Tuesday, March 26, 2024 – Passion

Hi Everyone!

 

Some really great runs over the weekend: at Around the Bay we had Colette, Carol and Brianna who all ran solid 35.4K PB’s! As I said to some of them – awesome resilience and attitude with being able to “go with the flow and a positive attitude” with the ever changing (increasing!) distance on a very challenging course. I know we had other teammates out there supporting our runners – love that too. Also, in international news, Jasmin Paris became the first woman ever to complete the Barkley Marathon (an insane event which I won’t explain here but you have to look up). The race director had said that no woman would ever complete it because they were not strong enough. Way to go and thank-you Jasmin. You have forged a path so other women can believe in themselves and can achieve great things when others are telling them they don’t and they can’t.

 

What I’ve been thinking about this week is what does drive us to do very hard things, and keeps us going despite challenges and difficulties. I see some people living their lives this way – undertaking big challenges and thriving in circumstances which I feel would make me crumble. And I myself have times when I’m invigorated by hard things and have felt most alive when pursuing them. What I think marks the difference between these things making us stronger and happier vs battled and defeated, is the passion and purpose we bring to them. If I were asked tomorrow whether I wanted to try the Barkley Marathon for ‘fun’, I would probably say – sure! Great experience. And then quickly decide after a lap (if I made it that far) that it wasn’t worth it and drop out. What allowed Jasmin to dig through her deepest pain and remain engaged and motivated and feeling like it was something she wanted to do? It was her deep passion and belief in the personal value of reaching her goal. This type of passion doesn’t just pop up out of nowhere, and it’s not an endless resource. My guess is that in a year, Jasmin won’t have the same passion and drive to complete it again. She also probably didn’t wake up one day with the courage and belief she could do it. She probably fostered the passion through training and dreaming and investing and building towards it. Passion doesn’t just land on you and strike out of the blue. Sometimes we have to work towards it.

 

I can think back to times in my life when I’ve had that energy – the belief in the pursuit. I’ve gone to bed excited about waking up early the next morning to train. I’ve taken on work roles where I’ve gladly driven hundreds of kilometers, stayed up late, woken up early, been on the road for days in a row, given presentations which scared me. I look back at some of these things and think “I could never do that now”. But the thing is, it’s only hard if you don’t care about the pursuit or the outcome. If you have a passion for what you’re doing, nothing feels all that hard. Or at least, the hard feels good. It’s the same with training. When you’re running with no passion, it is very hard to call up the same effort levels and enjoyment in the work as when you’re running with a dream and purpose. This is not to say you always have to have that passion – we all go through times when we’re just putting one foot in front of the other while other areas of life take precedence. Just don’t undermine the mental and emotional components. If you’re not feeling the passion, don’t measure yourself against people who do, or even yourself when you have it. It’s very different. 

 

I’ll be honest – I’ve found myself a little drained of passion the past few months. I’ve been in survival mode in various areas, and that’s taken most of my mental and emotional resources. And running has felt hard and a bit directionless. But I’m feeling myself coming out of it. Things are settling down, and I’m starting to feel the glimmer of excitement about certain challenges. Now it’s up to me to foster that feeling and nurture the passion and make it grow. My ability to do hard physical things is not at all about training my body to do them – it’s about convincing my mind that it’s worth it. Just something to think about.

 

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

 

Many of us are in the phase of a marathon build where we could use some meat ‘n potatoes 800’s. So let’s do those.

 

  1. 6-8 x 800 w 1:30 rest. The first couple can be HM pace, then let’s see if we can work our way down to 10K pace.
  2. If coming back from ATB, listen to your body. Do the lower end, and keep them at tempo. That is if the aches and pains are mostly quiet.
  3. If doing this by time: 6-8 x 3 min Hard w 1:30 Easy.

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 – Boundaries

Hey Gang!

 

First up, huge congrats to Cindy who ran the NYC Half on the weekend with a PB and breaking the 1:30 barrier! Great job. I’m loving the momentum of spring races. Keep ‘em coming – I might even jump into one soon! Coming up this weekend we have Around The Bay with Brianna and Colette running the very random 34K distance. Wohoo!!!

 

Last night I took a yoga class for a little stretch before bed. It was a very chill class – not one flex of a muscle – all stretch. But at one point I looked over and there was a guy just lying on his mat with a towel as a pillow and sleeping. Or meditating – I don’t know. And I thought “good for you. You know what you do and don’t want to do and you’re owning it”. I already take that approach myself in yoga since I can’t get anywhere close to what the instructor is doing and many moves are completely off the table for me. Neither myself or the guy were trying to achieve anyone else’s standards or results. (Well, me a little more than the guy). We knew what we needed and just did that.

 

I’ve embraced this perspective more as I’ve gotten older and trust myself more. I also appreciate it in others when they push back and say “I’m not doing this” or “I’m only running this much”. I believe they know what they need. It’s hard to maintain these boundaries in this era of optimization. With everyone telling us the perfect amount of protein we need in every meal, the ideal number of miles to run in a week, how much water we need to be drinking with which supplements, how many days a week we need to be lifting heavy weights, how many hours of sleep we should get, how present and attentive we need to be to our relationships … There is always more we could be doing and things we could be doing “better”. In the optimization world, there are no boundaries. So I find there is actually a freedom in rebelling against that and saying “I’m not doing that”. I like it when I hear this from athletes I coach. Sure, there are ALWAYS more things they can be doing to help make them faster/stronger/more resilient. But I first need to know the boundaries they have that they will work around. If they don’t have any, I know something will probably pop up mid-cycle that makes the training untenable. I think it is fine to push back and rebel against a world that will keep asking us to give more and more with no end. In fact, it’s a true act of confidence which others can choose to follow. So go take a nap in your yoga class. I will admire your self-belief and ability to rebel against optimization and judgement.

 

Why rebel if there is nothing permanent in oneself worth preserving? – Albert Camus

 

Rebellion, though apparently negative, since it creates nothing, is profoundly positive in that it reveals the part of man which must always be defended. – Albert Camus

 

On to tomorrow’s workout. We’re back to HILLZZZZ! Let’s change it up though with half hills + tempo. Or 200m hills for those in the beach. These give you a little more pep because we can run up them with a bit more gusto. Pottery crew will stay at Pottery, but we’ll do our hills starting at the stairs vs at the bottom.

 

Let’s do sets of 3 x half hill, followed by 6 min tempo (yes, a bit longer than the previous 4 min). The longer tempo pieces are getting more specific to ppl racing a spring marathon. 2 to 3 sets. 1 minute-ish (or walk to and from your tempo spot) between hills and tempo.

 

I’ll aim to be at Pottery at around 6:20-ish. Come when it works and start when you get there.

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 – Taking a break!

Hey Gang!

 

Happy March Break to all! As such, I am on holiday so won’t be there for workout and not writing much of a post. Except to say, I am truly relishing the full detachment and break from my everyday routine and responsibilities, and am already feeling refreshed and ready to get back at it when I return. Even if you’re not “training” for anything, I think it’s still a good idea to disengage and take a break from your routine every now and then. Sometimes with space comes a different perspective: maybe you realize how much you love the routine you have and you can’t wait to get back. Maybe there are a few things you can change or let go of, or some things you want to bring back with you or add. It often takes a bit of distance to see and appreciate things more clearly. So whether you are physically getting away or not, try to create some space for yourself. Breaks can really help. And I don’t mean a day or two. This is different from a “down week”. Give yourself a week of completely different activities and routines. Step away from what you normally fall into and force yourself to do something different for a week. If you’re at home, maybe that’s a routine of jumping in the lake with the sunrise swimmers instead of a run. Or making the drive somewhere with trails for a hike. Or radically sleeping in and taking yourself out for breakfast. But do this every day for a week – it has to be a mental break as well. No guilt, no “should be doing”. You shouldn’t have to spend money to be able to transport yourself away and get some perspective. We all deserve a break – you may not need it right now, but if you’re putting it off, make sure to take it at some point soon. It will help.

 

For tomorrow! Lakeshore and Leslie – 6:05 Drills, 6:15 GO!

 

I won’t be there and I think a few people will be away. If someone knows where the 400m mark is and can signal it with something that would be awesome. If it’s warm you can drop a toque or jacket – anything will work.

 

  1. Start with 1 mile tempo. 2 min rest. Then 3 sets of 4 x 400m. First set @ 5K pace w 1:00 rest. 3 min bw sets. Next 2 setw with 1:15, couple seconds faster.
  2. If doing this by time, 6-8 min tempo, 2 min easy, 4 x 90 seconds ON, 60 seconds easy, 3 min easy, 4 x 90 ON, 1:15 easy, 3 min easy, 4 x 90 seconds ON, 1:15 easy. OR if it’s easier, 6-8 min tempo, 2 min easy, 3 sets of 5 x 1 min ON, 1 min Off, 3 min bw sets. I’ll prob do that one bc more simple.

 

That is all – I won’t see you but have a great one!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Tuesday, March 5, 2024 – re-Prioritization

Hi Everyone!

 

First up, huge congrats to everyone who ran the Chilly Half!!! Sam F who PB’d! Ingrid who crushed it in a new age group! Bob who negative split! Amy, Shauna, Jason who executed smart, tough and solid training runs. And with that, the seal to spring races has been broken – bring ‘em on!!!

 

What I’ve been thinking about this week is about prioritization. Or rather, re-prioritization. It’s true that most of us aren’t looking for things to fill up our time. Almost everything we undertake takes us away from something else. So we have to be intentional about where we’re directing our time and energy. For me, running is always on the list of priorities. It always has been. I don’t consider that to be selfish because it’s what supports my ability to address my many other priorities. But also, my running as a priority is very flexible. It moves up and down the priority ladder as needed. I think many in this group can relate. We’re cooking along just fine and then suddenly life shifts, and something zooms right to the top of our priority ladder, shuffling everything else down a rung. That doesn’t mean the other things fall off or get neglected completely – it just means they don’t come very first when deciding where to direct time and energy.

 

Personally, I have had times when running has enjoyed a very high position, if not top rung. That’s when I have the time and energy to focus on myself and my training and my recovery and my mental and emotional engagement in the sport. That’s satisfying and fun. I have also had times where running has moved down to fourth or fifth on the list of priorities. During those times I like to say “I’m just staying in good enough shape so that I can get into shape again when I want to”. I keep my foot in the door. And I know when life has shifted and opened up space for me to bring running back into focus. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been through this cycle of running shifting up and down the priority ladder. This is often not something we plan. Sometimes someone in our life suddenly needs more attention, or our career demands more, or we have to put some aspect of our own physical or mental health in the top spot. That is life and to be expected. Just don’t make running so rigid that it is all or nothing. We can simply shift it down a few notches. Then, when things open up again, we can juggle it back up and reprioritize it. The key is acknowledging and accepting that not everything can be a top priority. That defeats the definition of the word. But also, if things aren’t a top priority, don’t neglect them completely. Because sooner or later they’ll demand their spot on the top rung.

 

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

 

Speaking of ladders, let’s do one! Down and back up.

Except people who RACED Chilly. If you RACED it (not training through), take a break or come out and jog. If you were training through, well, as it sounds, you keep training.

 

  1. Mile-800-600-400-600-800-mile (option for this last one to be any distance from mile to 400). Paces: Half marathon – 10K – 5K – faster – 5K – 10K – Half marathon. Let’s take 2 mins after the miles and 800’s and 1:30 after the 600’s and 400’s.

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna