Tuesday, July 30, 2024 – Presence in the process

Hi Everyone!

Well, we’re almost halfway through the summer! If July was a month for doing some speed and a little less volume, August tends to be the month to start to build back up again in preparation for the Fall. Don’t worry – we have lots of time! Now is the time to enjoy the process of getting fit – nothing to prove, just good ol’ work.

I mentioned that I ran a 1500m race a few weeks ago. I was nervous. Not out of the ordinary nervous, but enough to question my life choices as we tend to do before self-imposed hard efforts. As I went to the washroom for the fifth and final time before the start, I looked in the mirror and thought: “In 15 minutes I’ll be on the other side of this. Wouldn’t it be nice to just fast-forward through the next 15 minutes and wake up on the other side”. That’s what my impulse desired: to have it done, not necessarily to do it. But it’s only in the doing and being present while doing that we actually learn. And live.

I am currently on vacation. As I lay by the pool with my book, my teenage daughter reading and lounging beside me, I saw a couple with a little baby pull up with their stroller. One parent was constantly vigilant, waiting for the baby to wake up, and once he did, they started taking turns giving constant attention and movement and cajoling. I saw another couple with two young toddlers, one who was screaming to go to the pool, the other who was screaming indecipherably that they didn’t for some garbled reason. The parents looked exhausted. I remember all of those days with my kids. I remember thinking from the second I had my first baby, “well, I guess my days of reading books calmly by the pool and losing track of time are gone”. And they were. For many years. I remember looking at older families with teenagers and thinking “if we can just make it there…”  I won’t lie: it’s nice to be here. And I wouldn’t want to go back. But I also wouldn’t have wanted to fast forward any of it. The point wasn’t to make it here. The point was to be where I was when I was there.

I’m catching myself with these thoughts lately. Thinking it will all be good or enjoyable or better once I make it to the other side of something. We’re always trying to get somewhere. We always think, “once this project is done” or “when this weather passes” or “once I’m through this stressful week and at the weekend” it will all be fine. But that pulls us right out of living in the moment, and there will only ever be more hurdles to jump ahead of us. I have a marathon coming up in December which I haven’t started training for yet. I’m excited for the training. In the early stages, I don’t want to be at the end. But the closer I get to it, the more I find myself thinking “I can’t wait till this is over”. The day before the race, when I’m tense and wound up and insecure and anxious, I will fantasize about the beer with friends at the end of the race – when it’s all over. I’ll want to just time warp there. But we’re only alive when we’re doing the thing. I think this is why, even knowing how I will feel near the end, I still sign up and welcome the whole experience. I will get there. We will all get there. You can’t stop the forward march of time. All we can do is try to be present and awake and hopefully try to enjoy each moment we’re in – no matter how exhausting it may be.  And remember that it will one day all be behind us.

On to tomorrow’s workout!

We are on hills again. Let’s divide into two groups: 1. Building for marathons 2. Still doing some later summer races (triathlons or 5K’s or 10K’s).

Marathon builders: as promised, here comes the straight up Pottery repeats. Let’s start back up with 5-7 of them (8 if feeling really good). Keep them tempo effort up, easy down. If doing this elsewhere, this is a 400m hill.

People racing vs building, 2 x half hill (200m) followed by 5 min tempo. Repeat 2-3 times.

I should be physically back in Toronto by Weds am, but likely very jet-lagged and under-slept, so I won’t make it out in the am. Feel free to meet up when it works for you. Most ppl get to Pottery around 6:15-ish and just start doing repeats when they get there.

Have a great one and see you soon!

xo

Seanna