Going Sideways – RunningWell

Hi Everyone!

Hope those of you who are able to take it are enjoying March Break. Whether you’re taking some time off work and taking a more relaxed approach to your running/training schedule this week or not, it’s always good to plan these in somewhere along the line. I know many of us love our work/training/busy lives, but as with all things – recharging is key!

That brings me to what I’ve been thinking about. When I write schedules for athletes I very rarely write out more than 6-8 weeks in advance. That is because I KNOW it is very unlikely for someone to follow a plan longer than that without something interfering. Whether it’s work schedules, injury set-backs, kids’ plans, more fatigue than we’d anticipated due to how we’re absorbing things… In fact I’ve never seen a plan written out for 12 weeks be followed without some dips or side-steps. I just want you all to know this is completely normal and expected. You have not failed in your training or need to give up and throw it all out and start again. So you have a new obstacle. And I know many of you are in this boat. So … what do you do about it? These are the times we’re really growing and learning as humans and athletes. What learning experience is there if everything goes perfectly? But when things go sideways … now we’re talking. Now we have the chance to face uncertainty, unscripted paths, self-doubt … this is the good stuff! This is what develops our character. Most people showing up at start lines are not exactly where they want to be with training. If you can show up with an attitude of “doing what you can with what you have” with a sense of excitement and feel positively challenged to see what that is, even knowing it won’t be ‘perfect’, then you’re learning something.

One last thing: I can see many of you training so hard and being hard on your bodies. Please remember to love and respect them! If something is sore or injured or asking for some rest, please do not ignore that. Our bodies are incredible and are on our side. We’re making them strong through training, but just a reminder not to fight them but work with them.

On to tomorrow’s workout!

I am away, so feel free to meet up at the usual time or make your own plans if going later. Just please coordinate so no one shows up looking for people and no one’s there.

6-8 x (600, 45 sec rest, 200) 2 mins bw sets. The key here is that the total volume will be run faster than last week where they were straight 800’s. Your body will get used to that mechanical load, so we can gradually push our 800 times down. 600’s close to the same pace as you ran your 800’s, and 200’s faster. (Note: if doing these on Lakeshore you will have to find a 200m mark from the East side as well. So you can run 600-200-jog back to the 200 mark, 600 heading east and then a 200 going west, then jog back to the start) Sorry if that’s confusing!
If doing this fartlek: 6-8 x 3 min Hard, 45 sec rest, 30 seconds FAST – 2 min bw sets

That is all – see you all next week!

Seanna