Tuesday, October 14, 2025 – Voting for yourself
Hi Everyone!
What a weekend of running! Huge congrats to our Chicago marathoners! Amanda (BQ!), Meagan (BQ!), Jordan (PB! BQ!), Chris (2 seconds off PB! BQ!), Cheryl (First ever marathon!!), Carolyn (PB and BQ!) And in Thornbury Steph came 4th overall in the very hilly half marathon and in Nova Scotia Amy H ran the Valley Harvest Half Marathon and came 3rd in her AG!
From most perspectives these are some very great results. I mean, as we know, just getting through a season of training and being able to show up and run mostly injury free is a huge accomplishment. But that’s not the bar by which we often measure ourselves. We want to do our best. We want to exceed expectations. We want to feel the way we feel when we have one of those amazing race experiences where everything comes together, we’re in the zone, we find that extra something, and we have the best possible race we could have. These races are possible, and if you’ve experienced them, you should be grateful. But they are not the norm.
I was listening to an elite athlete speak with very good perspective about this on a podcast. The same can be said for training. There are many many days when we can tell we are not going to have a great day. There are usually very good reasons – work stress, life stress, poor sleep, body not feeling great, … And the question is, how are you going to show up anyway? Are you going to put a zero on the board, or are you going to at least get something on there? A 4 out of 10 is better than a 0. This sport is about consistency, and often times good enough is good enough. Sometimes, everything starts clicking for a stretch, and we’re on a winning streak in workouts and races. And sometimes, the opposite is true, and we find ourselves in a slump. And then how do you show up? What this athlete said resonated with me: “With every single action we take, we’re casting a vote for the person we want to become”. When we feel dejected and a lack of confidence, we feel like backing off and not showing up because it threatens our egos and it makes the hard thing even harder. It is so easy to keep showing up when everything is feeling good and going well. But that is not the test. The whole point is figuring out how to deal with a bad day or a bad season. Learning how to do that is actually what makes great athletes. They all have bad workouts or races or seasons. But most of us don’t notice because they’ve learned how to make a “bad” race mediocre. Kipchoge has had a number of “bad” marathons, but no one watching would know. By showing up through these, these athletes have learned how to have “bad races” and turn them into the best bad race they could have. Instead of always shooting for the moon, they’ve learned how to bring their floor up.
I had the following conversation about racing with my daughter the other day. She asked, would you rather be someone who has either really great races and really bad races, or consistently decent races. What a question! I said consistently decent. Because it is way easier to bring up your average of consistently decent – ie. “raising the floor” than it is to wait for those one in 10 “great” races. (as a side note it is also way easier on your emotions and the emotions of those who are trying to support you!) In the podcast I listened to, the athlete mentioned instead of always looking for PB’s (which are increasingly rare the more experienced a racer you become), look at the average time of your last 5 races as a benchmark. That can tell you a lot. If you want to raise your top 5 average, just knock that bottom score off the board with a higher one than that. In this way, you WILL get consistently better, and when you do get one of those “punch through” races, it will be from a higher platform. But assigning “success” or “failure” based on a whether it was a PB or not is not fair to you, nor is it telling the whole story. Keep showing up and keep casting votes for the person you want to become – in that way, you will always be succeeding.
On to tomorrow’s workout! Back to Pottery Rd Hills! (or Glen Manor if you’re in the Beach)
Let’s do sets of 1 full (400m), 2 half (200m), 5 min tempo. I recommend ratcheting back the intensity here as we’re putting a little more volume in. 3 sets sounds about right.
People tapering for the Toronto Marathon!!! 1 mile at MP, 3 min rest, 3-4 x 400 w 90 – just smooth and relaxed.
See you in the am!
xo
Seanna