Supporting

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Hi Everyone!

 

Huge congrats to Jason who ran the Petit Train du Nord Marathon on Sunday! Sounds like it was a bit of a rough day as we know can very easily happen in races, but he persevered and toughed it out in tough conditions. Speaking of conditions, the Minnesota marathon on the same day was canceled due to high heat. In October! I think heat training should just become a staple part of marathon training going forward.

 

I watched an interview recently of a man who had survived an accident where he’d received 3rd degree burns to 90% of his body. Horrific, but he had come through it and had a very positive outlook. When asked why he thought he’d survived and recovered so well, he said it was because of the love and support he’d received from friends and family. His parents were by his side every single day for 4 months, his sister and brother in-law were there, his friends from all over had sent cards and signs that filled up his room. At one point he had a roommate with similar burns. That man’s mother came in once, berated him for bringing this upon himself, and left. That man didn’t survive. You might think: your body doesn’t know there is a loved one in the room and cards on the wall when it’s trying to heal. But the interviewee believed, and I agree,that there is a definite physical benefit to feeling loved and having a support system.

 

When we are training hard, doing what we love, but also challenging ourselves physically and mentally, we are not doing it in isolation. I think it’s important every now and then to recognize our support teams and thank them for their role in our journeys. I also recognize that we ourselves make up a significant part of other peoples’ support teams. I credit this crew with much of my ability to thrive in this sport. Again, support is not about physically assisting. It’s just being on your side – having your back and wanting the best for you. It could be making you a sandwich or smoothie after your run, but it could also show up as simply as asking “how was your run?” It’s caring. And it makes a difference. That’s why there is strength in teams, friend groups, family units, … we don’t thrive in isolation. If you’re wondering whether to make the time to send the note, make the phone call, or even send a facebook message to a loved one, know that it does make a difference. And remember to thank your support team at some point along this journey too – they may not know how important they are. I’ll go first: thank you all for caring, loving and supporting myself and each other. We are all stronger for it.

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

 

1.    Let’s do 3 sets of 4 x 400m. First set with 1 min rest. Second and Third sets with 90 sec rest (so they can be a second or two faster). 3 minutes between sets.

2.    Marathoners and Half Marathoners, finish with 1 mile (between tempo and marathon race pace depending how the legs feelafter the 400’s)

3.    Ppl running Chicago: 1 mile at race pace,2 x 400 a lil’ quicker.

 

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

Seanna

 

Choosing your chisel

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Hey Gang!

 

Happy September and Back-to-School and X-Country! Yes, that’sall the same season and will represent those things for me forever whether Iparticipate in them or not. There is a bit of melancholy that sometimes comeswith change, but there is also an energy – particularly with this specificseason change. I often tend to get butterflies of excitement in the fall, evenwhen I can’t pinpoint the source. 

The summer generally represents fun, less structure, relaxing,playing it by ear… many people thrive on this. I think it’s a good mode to get into at times. I can definitely lean into sloppy, chill, go with the flow mode.But then September brings a vibe of “tightening up” and I don’t mind this transition either. More structure, more predictability. And yes, it’s often busier. So now is a great time to set up systems which can help us manage everything we want to get done.

Many of us are experiencing various changes this season,with kids in new routines, maybe some or all kids have left the house,workplace energy shifts, the starting of different roles at work, etc… And of COURSE we still have our training goals and objectives. Summertime is not a time for rigid schedules and routines – that defeats the purpose and we would be zero fun. But now that things need to get done and multiple objectives need to be met, it’s a good time to find some systems that work for us and which we can fall back on so we don’t lose our minds.

Some examples of systems that provide structure and help get shit done:

Run early in the mornings, show up to Wednesday workouts(whether you just get mileage in or join the workout), run commute two days a week, plan at least three dinners for the week on the weekends, have certain days that certain people in the house cook, pay a high school kid to pickup/drop off your younger kids from school/activities, share carpooling with other parents, join a gym that is close to you (I’ve learned that pretty much all that matters in a gym is proximity to you), hire someone to deep clean your house once a month so it isn’t constant background stress, pay your bills on every x day of the month, hire a tutor if homework is a nightmare, be set up to make a smoothie with protein every morning, pre-set your coffee machine the night before a morning run, meet the group for a weekend long run in the morning even though it’s the weekend, … you get the picture. Whatever your barriers tend to be, or whatever tends to get you running around like a chicken with its head cut off: create a system for that.

This might take some time because as most of us are in the midst of some sort of change, we may not yet know what we need or what our stumbling blocks will be. I’ve also noticed that many of the things on the list above require other people’s help and support. This is a key part of the system! Know when you can’t do it alone and ask for help or outsource the task completely.That is OK! Just set up the expectations and put the system in place. We got this team – good luck on a new season everyone!!!

 

(On this note, one of my new systems is this newsletter format. Turns out gmail had identified me as spam, so my emails weren’t getting through. Trying this out as a new system which should save me some time. Hope it works for y’all!)

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

1.    Let’s roll back to our standard 800’s. 6-8 of them with 1:30 rest. This is a good check in workout and gives options of leaning in or back depending on how you feel.

2.    If you are still working on developing multiple gears for different paces, do the 600 of the 800’s. You will build up to doing 800 at that same pace. But start here.

3.    At any time you can do a 600 of any of the 800’s if you need a tiny breather.

4.    People running the Georgina 10K, 5-6 x600 @ 10K pace.

5.    People running the Georgina 5K and the TrackSmith 5000: 4 x 400 w 1:15, 3 min set rest, then 4 x 200 w 1:00

 

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna

Regrouping

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Hi Everyone!

 

For races this past weekend we had Carol McFarlane who did the Barrelman Half Ironman and crushed it as a “training through” for NYC effort! Way to go. I think everyone else is training hard and there were some solid long runs completed over the weekend. Excellent job everyone! For people training for fall marathons, we’re really in it right now and it’s ok if you feel tired and it feels hard. That means you’re doing it right and are on track.

 

Along that vein, the theme I’ve been thinking about this week is the concept of regrouping. I believe the term comes from a military definition of pulling troops together after they’ve been dispersed in an attack.It’s pulling them all back to start again from a place of strength. It’s a reset of sorts, with all your resources coming back together so you can push on.

 

I think of regrouping in running in a few ways. One is the obvious– pausing and finding the people you started with mid-run or mid-workout. It’s natural to get dispersed throughout an effort, and as we’ve discussed before,there is clear energy to be found in other peoples’ presence, so pausing and physically regrouping can help to reset that energy.

 

The other way I’ve lately been thinking about it, is in personally regrouping. Like sometimes in the middle of a hard training block, or a hard effort, we need to pause, take a deep breath, rally our mental, emotional and physical resources and reset. I recently just did this during one of my ‘peak’ training weeks. I just needed a little slack, so I paused the effort for a couple of days, pulled myself together, and then got back out there. Regrouping might take a little longer than a couple of days – depending on your situation.But most importantly, it doesn’t mean you’re stopping. You’re just rallying your resources and taking a breath so that you can keep going. In the middle of last spring’s London Marathon, Sifan Hassan stopped running and stretched out her quad. She lost the pack she’d been running with and then resumed on her own. Then she went on to win the whole thing.  She paused, regrouped, and continued on. It is clearly often in our own best interests to do this when we need to. Sometimes I regroup within a race or workout just by pausing the “pushing it” feeling, and allowing myself to relax for a few minutes. I often find I can take a few breaths and then resume the effort without noticeably losing much ground. So if you’re in the middle of a hard block and need a little pause to regroup, go for  it. You are not quitting or stopping – you’re rallying all of your resources so you can pull together your best effort. I think it’s a winning strategy.

 

On to tomorrow’s workout! We are dividing up here:

 

1.    People who are running the New York Marathon have hills on tap. I think a little mix of hills and tempo is good here. Let’s do sets of: 2 x Pottery (or 400m) hill, 3 min tempo. Not a super long tempo –just getting you in the habit of resuming your running post hill effort. Take 1min bw the hills and tempo, and just cruise easy back down the hill once you’re done the tempo. 3-4 sets is probably the number.

2.    People running Chicago or TCS (or other) full or half, we’ll do 600’s on Lakeshore. Many of us have longer work in our legs so this is a way to get a bit more pep and smoother rhythm back. 6-8 of them with 1:15 rest.

The purpose here is to run smooth, relaxed,and faster than race pace. But smooth and relaxed are the primary objectives. If that feeling isn’t there, slow them down. This is about a feel more than an objective time measure.

3.    If you’re running 5K’s, you can push a little harder in these (you have fresher legs than the rest of us). 5K effort/pace is a good target.

4.    If you’re not sure what you want to do, come out, do some drills, see how your body feels, and if it’s 2 reps or just a run and cheer, do that!

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

Xo

 

Seanna

 

The power of self compassion

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Hey Gang!

 

So many races this past weekend! Exciting stuff from our crew. Both Pearce and Andrew H ran the TrackSmith 5000 on Saturday in the fastest heat of the night! Both PB’s and both have more to come. As Pearce noted, racing is a skill, and it doesn’t just correlate automatically with workouts. You just have to learn it by doing it. At Georgina we had Kerry also doing a 5K, and Cindy who ran a PB and came 2nd overall in the 10K! In the Half Marathon we had a few of us doing it as training runs for our marathons, but still some solid runs! Myself, Clare, Carolyn, and Jason. Way to go crew – inspiring runs all around.

 

I’ve spoken about the topic of self-compassion before, but I’ve been learning a little more about it, and it’s been an idea that’s been resonating with me lately. Doesn’t it feel so good when you talk to a friend and they treat you and your problems with such compassion that you come away feeling better about yourself and more confident and like you can now bravely face everything? These friends are the best. Imagine the power and confidence you’d have if you could carry a voice like that around with you all the time.That’s what self-compassion is about. It’s about learning how to be that friend to yourself.

 

Old school mentality might say that self-compassion is soft,and what you actually need is some toughening up. David Doggins style: “Get out there loser!”, “No pain, no gain!”, “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse!” This may work for some people some of the time (although I don’t think it comes from a healthy place nor does it work longterm), but studies show that people who are more self-compassionate are actually higher performers in all areas. It turns out that having a friend in your corner is away bigger performance booster than having a bully. So what does self-compassion look like? It’s not letting yourself off the hook. It’s reminding yourself that you’re human, you have landed in a certain situation, and you are doing the best that you can. And that you will make mistakes because absolutely no one doesn’t, and that you’ll learn and grow from each one. It’s a voice that says “you’re doing great – keep going” instead of “you’ll never be good enough”. It says “you did your best and there were a lot of reasons why anyone would have struggled where you did” instead of “you’re a failure”. It doesn’t say “you don’t need this – go back to sleep”, it says “I love you and I believe in you and you will never fail in my eyes”. It’s what we try to give our friends and our kids to carry around with them because we believe with all our hearts it’s true. If we can give ourselves that same reflection, and the voice in our heads is truly our best friend, we can become tremendously powerful. I love you, and I believe in you.

On to tomorrow’s workout! Let’s do a fartlek on the spit.We’ll meet at Lakeshore and Leslie at 6:05 for drills, 6:15 GO, but run into the spit for the workout portion. Bring lights if you have them although it should be ok visibility by the time we start.

 

1.    5 min tempo, 2 min easy, 3-2-1 min ON, 1min OFF. 3 min easy and repeat. THEN finish with your choice of either 5, 3, 2or 1 min as the final “set”.

 

If you just raced a 5K or need a little less intensity,keep them all tempo pace. This is one of those workouts where you can tap into your current energy situation and go by feel.

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Setting up our systems

/in /by

Hey Gang!

 

Happy September and Back-to-School and X-Country! Yes, that’sall the same season and will represent those things for me forever whether Iparticipate in them or not. There is a bit of melancholy that sometimes comeswith change, but there is also an energy – particularly with this specificseason change. I often tend to get butterflies of excitement in the fall, evenwhen I can’t pinpoint the source. 

The summer generally represents fun, less structure, relaxing,playing it by ear… many people thrive on this. I think it’s a good mode to get into at times. I can definitely lean into sloppy, chill, go with the flow mode.But then September brings a vibe of “tightening up” and I don’t mind this transition either. More structure, more predictability. And yes, it’s often busier. So now is a great time to set up systems which can help us manage everything we want to get done.

Many of us are experiencing various changes this season,with kids in new routines, maybe some or all kids have left the house,workplace energy shifts, the starting of different roles at work, etc… And of COURSE we still have our training goals and objectives. Summertime is not a time for rigid schedules and routines – that defeats the purpose and we would be zero fun. But now that things need to get done and multiple objectives need to be met, it’s a good time to find some systems that work for us and which we can fall back on so we don’t lose our minds.

Some examples of systems that provide structure and help get shit done:

Run early in the mornings, show up to Wednesday workouts(whether you just get mileage in or join the workout), run commute two days a week, plan at least three dinners for the week on the weekends, have certain days that certain people in the house cook, pay a high school kid to pickup/drop off your younger kids from school/activities, share carpooling with other parents, join a gym that is close to you (I’ve learned that pretty much all that matters in a gym is proximity to you), hire someone to deep clean your house once a month so it isn’t constant background stress, pay your bills on every x day of the month, hire a tutor if homework is a nightmare, be set up to make a smoothie with protein every morning, pre-set your coffee machine the night before a morning run, meet the group for a weekend long run in the morning even though it’s the weekend, … you get the picture. Whatever your barriers tend to be, or whatever tends to get you running around like a chicken with its head cut off: create a system for that.

This might take some time because as most of us are in the midst of some sort of change, we may not yet know what we need or what our stumbling blocks will be. I’ve also noticed that many of the things on the list above require other people’s help and support. This is a key part of the system! Know when you can’t do it alone and ask for help or outsource the task completely.That is OK! Just set up the expectations and put the system in place. We got this team – good luck on a new season everyone!!!

 

(On this note, one of my new systems is this newsletter format. Turns out gmail had identified me as spam, so my emails weren’t getting through. Trying this out as a new system which should save me some time. Hope it works for y’all!)

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

1.    Let’s roll back to our standard 800’s. 6-8 of them with 1:30 rest. This is a good check in workout and gives options of leaning in or back depending on how you feel.

2.    If you are still working on developing multiple gears for different paces, do the 600 of the 800’s. You will build up to doing 800 at that same pace. But start here.

3.    At any time you can do a 600 of any of the 800’s if you need a tiny breather.

4.    People running the Georgina 10K, 5-6 x600 @ 10K pace.

5.    People running the Georgina 5K and the TrackSmith 5000: 4 x 400 w 1:15, 3 min set rest, then 4 x 200 w 1:00

 

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna

 

Cold, rational training

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Hi Everyone!

 

First up, huge congrats to all those who raced this weekend! In the Achilles 5K we had Aryn making her comeback in fine form! And in the Toronto Women’s 5K we had Ingrid who really went for it, and Michelle (who hasn’t been out running with our group but is with us virtually). Way to go all! Not a lot this weekend but the following one is a big one for races with the TrackSmith 5000, Georgina 5K, 10K, Half and Full, Yorkville 5K and the Toronto Island 5K and 10K. A lot going on!

 

This week I’ve been thinking about the ability to approach our training with cold detachment. And by that I mean, being smart, and thinking through the reasons and outcomes we need to achieve for each session. Training is not about hitting ourselves over the head with a hammer – just because we can. Training should not be suffering. Yes, there is some hard work, but it’s a rational, systematic dosage in order for adaptation to occur safely and gradually. It is not a judgement of who you are or how tough or what you’re currently capable of. Training is simply a stimulus to try to illicit positive adaptation.

 

As a coach I’m always trying to science it and get that stimulus/response right for athletes in a rational way, and I know that every week will look slightly different based on how people have absorbed the work, the load they’re carrying into the workouts, their stress, their life stage, etc.. If an athlete has a rough workout, it has never once occurred to me that they might not be tough or that they aren’t as fast as we thought, or that they’ve reached their peak and are going backwards. I think I got the dosage wrong and we just need to re-jig. OR some workouts are just tougher than others and non glamorous work is still work that moves you forward.

 

But it’s funny how as athletes we can forget that’s what it’s all about and we can start judging ourselves in workouts. We can worry that we won’t be able to “hit paces” so we go out too hard (sometimes then jeopardizing the point of the whole workout). We might do more or add on to what was prescribed, either because we’re compensating for what we feel was a “bad” workout, or because we assume that more and harder is always better. It isn’t. We can internalize the “results” of a workout as character successes or failures – we will feel good about ourselves after a strong one and feel personally badly when one doesn’t go as planned. When you think about it, this is so ridiculous. Workouts are only there to apply a physical stimulus. That is all. We are training. The science of how each body will respond to all of the stresses in life in conjunction with training is terribly inexact. We just have to be able to detach ourselves emotionally from training, try to understand the principles we are trying to achieve, and go about applying the stimulus in a rational way. There is a time to run with heart and emotion if you can harness that sort of thing, and that is in the race. Workouts are just workouts and training is just training. And it should be (mostly) enjoyable 😉

 

On to Tomorrow’s workout – back to Pottery Road hills!

For those running Toronto and Chicago, these will be our last long hills (NYC runners might get another set in ;)) Use these as an opportunity to work on good old fashioned strength. Just steady up, easy down. Aim for one more than you did last time. Ppl running the Georgina 5K or 10K I’ll message you separately. Ppl doing the TrackSmith 5000 you have your wrkt. If anyone else has any questions please reach out!

 

I will aim to be at the hill around 6:15. Just start going up and down when you get there and we will see you out there!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

I am …

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Hi Gang!

 

There were no races this past weekend. Everyone I can see is just putting their heads down and training hard. Way to go – this is what we love to do!

 

I told a few of you this story the other day. I went to the dentist, and as usual, admitted I very rarely floss but felt fine about it because I’ve never had a cavity and my last hygienist told me to keep doing what I was doing – which was very little. This hygienist was not as proud of me though. She said “Can I be honest with you? Not flossing isn’t working for you”. I told her I’d try, but at this stage in my life and with few negative consequences I didn’t see a lot of hope in developing a new habit. She said, “You just have to make it your identity. Tell yourself – I am a flosser”. So I did. I repeat it to myself every evening. And guess what – so far, I’ve been successful!

 

So of course I’ve been thinking about this. It’s hard to constantly will ourselves to do something because we should, but we can try on different hats and identities which support certain actions and make them more automatic. Heck, our teenagers are experimenting with new identities and personas almost daily to find the ones or parts of ones that fit. These identities don’t have to be permanent, but they can help us to navigate the world with the behaviours we want to exude. For example “I am vegetarian” or “I don’t drink”. When we see ourselves a certain way, it is much easier to do the thing. I’m pretty sure everyone reading this identifies as a runner. If not, let me tell you: “You are a runner”. I think most of our identities have come to us through interpreting our actions first. Oh, I do this, I guess I am…. But the power lies in making it your identity first. And then living up to it. “I am mentally tough in races”, “I am a kind and generous person”, “I love challenging myself physically” … or whatever it is. Of course you have to believe it. I realized we also have to be aware of negative identities which may have crept in and become the easy route to follow. “I get weak when the going gets tough”, “I’m not good on hills”, “I’m stressed out and always in a rush”. If that’s how you see yourself, that’s how you will act. I think this is what people refer to as “the voice in your head”. It’s just your self-identity and narrative. But as my hygienist taught me, it can be reprogrammed! I’m going to try this out a little more. A good place to practice and reinforce it is at workouts. I know people in this group who identify as being strong in the last interval or positive throughout the workout no matter how it is playing out. I can see it as part of how they see themselves. So try out an identity you want, act it out, and reinforce it. You may like it and keep it, you may need to tweak it, or you might find it’s really not you. But as our teenagers seem to intuitively know, if you want to grow or change, you have to try.  

 

On to tomorrow’s workout – back to Lakeshore and Leslie – 6:05 Drills, 6:15 GO! (this is one we’ve done before and I like it – it has a little bit of everything – some strength/endurance and some faster paced stuff)

  1. 1 mile tempo, 2 min rest, 4 x 400 w 1 min @ 5K pace, 2 min rest, Repeat the whole sequence.
  2. People training for a marathon, add 1 mile at goal marathon race pace at the end.
  3. People trying to hold faster speeds for longer distances, instead of the 1 mile tempos, do 800m tempos.
  4. People coming back from injury – do everything at tempo pace.
  5. If going by time: 6 min tempo, 2 min easy, 4 x 1:30 ON, 1 min OFF, 2 min easy, Repeat.

 

See you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Growth in pursuing goals

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Hi Everyone!

 

Don’t think anyone raced last week. There are some more fun summer races coming up if you want a little supported tempo, fitness check-in, or fun community event. Locally we have: the Don’t Trip Rail Path Mile Aug 25th, Achilles 5K Aug 26th, Toronto Women’s 5K/10K Aug 26th, TrackSmith 5000 Sept 9th, Toronto Island 5K/10K Sept 10th, Yorkville 5K Sept 10th, Georgina 5k/10K/Half Sept 10th , Oasis Zoo run 5K/10K Sept 16th, These are just a few if anyone’s keen.

 

I’ve been thinking and chatting with people recently about goals. It can seem strange that we get so caught up in running goals since as we remind ourselves time and time again “NO ONE CARES HOW FAST YOU RUN!” but that’s not the point. They’re important to us because they represent challenge, growth and learning. What are we here on earth for if it’s not to grow and learn and become our best selves? And I think we are innately driven to find paths to do that. Choosing challenging running goals is a very valid path in that pursuit. So yes, the results don’t really matter. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to try our hardest to achieve them. It’s the authentic pursuit that matters. How we rise to a challenge, how we handle adversity, how we choose and express our values through training and racing, how we help others and pull them up as we go, … There are endless ways to find meaning and growth in the pursuit of our goals. The key is that, they have to be challenging, and we have to be able to strive for them with dedication and purpose, but be ok if we don’t quite get them every time. There is not a lot of growth to be had in lobbing a soft goal which you could achieve easily. But at the same time, it doesn’t always have to be a personal best or a sexy looking time or placing. It should be something that will push you towards expansion right now. I’m personally not looking for any more personal bests, but am still excited and motivated to achieve goals I set for myself. Because even if life circumstances mean we may not be objectively running as fast as ever, our journeys are just as, if not more valuable in terms of our personal development. That growth never stops as long as we keep the pursuit honest. 

 

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

 

  1. 6-8 x 800 w 1:30 rest. A few ways to approach this: if you’re just getting back into workouts and building some strength and volume, keep these at a tempo-ish pace. I’d suggest this for ppl just starting a marathon build. If you’re in the midst of a build and have some strength and miles behind you, feel free to go around 10K pace. The range is there for you to do what’s right for you on that day.
  2. If you’re working on extending how long you can hold a faster pace, suggest doing 6-8 x 600. Go out with the group, stop at the 600 mark, and pick them up when they come back through for the next one. (yes, you’ll get a bit longer break every other one).
  3. Do a mix of 800’s and 600’s. Challenge yourself to do 4-5 x 800, and then do the 600 of the 800’s for a few more.
  4. If you’re traveling and doing this by time: 6-8 x 3 min ON, 1:30 OFF. Pace between tempo and 10k.

 

That is it – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Motivation vs Discipline

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Hi Everyone!

 

First up, huge congrats to those who ran the TrackSmith 5K on Thursday eve – amidst a huge thunderstorm! We had Karen, Brianna, Jordan (PB!) and Kai Tai. It’s not easy doing something new and way out of your comfort zone – an evening track race – and this crew all gulped, closed their eyes and jumped. Way to go.

 

The other day I was listening to a podcast with a top professional business coach. The interviewer asked about discipline, and the coach replied that the top performers are there not because they are disciplined, but because they’re motivated. Top performers don’t have to convince themselves to get out of bed early to get to work. And the difference between them and their colleagues who aren’t at their level is usually just a matter of motivation and engagement with their goal or purpose. That’s not to say they aren’t disciplined. Discipline gets them through slumps or lower energy phases. But they don’t rely on discipline.

 

My brother in law said to me the other night that I must be super disciplined, based on how much he sees me run. I looked up from my glass of wine and bowl of ice cream and said – I’m not really that disciplined to be honest. I can be disciplined when I put my mind to it, but that’s not what has kept me running and challenging myself physically for over 30 years. That has been more of a pull. A carrot vs the stick. I think for most of us in this group, that is the case. We are runners because we love it. We run when we’re on vacation, we run when we’re not “training”, we run maybe when we shouldn’t always be. This is not to say it’s always easy. And when we’re reaching for new levels of fitness, we do question our motivation and have to draw a little more on discipline. But what I have found, is that if you push through the harder stages and use some discipline to smooth over the gap, the motivation quickly follows and falls back into it’s guiding place. When I have a big training block ahead I can become a little intimidated and nervous and maybe tentative, but once I get myself going and am in the middle of it, I find it’s the desire and drive that take over. I think many of us are in that stage right now, looking at what’s ahead and thinking: “Yikes, this will be hard”. But just get started. Trust that you’ll get into it and it won’t be so hard once you’re in it. Remember, you love this.

 

On to tomorrow’s workout: back to Riverdale Hills! Let’s do the old standard which I seem to have missed the last couple of times: 3 x hill followed by 4 min tempo. Repeat 3 x’s. (2 if you’re just coming back or feeling sore or tired). 1:30 between hills and tempos on each side.

 

I’ll aim to be there for 6:05 drills, 6:15 GO!

 

See you in the am 

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

Listening to our bodies

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Hi Gang!

 

Happy August! I know we’ve had some hot days, but try to savour being able to step out of your house without having the additional barrier of overcoming the cold. Seriously, that occurred to me the other day. You know when you have to psych yourself up for a run, not for the effort, but for the discomfort of the temperature? This is soooo much better. I am not taking it for granted.

 

Many of us are in the midst or about to ramp up for fall races. One thing I wanted to remind everyone as things get busier (especially when back-to-school hits in a few weeks – sorry!) is to listen to your bodies. They are way smarter than any plan. While I was away last week, I headed out for a regular run, and realized from the first step that I felt unusually tired. Strange – maybe I just needed to wake up and warm-up. But where my kilometers usually start flowing more easily, they remained very slow and lethargic. My body would not allow me to go faster than a minute slower than my usual pace, and I stopped and walked a couple of times to make it through 6K. Odd. I hadn’t been working so hard previously that I needed a huge recovery day. Then that night I came down with a cold. I had had no signs of it coming, but my body knew I needed to rally my resources and stop wasting energy running. I thought: how interesting and smart that it just doesn’t let me recklessly spend energy it knows it will need. And it’s not just when we’re about to get sick. I think we receive the same signals when we’re getting injured. I was talking to a new runner about why more experienced runners tend to get injured less, and I said I think part of it is that we’re just better at reading the signs. Some of them are very subtle and are just patterns that we have learned to intuitively recognize. It’s not something you can describe and write in a text book – it’s just a lived experience of learning to listen to your body. I also believe that motivation plays a big role in this. Motivation is latent energy. When you have a lot of it, you’re probably good to go. It’s pretty normal for motivation to wax and wane, but if it’s been waning for longer than usual, it’s probably a sign that your body doesn’t have the resources to do what you’re asking it to. Sometimes it’s a super easy fix and eating a sandwich can boost your motivation back up! But sometimes it goes deeper and your body is trying to tell you something. As a coach I try to help people interpret the signals, but we’re all best off if we can learn to be master communicators with our own bodies – they are smart and are talking to us – we just have to learn to listen.

 

Tomorrow’s workout – back to Lakeshore and Leslie! 6:05 drills, 6:15 GO. This is a classic descending ladder. A great way for those building for longer races to get in some km’s without being overly repetitive in distance or pace.

 

  1. 1600-1200-1000-800-600-400-200 (rests: 3 min, 2min, 1:45, 1:30, 1:15, 1:00). Paces: start at Half Marathon pace and work down.
  2. If newer to workouts or just getting back into it, start at 1200.
  3. If going by time: 6-5-4-3-2-1-30sec w rests as above
  4. If racing the TrackSmith 5000 on Thursday: easy 20 min shake + strides

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna