Tuesday, March 31, 2026 – Thrp jgs

Hey Gang!

Huge congrats to Laura and Zoë who ran the 800m in the last indoor meet of the season! Bring track back I say! Some of us will be doing some track training for the spring/summer. If you’re interested in joining, please message me. There are many twilight meets over the summer which are very friendly to masters runners and people who haven’t run track since their teens!

Speaking of teens, I was recently looking at my high school year book. My grad quote is very cringe. It’s a bunch of abbreviated inside references which only I and the people involved would get. Among them is “thrp jgs”. That refers to Therapeutic Jogs which I would do with a friend. This friend was an athlete, but not a competitive runner, so we would just jog and chat and discuss our issues with boys, our futures, the world. I have no clue the time, distance or paces of these runs. We didn’t have gps watches, and I didn’t keep a log, and unfortunately my 17 year old brain was very unreliable in giving verifiable data. I don’t think I cared though. Those runs were not about achieving anything other than mulling over my problems with my friend. I don’t remember what we ever discussed, but I guess they were meaningful enough that they deserved a spot in my yearbook quote.

My quote also made reference to “blading babes”. That was with another friend who I would call when I felt like being reckless and causing shit. We had a code phrase (which I won’t divulge because it is way too cringe) and we would strap on our rollerblades, don our baseball caps backwards, wear our cut off jean shorts and blade all around the city getting into trouble. I have many stories from those escapades, but those are for a different newsletter.

I haven’t maintained my bad-ass-blading habit. Maybe I’ll revive it in my 70’s if anyone wants to join. But I’m truly grateful that my therapeutic jogs have continued for over 30 years. They’re not with the same friend (she lives in a different city now), but luckily I have lots of good friends who can take up the mantle. The important thing about therapeutic jogs is that they should not be confused with training. They might serve a dual purpose of getting some mileage in, but that is besides the point. Just like I’m sure we got some exercise in blading around the city all day, that was definitely not our purpose! I guess this is just another great benefit of being a runner. Whether you want some solid one-on-one time with a friend, or you want to cause chaos and mayhem, you have physical options and outlets which can serve as the platform, without taking centre stage. I think I took this for granted as a teenager. Back then I trained to perform in sports, and being fit enough to use my fitness for other purposes was happy discovery. Today I train with both goals very much in mind. Yes, I still like to be competitive when I choose a goal. But more importantly, I really want the options of being able to go for a therapeutic jog, or tour a country by bike (an adventure coming up), or hike up a beautiful mountain for the awe and experience, without thinking about it. And I think those life experiences, more than getting times in races, is why I “train”. So hit me up anytime for a good ol’ thrp jg, or if anyone wants to go on an “up-to-no-good” blading adventure. You just need to know the secret phrase 😉

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

1 mile tempo

3 min rest

5 x 400 w 60 (~ 5K pace)

3 min rest

5 x 400 w 75 (a lil faster)

3 min rest

1 mile tempo (optional. Marathoners, can do MP>HMP, 5K racers do 5-6 x strides instead)

That is all – see you in the am!

Seanna