrid who really went for it, and Michelle (who hasn’t been out running with our group but is with us virtually). Way to go all! Not a lot this weekend but the following one is a big one for races with the TrackSmith 5000, Georgina 5K, 10K, Half and Full, Yorkville 5K and the Toronto Island 5K and 10K. A lot going on!

 

This week I’ve been thinking about the ability to approach our training with cold detachment. And by that I mean, being smart, and thinking through the reasons and outcomes we need to achieve for each session. Training is not about hitting ourselves over the head with a hammer – just because we can. Training should not be suffering. Yes, there is some hard work, but it’s a rational, systematic dosage in order for adaptation to occur safely and gradually. It is not a judgement of who you are or how tough or what you’re currently capable of. Training is simply a stimulus to try to illicit positive adaptation.

 

As a coach I’m always trying to science it and get that stimulus/response right for athletes in a rational way, and I know that every week will look slightly different based on how people have absorbed the work, the load they’re carrying into the workouts, their stress, their life stage, etc.. If an athlete has a rough workout, it has never once occurred to me that they might not be tough or that they aren’t as fast as we thought, or that they’ve reached their peak and are going backwards. I think I got the dosage wrong and we just need to re-jig. OR some workouts are just tougher than others and non glamorous work is still work that moves you forward.

 

But it’s funny how as athletes we can forget that’s what it’s all about and we can start judging ourselves in workouts. We can worry that we won’t be able to “hit paces” so we go out too hard (sometimes then jeopardizing the point of the whole workout). We might do more or add on to what was prescribed, either because we’re compensating for what we feel was a “bad” workout, or because we assume that more and harder is always better. It isn’t. We can internalize the “results” of a workout as character successes or failures – we will feel good about ourselves after a strong one and feel personally badly when one doesn’t go as planned. When you think about it, this is so ridiculous. Workouts are only there to apply a physical stimulus. That is all. We are training. The science of how each body will respond to all of the stresses in life in conjunction with training is terribly inexact. We just have to be able to detach ourselves emotionally from training, try to understand the principles we are trying to achieve, and go about applying the stimulus in a rational way. There is a time to run with heart and emotion if you can harness that sort of thing, and that is in the race. Workouts are just workouts and training is just training. And it should be (mostly) enjoyable 😉

 

On to Tomorrow’s workout – back to Pottery Road hills!

For those running Toronto and Chicago, these will be our last long hills (NYC runners might get another set in ;)) Use these as an opportunity to work on good old fashioned strength. Just steady up, easy down. Aim for one more than you did last time. Ppl running the Georgina 5K or 10K I’ll message you separately. Ppl doing the TrackSmith 5000 you have your wrkt. If anyone else has any questions please reach out!

 

I will aim to be at the hill around 6:15. Just start going up and down when you get there and we will see you out there!

 

xo

 

Seanna