Tuesday, April 7, 2026 – Levelling up

Hey Everyone!

I don’t think anyone from this crew ran the Spring Run off this past weekend. Fair enough because it still doesn’t quite feel like Spring. It’s got to be just around the corner… this weekend I think.

I’ve been having conversations with friends who were runners in my era in high school (early ‘90’s), and we’re all amazed at how fast the kids in that age category are running now. The times which in our era would have won medals are now barely qualifying kids for the regional finals. The same is happening across the board in running, in universities, US colleges, in the pro ranks all the way up to world records. What used to be considered very fast is now just ok. It’s interesting to consider why this might be.

I know what my daughter thinks. She says “well, you never drank water so you were probably running around all dehydrated”. True. Do any of you Gen-X-ers remember carrying around a water bottle or even thinking about water or hydration ever? I trained and still never even considered it! I think I just sought out water fountains if I felt thirsty. And if there wasn’t a working one available I would just have to wait – whether I had a running workout coming up or not. So… good point. And along with knowledge about hydration I will include better knowledge about nutrition and sleep. I think many people left a lot of performance on the table with just a lack of what we now consider basic knowledge.

We also couldn’t see what everyone else was doing, so could assume we were training as hard as anyone out there. And I can assure you – many of us were not. I had (and still have) a friend who was a top level medallist and when I’d stay over she’d say “ugh – let’s not go for a run – let’s just do the 20-minute workout”. For those of you unfamiliar with the 20-minute workout, it really was not geared towards athletic performance. Sometimes the camera was so zoomed in on the model’s thigh for so long that we had no idea what the actual movement was that we were supposed to be following. So we’d just do leg lifts until it zoomed back out and we could follow the routine. Society was telling us this was a workout and we couldn’t see what our competitors were doing, so it felt good enough for us. Now athletes can follow each other on various platforms and can see exactly what their competitors are doing. I do think this has led to a bit of one-upmanship, and I can almost guarantee no one is trying to get fit with toe touches and forward bends.

Another big change has been technology – shoe technology mostly. I don’t think that plays as big a role in high school athletics, but fast shoes, fast tracks and specifically engineered nutrition definitely play a role in the faster times at the higher levels. And the trickle down effect is, once the bar has been set higher, people do rise to it. So technology assisting the pros and Olympians to faster times does in a way cause everyone downstream to up their game as well. If you need to run a certain time to make a standard, that is the time you are more likely to run. Aiming higher leads to faster results.

And lastly, I think we’ve just all levelled up as a society. It’s not just running, but I do think it’s reflected in running. (as an aside, despite what it may look like in some places, I also think we’re becoming more moral, compassionate, intelligent, emotionally understanding as a society and we’re passing that on to the next generation to build from). Running is so pervasive now. Almost everyone goes for a run once in a while. On a warm spring weekend morning you wonder if anyone doesn’t run! Growing up in a running normalized environment just starts everyone at a higher base level. And when kids see their parents doing something, it is wired in them to try to do it and do it better. And they do for the most part! That is evolution. Maybe not Darwinian evolution, but social evolution at least.

So don’t get upset if you keep getting passed and bested by young whippersnappers. They have us to thank for leading the way. And they’re all so hydrated and well-nourished and informed and wearing the bounciest shoes! Don’t try to keep up. Just be proud of where you came from and where we’re going.

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

Marathoners! This is the third and final 800’s workout. 8 x 800 w 1:45. Don’t go out bananas – keep them steady with an eye to your overall average. Best way to run it is to speed up slightly towards the last few.

People gearing up for the Sporting Life 10K! 3 sets of 800-600-400. 90 seconds between reps, 2:30 bw sets. Paces: 10K>5K>faster

People racing the Spring Sprint: 1-2 sets of 800-600-400 (can just do 600-400 of 2^nd set)

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

Seanna