Love Letters to My Crew – Page 47

Do You

September 8, 2021/in Love Letters 2021/by RWadmin

Hey Gang!

How great are these temps for running right now? Ah the sweet pay-off from all those hot runs – enjoy!!!

Most of us are in various stages of training and running. We are quite a diverse, big group, and as is natural, we are not all doing the same things. That is great – there is strength in diversity.

What I want to remind you all of is this: remember to do you. It is easy to look around at what other people are doing and think that’s what you should be doing as well. It isn’t.

If you’re feeling like your training or vibe isn’t comfortable or jiving with your headspace, I encourage you to go back and remember why you started. When you signed up for whatever you were training for – why did you want to do it?

Was it to challenge yourself and have fun? Then keep your training and headspace consistent with that.

Was it to work really hard and set big goals and see what you can achieve when you put in your all? Then remind yourself of that during your big workouts.

Was it to just get to the start line so you could enjoy the experience of the race itself with not too much pressure? Then don’t get caught up with comparing yourself to others who have other goals – that’s not you!

It really is fine to train differently and have different reasons for doing things and to have different goals. It’s ok to be intense and it’s ok to be chill. All of these human experiences make up the beautiful mosaic of races and training buddies and life. So this is just a gentle reminder that it’s ok to stay true to your own intentions and not get caught up in comparing yourself with what others are doing. You do you. You’re good. You got this.

We’re back to Lakeshore tomorrow! Normally we’d be at a hill rotation, but we’re doing our Work Out For War Child Pottery Road Hill challenge next Wednesday (quick plug – if you want to support or join us, you can do so here: WOFWC Lower East Siders)

Miles! 3 x 1 mile at HM pace w 1:30, 3 min rest, 2 x 800 slightly quicker w 1:30
As fartlek: 3 x 7 min w 1:30, 3 min, 2 x 3 min w 1:30

If you are racing the half-ironman on Friday, sleep in. This won’t help you. I may come out to jog and cheer, but if I’m not there, have fun without me!

xo

Seanna

The ‘Grind’

August 24, 2021/in Love Letters 2021/by RWadmin

Hi Everyone!

Hope you’re all finding ways to beat the heat. Way to go everyone who’s getting in their long runs and rides despite it.

What I’ve been thinking about lately is how we all seem to cycle through what we ask of running. Sometimes we just want it to be there for us, so we can work hard and challenge ourselves when we feel like it, and run gently and enjoyably when we feel like it. When we’re running “by feel” like this, we can keep our motivation and effort aligned.

But sometimes we commit to a goal – something that we know will challenge us beyond what is comfortable, in order to get something out of it for ourselves. Maybe we’re looking for validation (internal or external), maybe we think we need this in order to push ourselves as hard as we think we should, maybe we know we learn something about ourselves when we do this, or maybe we just enjoy the big challenge of the unknown. Either way, when we take something like this on, there will be days when our motivation and required effort are not aligned. That is just how it is. It is a beautiful thing when our program calls for a hard effort and we are motivated and ready and show up and execute. It is another thing when we are given that same effort and for whatever reason, just aren’t “into it” that day. But this is when we have to remember our goal. We knew there would be days like this. The best thing we can do at these times is just accept it. There is a lot of hard, unsexy work that goes into achieving big goals. Many people refer to it as “the grind”. I can guarantee that your progression towards your goal will not be a linear set of continually improving workouts. I can also guarantee that you will have some hard or “off” days. It’s what you do with them that matters. If you can accept them, not judge yourself, and use them as an opportunity to work on your mental strength, grit and positive mindset, then you will get through this just fine.

Most of you who are training for Boston or NYC are in the “grindy” phase about now. Keep grinding. Those of us who are letting our running lead us right now will cheer and support you. We’ve all been there and we know what it’s like. And we want this for you! So use your whole team to help support you. And then the cycles will flip and we’ll all find ourselves in another phase again – training for a goal, or not.

Lakeshore Workout for tomorrow!

People on a recovery week: 1 mile @ marathon race pace, 2 min, 4 x 400 w 1 rec, 2 min 1 mile @ marathon race pace
People not on recovery week: 1 mile @ half marathon, 2 min, 2 sets of 4 x 400 w 1 rec (3 bw sets), 2 min, 1 mile @ half marathon
If doing fartlek style: 7 mins tempo, 2 min easy, 2x (1:30 ON, 1 min OFF) – 3 easy in bw, 7 mins tempo

See you in the am!!

xo

Seanna

You are not your running

August 24, 2021/in Love Letters 2021/by RWadmin

Hi Everyone!

Hope you’re all soaking in August and running in the sun (with sunscreen!) when you can. We are getting some beautiful days so let’s soak them all in so we have them deep inside come February!

One thing I was thinking about and wanted to share was to make sure our running/working out stays in its running/working out box in terms of how we judge ourselves. I think we can sometimes start to let our values seep across areas where they don’t actually belong. If you get up and run 10 miles at 6 am, that does not make you a “good person”. If you sleep in and run later in the day, or (my god!) take a rest day, that does not make you lazier or less moral than the person who is doing more. It is just running. Yes, we love it and place a high importance on working hard and reaching our goals. And often times doing these things brings out the best in us so that we can be our best selves in other areas. When we start our day feeling good about ourselves, it can have a snowball effect and we continue to feel good and act generously. That’s great. But just remember: you are not what you accomplish in your running and training. That is just a thing you do. Your self-worth should definitely not be measured by what you accomplish on the roads. You can allow your running and training to complement your good qualities and bring out the best in you, but it will not change who you are. If you are generous and kind and curious, that will continue whether you nail your workout or not. So don’t confuse the two things in how you think about yourself. Sometimes it’s good to remember: it’s just running.

If you’re in a groove and feeling good, we’re onto hills this week! As always I recommend keeping these in the rotation – for strength, running economy, endurance and especially if you’ll be running a hilly race!

Boston and NYC people: focus on steady pace up and down. So the down is “running” down vs. slow shuffling. You don’t have to crush the uphill – keep them all steady. I recommend 6-8 and then a 10 min tempo after a 3 min recovery.
5K runners: 4-5 “full” hills and 3-4 “half” hills
People training to train: Any combo you like 

Have fun everyone – I am away tomorrow but will try to do “something” on my own.

Seanna