Hey All!

Huge congrats to all the mamas who ran the Sporting Life10K! Madalyn, Steph, Lyndsay, Michelle S and Michelle P (who runs w us virtually). Wohoo!!! Super speedy times out there!

This week I’ve been thinking about ageing – and what it means to keep trying hard as I get slower. It’s an interesting mental exercise in a sport where what you see as your time is so closely measured to how you think you should feel. And to keep updating that understanding so that benchmarks that used to represent one thing, now represent another. How to stay excited about the process and goals which are not quite what they used to be.

In the middle of the Boston marathon a few weeks ago, the unwelcome thought crashed into my mind, “you’re too old for this – what are you playing at?” I tried to dismiss it, but it hung there for a while. I’m coming up on 50 in a couple of months, and I do sometimes notice my diminished strength and abilities even in day to day activities. So how can I keep pushing my body to its limits in what feels like extreme activities, when its limits keep changing?

Not everyone reading this will be able to relate. Yet. Many are still getting faster and stronger – even as they get older – because they haven’t yet maxed out their potential. That is great and exciting. But what kind of role model am I if I show them that when they reach the point that they stop getting faster, they’re supposed to just stop? I look around, and there are not all that many of us left. The ones who still seem to enjoy pushing and working hard and find meaning in fighting for minutes or seconds. I have currently turned my attention to the track for this summer. My training group consists of women (girls?) in their early 20’s. Credit where it’s due, there is one guy who is a year older than me, and a few other men in the same age bracket. But zero “older” women. It is funny when I line up to race against teenagers. I’m really not sure what they all think of me. But I’m enjoying it. Even as I slow down, running as fast as I can for as long as I can is an empowering feeling. And I think that the fact that there are very few women my age doing it, means that it must be an important role. Because these 20 year olds love what they are doing, and hopefully when they become 50 year olds, they won’t be so quick to question whether they “should” still be doing it. It will be a normalized viable option to keep going.

I’m looking at my peers in this group and around us who are helping to define what we can do into our late-50’s and 60’s and even 70’s. I don’t want to say we’re doing it with grace. Who needs grace. We’re doing it with sweat-plastered hair, spit encrusted mouths, grimaces of pain, and a great dose of humour. And we’re leading the way for hopefully many more to follow us. So let’s not stop. Never stop. We need each others’ company so it’s not lonely out there!

On to tomorrow’s workout: Let’s do Riverdale hills + tempo. Meet at the top of the hill at 6:05 for drills, 6:15 GO!

3-4 sets of 3 x hill, 4 min tempo. For those doing it in the Beach, the hill is about 200m.

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna

Hey Everyone!

What another great weekend of racing! In the Mississauga Half, our very own Kerry K ran 1:40 and came in first in her age group!!! Proving that strength = fitness. Don’t shirk your circuits! And in the Bum Run, Jeff Smith ran 18:44, coming in 1^st in his age group! This weekend we have a few more racing Georgina and Toronto half and full.  You guys got this! Everyone else, if you think you might want to “jump in” some 5K’s or 10K’s this spring/summer, I advise you to plan them out and register. They sell out fast these days. Coming up are: Sporting Life 10K, Toronto Women’s 5K, Pride 5K, Rev and Run 5K, UnderArmour Toronto 10K. Some of these are already sold out, but keep your eyes open for people selling bibs.

I’ve been thinking about the act of stepping on the line. Many people see racing as a fun challenge – an inconsequential (in the grand scheme of things) way to push ourselves, test ourselves, answer questions about ourselves. They are often exhilarating and rewarding and we get a medal and are celebrated – as we should be! So … why don’t we do them more often? I think part of the answer is that we’re afraid of failing. What does it mean if we come up short of our own or others’ expectations? What if we try our hardest in front of everyone, with no excuses, and we still fail?

This happened to my daughter recently. She ran a race which she considered a giant failure. She was pretty devastated. In trying to come up with some perspective to offer her, my friend shared with me what her daughter had learned by going through rounds of interviews for universities: the most commonly asked question by all of them was “Tell me about a time that you failed”. The universities are likely interviewing successful kids who are used to succeeding. They don’t want to hear about that. They want to know that the person who they accept knows how to put themselves in uncomfortable situations where the outcome is unknown. That they are prepared to fail. And they know that failing is the fastest path to growth and learning. If you learn to be ok with failure, you are way more likely to achieve great things. If one out of every five races are great, then you just have to learn to accept not having a great race four out of five times. That’s the price. If you can’t handle that, you won’t get the great ones. Universities know this, hiring teams know this, coaches know this. If you can’t learn to fail, you won’t succeed. It’s all about the failure.

As much as we want our kids to succeed, we should also want them to fail. And help them to deal with it positively when they do. Similarly, we should look at ourselves and ask ourselves what we’re afraid of trying because we might fail. I have a list. I’m going to start on it.

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

1.       Sets of: 800-600-400 (90 sec bw reps, 3 min bw sets). 3 sets sounds reasonable. 800’s at ~ 5K pace, 600’s a lil quicker, 400’s~ 3K pace

2.       If racing this weekend: Taper workout!

The usual: 1 mile @ race pace, 3 min rest, 4x 400 a lil quicker w 1:30

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna

Hi Everyone!

Huge congrats to Madalyn who ran the Run4Hope 5K and came first woman and third overall! Also so close to cracking the 20 min mark – sub-20 is right around the corner. Coming up, we have the Boston Marathon! From our group we have: Gillian, Fran, Amanda, Annick, Laura, Cindy, Lori, Carolyn, Jon, Elizabeth and Myself. Please let me know if I’ve left anyone out – it is my gappy brain and doesn’t mean I don’t love, care or think about you.

Speaking of Boston, we have a guest post by Fran (thank-you Fran!)

At 55 years old, I’m about to run the Boston Marathon for the very first time. Even as I type that sentence, it doesn’t quite feel real. I’ve been a lifelong runner—lacing up my shoes in every season, chasing personal bests, and collecting race bibs and memories from 10 marathons and countless half marathons. But Boston? Boston has always been the dream.

For years, I watched others achieve what felt just out of reach for me. I run with many incredibly talented friends who seem to qualify for Boston without fail. They make it look so easy (I know it is not). They would share stories of Heartbreak Hill, bad weather, the electric crowds on Boylston Street, and that special magic that only Boston holds. I cheered for them in person and from afar, full of admiration—but also with a quiet ache in my heart. I was happy for them, truly, but I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever join them.

Qualifying for Boston didn’t come easily. I’ve come up short every single time (I hit the qualifying time once before, but didn’t have enough buffer to make the final cut).  Each missed cut-off time stung, especially when I had poured everything I had into the race. There were moments of self-doubt where I thought maybe I wasn’t meant to get there. But I kept going. Because that’s what runners do—we keep chasing, even when the finish line feels far away.

And now, here I am. Heading to Boston. No longer an outsider looking in.

What’s most powerful to me isn’t just crossing the finish line (though, trust me, I’ll be savouring every step down Boylston). It’s joining a community I’ve admired for so long. It’s finally stepping into the world of runners who have inspired me endlessly—and realizing I belong here, too.

And yes, I’ll say it: I cannot wait to wear that Boston Marathon jacket. For years I’ve seen others wear theirs with pride—at races, in airports, and on Wednesday morning Lakeshore runs. It’s more than just a jacket; it’s a symbol of perseverance, of grit, of having earned your way to one of the most iconic start lines in the world. I’ve dreamed of owning one for so long, and soon, I will be wearing my own.

To my LES crew—thank you. Your journeys lit the path for mine. Your encouragement helped me believe, even when it was hard. And you make it all so much darn fun.

I’m not running Boston to prove anything or to hit a certain time goal. I’m running to celebrate the persistence, the resilience, and the deep love I have for this community and this sport. I’m running to honour the years it took to get here and to show that it’s never too late to chase a dream.

Boston, I’ll see you at the start line.

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

1.       1 mile tempo, 3 min rest, 3-4 sets of 600-400 (1:15 or 200 jog bw reps, 2 min bw sets), 3 min rest, 1 mile tempo

2.       Taper workout! 1 mile @ MRP, 1-2 sets of 600-400– a lil quicker but not straining.

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna

Hi Gang!

Huge congrats to those who ran ATB! Which turned out to be Kerry who came 4^th in her AG in the 15K, and Jeff and Jason who did the 30K! Colette was taken out by a virus before the race, and Jordan was too, but gamely tried until I think about 20K. This winter seems to be doubling down on many of us.

Which actually brings me to what I’ve been thinking about this week: taking care of ourselves. I tend to circle back to certain themes at times. I think it is time for a reminder about self-compassion. As often happens when we’re training hard, while dealing with all the other stressors of life, a number of people in our crew have recently been or are still now struggling with injuries and illnesses. I know this sucks, and I want you to know that you are not alone. What I want to do is give each person a hug and tell you it’s ok to rest when your body is telling you it is tired or overwhelmed. Because often on top of these setbacks we pile frustration, self-judgement, and negative feelings towards our selves. And this is the exact opposite of the kindness and compassion we owe ourselves and which might help us out of the hole. Yes, getting an illness or injury can just be a sign of bad luck. You came down funny and twisted your ankle, or your sick kid coughed in your open mouth (if you know you know). But very often they are signs that you need a break. I’ve read about people who have had desk jobs they hated and which stressed them out, and they developed serious physical ailments like migraines or debilitating back pain. Those were their bodies’ ways of getting them out of an untenable situation. Your body is on your side. So if you find yourself developing injury after injury or one long illness after another, your body might be trying to tell you something. And listening to what that might be requires self-compassion.

Again, self-compassion is not about letting yourself off the hook or going easy on yourself. It’s about truly being on your own side. It’s about treating yourself the way you would a friend or a loved one. You still want them to succeed, but not to punish themselves in order to do so. I think many of our inner voices tell us to push through and suck it up or else be met with our own harsh self-judgement. If our choice is between a long run or sleep, weights or some quiet time with a book, a workout or social time with friends to unwind, we often push towards the former options. But what we miss is that the options we aren’t choosing aren’t the softer choices: they are the recovery tools. A self-compassionate viewpoint can see that quite clearly. A self-judging viewpoint does not, so we push until our bodies force us to rest.

As always, this is a tricky line to walk with endurance sport where we do have to override many initial self-preservation instincts in order to improve. The key is to do it with self-compassion and self-love vs recklessly and with negative feelings towards ourselves. Please don’t take this to mean that if you are sick or injured you have some deep inner demons and need to seek therapy. Often it is just the bad luck of a twist or a slip or an encounter with a virus. But it might not hurt to look at your overall systems and patterns and make sure they are aligned with your health and best interest at heart – and not just your race times.

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

Let’s do sets of 400’s. I like these because there are lots of options for pacing depending on where you are in your training, what you’re training for, and how you’re feeling. If feeling niggles or low energy, keep them all the same pace. If leaning into a bit more speed and trying to find a bit more fitness, pick them up each set. If training for spring 5K’s/10K’s,really lean into that last set. If you’re not sure, just show up and play it by ear!

1.       3 sets of 4 x 400 – first set w 1 min rest,second set w 1:15, third set with 90 sec. 3 min bw sets. Marathoners: finish with 1 mile @ MRP!

2.       If going by time, same sequence and rests, but go for 1:30 for every 400 instead of distance.

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna

Hi Everyone!

A few snowbanks left, but boy does it feel good to be able to run with sure footing. The little things we take for granted. If you were away for March Break, welcome back. If you stayed in the city, hopefully it still feels like you’ve turned a page of sorts and are into the Spring chapter.

I’ve been thinking about routines – shedding old ones and starting new ones. I do love a good routine when I find something that works. There is comfort and stability and consistency in routines. But they’re push and pull. I wrote recently about how we have to know when they aren’t working any more and have to let them go. But letting go of a routine doesn’t mean we have to float aimlessly forever. I think when we shed a routine, we then enter the Explore phase. That’s where I’ve been for the last few months. Trying new things on – taking different classes, running at different times of the day, mixing up my ratios of work to rest, … I do enjoy the Explore phase. It’s novel, unstructured and low pressure. But in the end I usually eventually come back to “finding a routine”.

The past few weeks I’ve reintroduced spinning classes a couple times a week in place of a run. I just have been finding I can get a good effort in while it’s easier on my body. This past Monday I did my morning spin class, followed by 10-15 minutes in the steam room where I attempted to meditate. I’ve been encouraged to start meditation many times over the years by various people, and have kind of tried it, but never with any real commitment. I have read about the benefits and I know many people say it’s great – I’ve just always thought it’s not for me. But it still feels like something I should try to give another shot. Ok, so my ‘meditation’ session in the steam room wasn’t great (all I could think about was what a great new routine this was), BUT it was a start and I think I will make it my new Monday morning routine.

For some reason the idea of a fresh routine makes me feel excited and positive. As much as I enjoy free-wheeling it and being unstructured, it’s also nice to settle on a little system which you can count on. If you’re feeling stuck or not loving your current regime, toss it, explore a bit, and try some new ones. Who knows if this spin-steam room-meditation routine will last. But I’m excited for next Monday so I can try it again – and that’s what matters.

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

Let’s do cut-down sets.

1.       1 mile tempo, 3 min rest, 2 x 800 w 1:45, 2 x 600 w 1:30, 2 x 400 w 1:15, 3 min rest, 1 mile tempo.

2.       If away and doing this by time: 6 min tempo, 3 min rest, 2 x 3 min w 1:45, 2 x 2 min w 1:30, 2 x 90 sec w 1:15, 3 min rest, 6 min tempo.

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna