Hi Everyone!

Huge congrats to all our multi-sporters this weekend! The dynamic duo of Carolyn and Ian did the Augusta half IM! And here in Toronto we had Madalyn (1^st in AG), Tess Farrell (top 10 in AG) and Miguel (15^thin AG) in the TTF Olympic Tri! And Rob Dunne ran the 10K and came 2^nd in his age group! Guys, it was such a hot day. Huge kudos to all of you on epic performances and give yourselves lots of time to recover – it will take a bit longer bc of exertion in the heat.

Lately I’ve been thinking about what makes us runners. My friend walked into an appointment the other day and the physio said “I could tell you’re a runner as soon as you walked in”. Which made us all wonder … what was he picking up on? I’ve always thought that being a distance runner is a personality. I can identify it in others, but I can’t put my finger on what “it” is. There is definitely something unique that connects us all, but it’s hard to put into words what exactly that is. I’m reading a great book given to me by a friend called “How She Did It”. It’s a compilation of accomplished female distance runners over the decades, and shares their stories about how they got involved and what their journey looked like. Some started running as young as 10, and some didn’t discover it until they were in their 20’s. But all of them said the same thing: “I knew I loved it as soon as I did it”. Which goes to show what I’ve always known: there are many runners out there walking around who are runners but don’t know it yet because they’ve never tried it. It’s definitely not for everyone, and I get that! It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t get it why we do it. Last Sunday a few of us were finishing up a burning hot, underfuelled, too-long long run. We were dragging ourselves down one of our last apocalyptic kilometers when we bumped into a mutual friend and her husband while they were having a very civilized leisurely coffee. We stopped to say ‘hi’ (we were taking any and all excuses to stop), and realized how horrible we looked. Hollow-eyed, red faced and as wet as if someone had poured a bucket of water over us. It was hard not to notice the contrast and beg the question, “why would we choose what we’re doing and not what she’s doing?” I can’t really answer that except to say, we’re runners.

My daughter is a runner. I sort of tried to point her into other directions, like rock climbing, short sprinting, and swimming. But once she tried the longer running stuff, she just loved it. It’s even weird to me. I’m like, I get why I like it, but why do you like it? You’ve chosen such a hard sport – it’s basically just different degrees of hard! Maybe one day someone will be able to put into words better than I can why we like it. For now, I’ll just say, distance running is a personality. It’s identifiable and we all have it. And we just have to learn to put up with the weird looks and comments of how crazy we are from our non-running friends. If we have to explain it, they’ll never get it.

On to tomorrow’s workout: Fartlek on the spit! As usual, we’ll meet at Lakeshore and Leslie at 6:05 for drills.

Let’s do: 5 min tempo, 3 min easy, 3 x 3 min faster (~10K) w 90 sec easy, 3 min easy 3 x 2 min faster (~5K) w 90 sec easy. Marathoners finish w 5 min @ MP.

The whole thing will take 32-39 minutes. Just note for those with longer run commutes in case you want to drive down and drive back with a coffee!

That is all – see you in the a.m.

xo

Seanna

Hi Everyone!

I don’t think we had any races last week, but coming up on Friday is the Rev and Run 5K. I think some people may have registered as a mid-summer check-in? Also, how is it already almost mid-summer?? It’s a good reminder that those races that we sign up for waaaay in the future, do always finally arrive.

I think I’ve been thinking about time and how disorienting it can seem because I just turned 50. And huge thank-you to everyone who surprised me and helped me celebrate. To be honest, it was going to be something I just let slide by because I’m not one for either the spotlight or for being overly sentimental. But wow. I realized that it IS important to mark milestones. As I looked around the room and saw friends I’ve had for 5, 10, 20 and 30 years plus my family who I’ve had for 50 years (!), I realized that it all adds up and it’s all so meaningful. No one joined this group and thought “I’m going to make important friends and relationships which I’ll have for the next 20 years”. We just started a thing, kept coming out, and it became something big. Milestones aren’t goals achieved. I don’t think most people say “I’m going to become a runner and do it for the next 30 years and I’m going to run x-number of marathons in my lifetime”. Or meets someone for a run and then thinks “let’s do this together for the next 40 years of our lives”. We just do the things that are important to us and hang out with the people we love. Some people slide off – the running group or from our friend circles. And that’s totally fine! Again, these aren’t goals. Everyone has their own pursuits, activities and friendships which will become milestones to them. But it’s only with looking back that we can say “wow – this has been very important in my life”.

Anyway, since this is my headspace right now, I am sharing it with you and bringing you all along for the ride. We can get so caught up in ploughing ahead and moving forward, that we might forget to reflect on and celebrate the milestones. “50 is just a number” we hear people say. It’s true. But it is also 50 years of accumulated ups and downs, tears and laughs, successes and failures. It is so many races, training runs, friendships, experiences. These all compound and they’re significant. I see 25 year olds and I want to say “imagine everything you’ve ever experienced and multiply it by two!” Not everyone here is lucky enough to be 50 yet, but there are always milestones to reflect on and celebrate. Maybe you’ve worked in a career you’re proud of for 10 years. Maybe you’ve raised a kid who has graduated kindergarten, or elementary school, or high school or beyond! Maybe you’ve run 20 marathons so far. Maybe you have a few friends who have been with you for 30 years. Reflecting on these milestones can feel emotional and nostalgic, but just grab a glass of wine and some tissues and get into it. It’s what it’s all about. And thank you all so much for being a meaningful part of my life! So keep making new friends, running with the friends you’ve got, and signing up for marathons – we’re all on our way to milestones we don’t even see coming. Just make sure you celebrate them when you hit them.

On to tomorrow’s workout! Back to hills + tempo.

I hear it’s very hot and smoky in Toronto. I’m away by the way. So let’s keep it to the short hills and tempo segments again. Remember, heat training is like altitude training: you can keep the intensity similar as long as you shorten the work pieces and increase the rest.

2 x short (200m) hill + 3 min tempo. Repeat 3-4 times depending on how hot it is. And bring water!

That is all – see you next week!

xo

Seanna

Hey Gang!

Happy Canada Day! Hope everyone is taking a little breather somewhere at some point to just sit back and relax, enjoy, and celebrate – in whatever way works for you. It’s just good sometimes to pause and move away from your routine – even if your routine is great and works for you! And Happy Pride! Congrats to all who ran the Pride 5K this weekend – Anna Dowse, Rob Dunn and Bob Gazzle. And I believe Jeff Smith is running a Canada Day 5K today but I don’t have the results yet. Great job all!

Last week I went on a trip with some high school friends to celebrate our 50^th year. It was not a running trip. In fact, running was very difficult. I did it as much as I could, but I was forced to let go of any compulsions or goals or expectations. It was hot, hilly, and traffic was not very accommodative to runners. So I did what I could. A few days I ran 10K, then I ran shorter, and then I ran even shorter.  No workouts – just running was hard enough. And it seemed to get harder and harder. Every time out my watch lowered my V02max. It was getting harder, and I was getting worse. But I just told myself – work is work. If it feels hard, it’s giving me a stimulus, and that for the most part is what training is supposed to be.

Also last week my son wrote his last high school exam. He had studied hard, and although it wouldn’t make a big difference in the whole scheme of things, he was hoping it would bring one of his marks up a bit. He dedicated hours to studying, and just as he was looking over the exam before handing it in, a bomb threat was called to the school, the classroom was cleared, and the exam was voided. Frustrating and disappointing, yes. But as I said to him, the whole point was to learn the material. The mark was just a proxy for what had been learned. He is still going into first year university with the knowledge that he needs. That was the point.

It’s the same with training. What our watches are telling us are only valuable if we can keep in mind the bigger picture of what we are actually trying to achieve. Trying to “please” our watches is not the point, and workouts, like exams, are not the point. It doesn’t matter what you “achieve” in those if they are not leading you to acquire fitness or knowledge – whatever the case may be. When I got back from my trip, my runs suddenly felt easier, and it turned out I hadn’t lost, but possibly gained fitness, despite the bigger efforts for lesser outputs, and negative watch evaluations. I had known this would happen which was why I was accepting of the many difficult “bad” runs.  I try to tell people this before workouts where they might be getting anxious or keyed up: it’s just work. We are not trying to “achieve” anything here, other than to get some work in. This is the studying. If it’s hard, and you can complete it within the parameters, you’re doing it right. You know how you’re feeling, what conditions are like, what baggage you’re carrying into workouts – your watch knows none of that. So just remember that you’re always smarter than your watch, and pleasing it is not the point!!

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

Let’s do In and Out 400’s. These are continuous 400’s with the paces varying from medium hard to tempo. We have done these with 200’s before, but not with 400’s yet.

I’m thinking 6-8 of them (for a total of 12-16 400’s). 8-10K pace right into tempo and repeat. As always, this is a great strength builder that will creep up on us! Should be fun.

I am racing this evening so will be there to cheer in the a.m.

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna

Hi Gang!

Congrats to Jeff and Miguel who ran the UnderArmour 10K, and to Chris who ran the Buttertart Half Marathon! All very solid races and I think the conditions were a little rough with the wind. Way to go All! Tonight we have the Ekiden! 7 pm start at the spit. If you’re not racing, come out and cheer! (and be prepared to sub-in just in case … what are teammates for). If you’re racing/running, HAVE FUN!!! That is the whole point of this one. Sadly I won’t be there so please take pictures.

This week I’ve been thinking about all the training and work that we do, which adds up layer upon layer to become part of us. We have all put in many seasons of training for various goals, sometimes with the effect of expressing all that training in a goal achieved, sometimes not. And then we always come down and lose fitness again at the end as our bodies recover and get back to a different level of health and homeostasis. So what happens to all of that training we did?

What happens is that it becomes part of our mental and body knowledge (cellular, muscular and neurological), and is laid down like a layer of sediment upon which the next layer will be built. Sometimes training leads to visible gain after visible gain, and this is a fun train to ride. But sometimes it just has to quietly settle and accumulate before the next jump in results is seen. And this requires patience, consistency, and faith. Sometimes the next leap requires a few months of accumulation. Sometimes it requires a few years. Just because we aren’t seeing the results right away does not mean that the work is going nowhere. This is how training works.

I had the same thought about myself when it comes to knowledge I acquire or art I enjoy. I can read a book or a poem or see a piece of art or listen to music which really moves me. When I’m in that moment, I feel changed. But then a few weeks or sometimes months, sometimes days (!) later, if you asked me to describe what I read or saw, I might be unable to call it up. I have forgotten entire books I’ve read – I remember that I really enjoyed them, but I couldn’t tell you one thing about them. Does that mean the experience was wasted? I don’t think so. I think what I’ve read or seen or heard has become a layer and a part of who I am, and subsequent experiences have been laid down with those ones as reference, whether conscious or not.

It’s the same with training. We can’t always currently express all the training we’ve done, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t propping up what comes next. No experience is wasted. No training goes in the garbage. We are an accumulation of all that we’ve done, and it is all always worth doing.

On to tomorrow’s workout! Spit social or fartlek! Meet at Lakeshore and Leslie at 6:05 for drills, 6:15 GO!

If you ran Ekiden, just come out for a social and jog.

If you’re ready for a workout: 8-10 x 1 min on, 1 min off (regroup/stand/easy shuffle – whatever works), 3 min easy jog, 4-5 x 1 min on, 2 min off

That is all – have a great one and I’ll see you next week!

xo

Seanna

Hi Everyone!

No races this past weekend that I know of. Don’t forget to let me know when you’ve raced so we can all acknowledge you!

I might have to give this newsletter a new heading called “Wise words from my friends”. Last week as I met my friend Amanda for an early morning run, she asked how I was. I said, “my legs are very tired from my workout last night,” and she replied with “isn’t that the point of training?” Well, there it is. YES! Why am I overthinking fatigue and how my body is responding to training? This has always been the process. But for some reason as I close in on 50, I’ve started to think of myself as a bit more frail and the pain and soreness of training as not a good thing. But in reality, it’s the same as it always was. It’s how you perceive it that matters.

In 1979 Ellen Langer designed and performed the “Counterclockwise Study”. She took eight older men (in their mid to late ‘70’s), and had them live in a house where their environment was shifted to reflect the 1950’s – when they would have been 20 years younger. The photos, t.v. shows and newspapers all represented 20 years earlier, and they weren’t allowed mirrors to see their current selves or to communicate with the outside world. They were told to live as if they were themselves in 1959. After five days, the men had aged backwards. They showed significant improvement in health including strength, flexibility, cognition, hearing, memory and dexterity. They had struggled in carrying their luggage in, and bounced out with it all with no problem. And outside observers said they looked much younger than when they entered.

So yes, we’re getting older. And yes, there are some physical and training changes which can’t be ignored, but 50 and 60 today is not our parents’ 50 and 60. So let’s not go too easy on ourselves or lean into the “old age” narrative. Our bodies will respond to what we expect of them. So as much as I kind of love saying “I’m 50!” to people I’m running with, as a way to sort of lower expectations, I’m going to stop doing that. Who cares? I’m going to lean in and embrace the suck and the pain and the fatigue and the soreness with the same relish as I did in my 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Because isn’t that the point? Thanks Amanda!

On to tomorrow’s workout! Back to Pottery Rd for hills (or a 400/200m hill in the Beach)

2-4 sets of: 1 full hill, 1 half hill, 4 min tempo

I’ll aim to be there around 6:15.

That is all, see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna