August 18, 2020 – Comparison

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Hi Everyone!

 

And now we get the rewards of having run through searingly hot and humid summer days. How good do the lower temps feel! I’m sure we’ll cycle around again a few times and then we’ll start complaining about the cold, but today feels … dare I say it … perfect!!!

 

One thing I’ve been thinking about and noticing lately is how much our mental engagement has a real physical effect. When we’re excited about an upcoming race or effort, we’re able to draw more out of ourselves and it doesn’t feel as hard to push or work towards our goals. When we’re not in that mental state, it’s harder to get the same effort out of ourselves. This is totally fine!!! Just don’t compare your efforts when you’re not training for something to efforts when you are. They will not match up. Your running will serve you for whatever phase you’re in. Let it. You’ll know when you need it to serve you differently. Let your goals come to you. At a certain point you might feel inspired to challenge yourself and go for something. Then your runs will take on purpose and excitement and energy, and you’ll be able to put up with a lot more. But you can’t fake it. And you can’t always be chasing a goal. Maintenance is a very comfortable and great place to be and complements a lot of what else we have going on in life. Just stay off comparing yourself from one phase to another. Comparison is the thief of joy – especially when we’re comparing ourselves to ourselves!

 

Ok, on to workout options for this week:

 

  1. 4-5 x 800 w 2 min rest, 4 mins, then 1-2 sets of 4 x 200 w 1:15; 4 min bw sets (marathoners add an extra 800 and only 1 set of 200’s) – 800’s at 10K pace or slightly faster
  2. The above but by time vs distance (I prefer this if you’re getting back into workouts and want to keep the head judgement part out of it): 5 x 3 min w 2 min rest, 4 min rest, 6-8 x 30 sec w 1 min rest
  3. Hills! If you haven’t done Riverdale hill sprints in a while, I suggest these. So good for power and muscle building. Go glutes!
  4. Workout of drills and strides. REALLY love this one, especially if you’re in maintenance phase. It’s what we should always do more of but don’t have the time/energy when we’re in hard training. Do it now – it will serve you well.
  5. Tempo: 15-20 min tempo, 4 min easy, 2 x 5 min tempo w 2 min easy

Here’s the sign-up sheet – I’ll follow-up peoples’ leads as to when they’re working out but I will do Option 1. Just to let ya’ll know, the washrooms at Tim’s at L&L open at 6 (don’t forget your masks). It seems there are currently some construction port-o-potties on Carlaw – haven’t checked them out myself yet though so not sure how great.

 

 

Have fun!!!

 

Seanna