Averages

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Hi Everyone!

 

Wow – what a weekend of running and racing! We had 14 people running between the Full and Half in Toronto and Mississauga. Everyone who ran the marathon got a BQ, there were many PB’s and strong performances all around. It really made me so proud and happy for all of you.

 

It’s kind of amazing actually. We look around and might think: ya – this is what I should be able to do. But I read recently that only .1% of the world have run a marathon, and only 1% of Americans (no stats on Canadians). Of those, way less than half qualify for Boston. So remember, when comparing yourself, that you’re comparing yourself against a pretty accomplished group.

 

And this is not a bad thing, and in fact leads me to what I have been thinking about: the philosophy that you become the average of the 5 people you hang around with most. I feel immensely fortunate that on most days I have a pick of smart, funny, wise, compassionate, fierce, generous people to interact and run with. If I become the average of the people in this group I will feel very grateful. And everyone here is in it to share it. There are no solo performances. As inspired as I was by all of the runners out there on the weekend, I was just as moved and inspired by their teammates who drove or biked or ran out to spend their Sundays cheering them on. And those who have shared countless dark, early morning miles, strength exercises, long runs and hills. Not everyone raced this weekend, but those races were a culmination of everyone’s contribution.

 

As some of you know (because I probably talk about it ad-nauseum), I’m training for an Ironman this summer. The reason? 10 ppl from this group are doing it and it felt welcoming and fun. Ok, it’s hard and intimidating and exhausting and a tad terrifying, but I would be nowhere without my teammates. There is always a smiling pool buddy, a “no-drop” bike ride, an early morning running bud. And the very best part? All good people who raise me up in all areas. If I don’t come away from a run or a bike faster, at least I come away probably smarter and definitely happier.

 

So yes, when you choose to hang out with top-notch folk, it’s possible to get caught in the comparison trap and feel like you’re not measuring up. But flip that around and remember that we are all lifting each other up. And I love you all for that!

 

Onto tomorrow’s workout:

Back to Lakeshore. 6:05 drills, 6:15 Go

Anyone who raced on the weekend, no workout! If you ran the marathon, no running for a week and maybe ease into workouts after if you feel ok. Half marathoners can start running this week but no workouts till next week.

 

1 mile tempo. 3 min rest. 8 x 200/200 Hard/Float (edit: we took a 3 min break after the first 4)

The idea is that you go fast (but not grabbing your knees at the end fast bc you have to keep going) and then straight into 200 “float” which is somewhere around marathon race pace. So not a jog. With this workout, you can work on increasing your “float” pace vs. increasing your “fast” pace for performance benefits. Works on your ability to clear lactate, your stamina and strength (as it pertains to maintaining speed). Fun, right?

 

See you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Races!

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Hi Everyone!!

 

Ok, I’m gonna say it now … snow is behind us. At least if you’re living in Toronto. Last Monday HAD to be our last snowfall. So pack away that winter running gear! Now obviously if it snows again, you know who to blame.

 

A large contingent in our crew have races coming up – marathons or half marathons. I’ve been thinking a lot about races lately. Why we do them, what they signify. Usually they represent a goal we’ve been working towards. I say usually because sometimes we just jump in for fun and for the experience. It’s good to know what you want out of a race experience before going in. It’s also good to remind yourself that this is for you and you only. As much as we all love and support each other, nobody actually cares at all what number is attached to your race experience but you. We will all love and respect and admire each other in the same ways no matter what the clock says. The people who matter the most care the least about the time as it pertains to you.

 

Now, if you have worked hard and love reaching goals, of course you want your time or place to reflect that. And by all means, do everything in your power to make that happen. It feels good. This is an opportunity to bring all of the puzzle pieces of training together into one big final effort. It’s a fun challenge with a big question mark and only you know how to answer it. Yes, many things can happen to make things go your way or to throw curve balls, and all you can do is to show up and say “I’m ready to give my best today with whatever it brings”. That is fun. This is supposed to be fun. Trying your hardest is fun.

 

But don’t forget that this is by no means all about one race. All of the training you’ve done and are still doing is all rewarding and enjoyable (most of the time?) and has sustained you through some hard months of weather and pandemic and life. That, in itself is to be celebrated. So many of you have really impressed me with what you’ve achieved over the last few months. The determination and strength and resilience and focus-without-losing-focus-on-what-really-matters. All of that should and can be celebrated without a race at the end. For better or worse though, our brains are wired to seek and achieve, so we hang the race there as the “goal”, even though we secretly all know that the process is the goal.

 

So let’s line up knowing we’ve already “won” and allow ourselves to enter a challenge with curiosity and open mindedness and a willingness to work hard. There is zero to prove, but much to be celebrated. And just remember: It’s SUPPOSED to feel hard!

 

On that note, I’m trying to chat with everyone I’m coaching before the races this weekend. If I haven’t yet I will be reaching out with a time (or feel free to reach out to me!)

 

On to tomorrow’s workout:

 

People racing, sleep in and/or do this on your own time or in groups:

2 x 3 min @ race pace (half or marathon, depending on your race) w 2 min easy, then 3 x 2 min a little quicker w 1 min easy.

 

Thursday, Friday, Sat should be rest/easy jog/rest or reverse if you like a little shake-out the day before. Nothing over 5-6K. No weights. Don’t go on ridiculously long walks. Eat normally, and make Friday your biggest eating day.

 

Everyone else, let’s do Riverdale hills! 4-6 x hill – fast up, easy down, 2 min rest, then 8 min tempo (I like up to Danforth and back down for more hills). Repeat the whole sequence again. This is good for Lake Placid people (I hear there are a few rollers) and for ppl training for shorter distance stuff – the shorter power hills are great.

 

I will plan to be there around 6/6:05.

 

Thanks all – see you in the am!!!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

Keepin it fun :)

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Hi Everyone!!!

 

Huge congrats to everyone who ran Boston yesterday!!!! Madalyn, Andrew, Patrick, Carol. And huge hugs to those who qualified and trained for it and cheered on their teammates from home. In witnessing the stories of people I know and of elite athletes, it looks like there was the usual mix of victories, heartache, celebration, disappointment, tears of joy, tears of pain … ah, marathons. And Boston seems to bring out the highest highs and lowest lows. This is what we sign up for!

 

On that note, just a reminder to check in with yourself and make sure that while you’re learning, growing and building character, you’re also enjoying it. I love running, working out, moving my body. I love racing with others who are all out there trying their hardest. That is fun for me. I love challenging myself and doing hard physical things. And mostly I love doing all of this with people I love and whose company I enjoy. But. Every now and then I can get caught up chasing it, and then I can get a bit burned out. If something used to make me feel good, I do it more, and again, and again. And it takes me a while to realize it might not currently be fun or making me feel good. This might be when my energy or time availabilities don’t fit with what I’m trying to do. Or maybe I’ve been doing the same thing too repetitively and there’s no more novelty – I’m bored. Or maybe I’ve been hitting my head against a wall pushing in a certain direction where I’m not getting much positive feedback. I like to think I’m pretty good at noticing when this is happening, and I’m pretty good at changing course to keep it fun. I’ll race 1500m on the track, a x-country ski race, an Ironman, a 100K gravel bike ride … I do tend to come back to running, but only if it’s fun. This is the only reason I can think of why I’m still doing it after 30 plus years!!

 

I just want to give you all that little self-check reminder. We can get very serious when we’re chasing goals. That’s fine. It is extremely rewarding to set and achieve big goals that you thought were outside of yourself. But just keep a little eye on your motivation and whether you’re still excited and finding it fun. If you have one big goal that you just want to put to bed and then be done with the whole thing, fine. But I suspect most of us are here because we want to keep doing this for many years. So relax your shoulders, unclench your jaw, take a deep breath, and maybe even laugh a bit. This is fun.

 

Onto tomorrow’s workout!

Let’s go back to Lakeshore and Leslie to support our Toronto and Mississauga teammates who should be done with hills until after the race. If you’re not doing either of these, throw in 5-6 x short (15-20 sec) hill sprints at the end of a run – probably Friday.

Leslie and Lakeshore: 6:05 warm-up, 6:15 Go time!

 

  1. 1 mile tempo. 3 min rec. 4-6 x 600m (5K-8K pace) w 1:30. 3 min rec. 1 mile race pace (mara or half).
  2. If doing this fartlek style: 7 min tempo, 4-6 x 2 min Hard, 1:30 Easy, 7 min tempo

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Control

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Hi Everyone!

 

Hope you’re all taking good care of yourselves. Whether you’re sick or not, good rest and food are so so important.

 

I have to say, this is the most pivot-involved season of coaching I’ve ever experienced. Most of this has to do with people training and racing during a pandemic. We do plan for some things to go not according to plan. And to be honest, that is fine. I think a big part of what we’re learning through this is “going with the flow”.

 

Here’s what I keep thinking about: the skill of only concerning yourself with what you can control. There are some things that will just be out of your control, and you can’t waste mental energy on those. This is something many athletes who experience race anxiety work on before big events. There is a looming feeling of generalized stress because they’ve put a lot of work into it and are unsure of how things will play out. But once you realize there are certain things you can control (your internal dialogue, what you eat, your warm-up routine, your race/pacing strategy) and some things you can’t (the weather, your competition, mechanical or equipment mishaps), you can work on being confident in what you can do, and let go of what you can’t. Once you let go of worrying about the things you can’t control it takes a big load off.

 

Many of our group here have experienced hiccups of varying degrees through this training cycle. And what’s done is done. Whether you got sick or injured or experienced some other set-back, the best course of action is acceptance. Don’t stress about what is outside of your control. That is wasted energy. Just do what you can do now. And going forward, do what you can to avoid illness and injury, but once you’ve decided what you’re doing, put the rest out of your head. You can’t control everything. You can only control what you can control and many things can and will happen that are outside of that. Deal with them when you get there, but don’t stress about them beforehand. As long as you’re comfortable with your plan, just stick with that. You’re good! And now, you have a little extra energy that you’ve just freed up.

 

On to our workout for tomorrow!

I’m thinking we could use a social fartlek type workout. I like these because you can lean in or back depending on where you are in your current phase and energy cycle. It’s also a great way to work on internal pacing based on how you feel vs. what your watch is telling you. These were my bread and butter workouts through much of my university days and beyond. They can get you really fit, and they keep you in the game whether you’re having a “good one” or not. (my fave way is to use the good ol Timex watch vs. gps. Sorry Strava lovers! Guess what – it will be ok if you don’t know your paces I promise). If you have a mental compulsion to track and measure everything, see if you can force yourself to break that this once. You can guess your overall mileage like we did in the “olden days” and I guarantee you won’t be more than 1KM off up or down. NO biggie!!

 

Meet at Leslie and Lakeshore – 6:05 for drills, 6:15 Go Time.

10 min easy jog, then 3-5 sets of 3-2-1 min Hard w 1 min Easy; 3 min easy jog bw sets

(5 is a lot – not sure if we’ll get there – we used to do 3 but we were middle distance runners and ran everything at 1500m/3000m race pace – we’ll find a rhythm and see what we can do)

 

Boston racers! Do three sets and just find your wheels and your rhythm. Keep it smooth and controlled. Don’t worry about pace – this won’t make you faster for race day and it’s not a “test of where you are”. Just find that good smooth/fast feeling.

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Celebrating our strengths

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Hi Everyone!

 

Hope you’re all staying healthy and taking care of yourselves. I know many of us have gotten sick or have family members who’ve gotten sick. I heard the analogy that if you haven’t gotten it by now it feels like you’ve been hiding at the back in a Grade 6 Dodgeball game, and all the front ranks have been thinned out. Made me laugh because I think we can all relate to that feeling! (unless you’re under 30 in which case you should really try an adrenaline pumping round of Dodgeball with people bigger and stronger than you – and sometimes a little unhinged – whipping balls at you as hard as they can – it’s… an experience).

 

Anyway, what I’ve been thinking about this week is how we all have our unique, individual strengths. And how we should really pause to reflect on them and feel proud about them. We DO NOT all have the same strengths. That is for sure. And there are many different ways to get to similar results.

 

I’m thinking of the story I heard from a coach about two 800m runners who consistently ran the same times in their best races, down to the second (think I’ve mentioned this one before). One came from a strength/aerobic background, and the other from speed/speed endurance. One ran 15 mile (~22K) long runs and lots of volume. The other barely ever ran more than 5K and did lots of power and fast-twitch work. They couldn’t train together, but they raced side by side. Now the 800m is a unique event in its pure blend of these two systems, and either strength can do well, but the point is, you’ll only do well if you acknowledge your strengths and play to them.

 

As we enter our key race season, let’s think about what we’re good at. Some of us are great at being quietly confident and patient and trusting ourselves in a race. Some are great at being extremely consistent in workouts and continuing to show up. Some shine with the ability to be tough when it counts and keep pushing when it’s hard. Some have the ability to bring others with them on their journey and surround themselves with joy and mutual support. Some are good at staying relentlessly positive. Some are great closers and always find a fast finish. Some are uniquely attuned to listening and responding to their body’s cues – whether it’s to slow down, rest, push or speed up. Some are amazing at just keeping on keeping on. And even technically we have different strengths. Some thrive more in long runs, some on hills, some in short speed, some in tempos. Whatever your unique combination of mental and physical attributes are – these are a strength. And every now and then, your specific combination will be perfectly matched with the external circumstances. And you will shine the brightest. Other times they might not line up perfectly, but that doesn’t mean your unique strengths don’t matter. You won’t be your best self by trying to be someone you’re not. Instead, celebrate and lean into the strengths you have. You are all incredibly strong in your own ways. So please think about that and be proud! I love seeing them and am continually inspired by y’all.

 

Onto tomorrow’s Lakeshore workout! (6:05 warm-up/drills, 6:15 Go time)

 

  1. 4-5 x 1 mile @ 10K pace w 1:45 rest. Nothing fancy, just straight-up. You can ease into the first one.
  2. If doing this fartlek style, 4-5 x 7 mins @ 10K pace w 1:45 easy
  3. If doing the Spring Run Off: 2 x 1 mile @ 10K w 1:45, 3 mins, 4 x 400 @ 5K w 1:15, 3 mins, 4 x 200 as long strides w 1 min

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

Finding joy and gratitude

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Hi Everyone!

 

Huge congrats to everyone who ran Around The Bay – whether as race or a training run. That is a serious distance on a serious course with some serious wind! Shout out to Laura, Chris, Sean, Andrew, Zoë, Amy, Bob, Jordan, Patrick, Nir, Julia, Gillian who all put themselves out there! Way to go crew.

 

I ran the 5K. At the start line I was chatting with a friend and fellow coach. I was trying to figure out approx times so I would know where I should be relative to him. Because I did not want to look at my watch – I just wanted to race. I told him, “because you know – I’m 46.” And he said, “well, this is what I am thinking but you never know because you know – I’m 56.” We’re both slowing down. And as I ran I reflected on that and how lucky we were that we could still run hard and fast (relatively). I felt gratitude towards my body because it didn’t hurt and was doing what I was asking it. I didn’t look at my watch and I didn’t really care (too much) about my time. I was just taking nothing for granted and feeling grateful to be there, with others, doing what I love.

 

I was listening to a podcast with Karen Walrond – author of The Lightmaker’s Manifesto (which I haven’t read but is on my list!) Walrond addresses the dichotomy of seeking out and feeling joy and pleasure while also holding space for the suffering and injustices going on around us. She says it is even more important to fill yourself up with joy if you want to be able to stay open to seeing the injustices in the world and trying to make a difference. For many of us, that joy is running. And races are the peak experience of this expression. We are so so lucky, and I think that remembering that, whether it’s cold, windy, hilly, hard – is the most important thing. Doing a hard run or a race is not frivolous, but nor is it a big, stressful, important event that matters to anyone else. It is for you. So find a way to fill yourself up and find joy and gratitude in it. I only have to look at the number of our team who did not make it to the start line to remember not to take any of it for granted. And I will do my best to help you all get to your next starting line healthy and filled with joy and gratitude!

 

Tomorrow, we’re back to hills! If you ran ATB, you can come out and jog, but no hills. If you raced it, take at least a week off/easy. If you did it as a training run, your next hard effort will be this weekend. You’re still recovering, and adding another stress too close to that will put a cap on the recovery benefits you get from the effort! We’re getting close to key races for many of you and this is where you have to work smarter than harder. You’re fit – let’s get you to the start line!

 

Pottery Road as:

  1. Straight up hill for the first one.
  2. Easy halfway, fast second half (stairs/construction) for the second one
  3. Fast first half, easy second half for the third one
  4. Repeat this sequence 2-3 times
  5. 3 min rec – then 5 min tempo (it’s not cheating if you do this downhill towards Dundas 😉 )

 

I’ll aim to be there around 6:10/6:15 – happy to pick anyone up en-route!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

Self Care

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Hi Everyone!

 

Happy Spring! Yes, we’re finally officially here. Ahhh…. we deserve these ice-free, sunlit days. Enjoy!

 

Big congrats

to those who raced the Achilles 5K yesterday! I think we had 3 out of 3 PB’s: Andrew McKay (PB and 1st in age group!), Aryn (PB!) and Alexander Ferron (Annick’s son – – PB!) Way to go all! PB’s for the first race in a loooong time, and early in the season! Wohoo!

 

I’ve been thinking about the often over-used term Self-Care and what it really means. I think what comes to mind when we think about self-care is pampering ourselves with spas and sleep-ins and good food and easy entertainment. That might be what we need at certain times, but there is a lot more, and frankly a fair bit of work that goes into really taking care of ourselves.

 

Taking care of yourself means that YOU are the adult looking after you. You have to pull yourself together. It means doing your strength work. It means turning off your phone and focusing on the deep reading you want to learn about. It means cooking healthy meals. It means getting off the couch and getting together with a friend even when you have inertia, because you know the interaction is good for you. It means taking the time to make the appointment to figure out why you have pain. It means going to the dentist. It means cleaning your space. And yes, sometimes it does mean sleeping in. Self-care is hard work. But the meaning is in the term: YOU are the only one who can do it.

 

So go take good care of yourselves. I often have a phrase run through my head that my housemate in university used to say to me: “DEAL Robinson!” (I was just learning how to be the adult in my life back then – and I’m still not perfect, but I’m trying!)

 

Workout for this week: we’ll give hills a skip until next week bc many ppl are racing or doing a big hilly ATB effort this weekend. So Lakeshore – 6:05 for drills, 6:15 GO time:

 

1 mile tempo (or ATB race pace), 2 min rest, 3 sets of 600 (1:30 rest), 400 (1:15 rest), 200 (2 min bw sets) – starting at 5K pace and getting faster. There should be enough rest built in that you can hit some faster paces without straining too much. This is about getting your legs turning over and feeling good running faster paces.

 

If not racing this weekend, option of doing a 4th set.

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Going Sideways

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Hi Everyone!

 

Hope those of you who are able to take it are enjoying March Break. Whether you’re taking some time off work and taking a more relaxed approach to your running/training schedule this week or not, it’s always good to plan these in somewhere along the line. I know many of us love our work/training/busy lives, but as with all things – recharging is key!

 

That brings me to what I’ve been thinking about. When I write schedules for athletes I very rarely write out more than 6-8 weeks in advance. That is because I KNOW it is very unlikely for someone to follow a plan longer than that without something interfering. Whether it’s work schedules, injury set-backs, kids’ plans, more fatigue than we’d anticipated due to how we’re absorbing things… In fact I’ve never seen a plan written out for 12 weeks be followed without some dips or side-steps. I just want you all to know this is completely normal and expected. You have not failed in your training or need to give up and throw it all out and start again. So you have a new obstacle. And I know many of you are in this boat. So … what do you do about it? These are the times we’re really growing and learning as humans and athletes. What learning experience is there if everything goes perfectly? But when things go sideways … now we’re talking. Now we have the chance to face uncertainty, unscripted paths, self-doubt … this is the good stuff! This is what develops our character. Most people showing up at start lines are not exactly where they want to be with training. If you can show up with an attitude of “doing what you can with what you have” with a sense of excitement and feel positively challenged to see what that is, even knowing it won’t be ‘perfect’, then you’re learning something.

 

One last thing: I can see many of you training so hard and being hard on your bodies. Please remember to love and respect them! If something is sore or injured or asking for some rest, please do not ignore that. Our bodies are incredible and are on our side. We’re making them strong through training, but just a reminder not to fight them but work with them.

 

On to tomorrow’s workout!

 

I am away, so feel free to meet up at the usual time or make your own plans if going later. Just please coordinate so no one shows up looking for people and no one’s there.

 

  1. 6-8 x (600, 45 sec rest, 200) 2 mins bw sets. The key here is that the total volume will be run faster than last week where they were straight 800’s. Your body will get used to that mechanical load, so we can gradually push our 800 times down. 600’s close to the same pace as you ran your 800’s, and 200’s faster. (Note: if doing these on Lakeshore you will have to find a 200m mark from the East side as well. So you can run 600-200-jog back to the 200 mark, 600 heading east and then a 200 going west, then jog back to the start) Sorry if that’s confusing!
  2. If doing this fartlek: 6-8 x 3 min Hard, 45 sec rest, 30 seconds FAST – 2 min bw sets

 

That is all – see you all next week!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

Training Principles 101

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Hi Everyone!

 

Well, we got our first taste of Spring on Sunday. More days like that ahead! Yes, we’re in for some roller coasters of weather, but … it’s coming! And speaking of the weekend, many of you did some really big training runs as we’re in the thick of training for upcoming Spring marathons. Way to go. Take these big runs seriously. Treat yourselves well afterwards (eat, sleep, relax). It’s only “training” if you recover from them. Otherwise it’s just breakdown.

 

Special shout-out to Madalyn and Steph who ran virtual half marathons and both got PB’s!!! 1:33:28 for Madalyn who also PB’d through 10K, and 1:34:09 for Steph! Way to go you two and to everyone else who put solid work in this weekend! (And thank-you to Culture Athletics for putting on the ICEE Half Marathon to help support local efforts)

 

What I’ve been thinking about lately is our obsessive need to compare ourselves (not our fault – we’re wired as humans to do this) but how this can be detrimental to our training process. I’m talking about both comparing ourselves to our past selves, and comparing ourselves to others. We are in an interesting time with social media where we can see exactly what elite athletes and others are doing as training. And it’s easy to take the logical leap that if you could just do what they are doing, you would be as fast as them. But this is not how it works.

 

Training is a process of providing a dose (the workout), experiencing a physical response (breakdown), and then benefitting from an adaptation (building back stronger for the next time). That is all. There is no formula that says “if you run this, you will run this”. Nobody knows that for sure. What we do know is that to get a bit better than where you are now, you need to provide a dose that is large enough to stimulate a response, but not so great that your body is thrown into chaos and doesn’t know how to adapt. If I see on Strava that an elite runner ran a certain workout at a certain pace, I might be tempted to go out and try to replicate that so I can get to her level. But what I’m forgetting is that that runner is doing that particular workout because she is at a level of fitness that requires that dose in order to stimulate a response. If I don’t need as large a dose because of where I currently am, then doing her workout is a prescription for breakdown for me. I will have a stimulus, and some sort of response, but I won’t adapt. It is too large a leap. Our physical processes don’t leap over chasms. They build step by step.

 

Elite marathoners are now experimenting with a training system by Renato Canova called the “Special Block”. This is an extremely intense day where they run a tempo, followed by intervals (up to 20K worth) in the morning and then repeat the entire sequence again in the afternoon. They do this because these athletes are already running a huge amount of mileage and great loads of intensity. They have built up to this with years and years of 2-a-day runs. They now REQUIRE this amount of work in order to provide a stimulus outside their standard so that they can improve. If any of us tried to replicate that we would end up broken and gutted and would probably not run well again for weeks if not months. One person’s perfect dose could be another person’s poison. Be thankful if you don’t need that much!!!

 

So let’s be smart. Doing more because other people are doesn’t make you tougher. It means you are not doing what’s right for you. Even trying to replicate what you did 2 years ago when you were in peak fitness after months of training leading up to a race might not be what’s right for you right now. I’m not saying you won’t surpass that, but honour where you are in that step by step process. Just take the next step from where you are.

 

On to tomorrow’s workout!

 

Remember when we did 800’s on that windy icy day and I said we’d repeat it in a number of weeks to check in? That is now. Here is the workout:

 

  1. 6-8 x 800 w 1:30 rest. Let’s aim for 10K pace.
  2. If 800’s at 10K pace are something you’re working up to, I suggest 6-8 x 600 w 1:30 @ 10K pace. That is a great dose and you don’t have to do what other people are doing. As a newer swimmer I am respecting this process. I am happy to do 150m of other peoples’ 200m intervals in workouts. Because that’s where I am and it’s the right challenge for me!

 

That is all – see you in the am! (6:05 for drills, 6:15 go time)

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

Is self-improvement selfish?

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Hi Everyone!

 

Happy March! March sure sounds warmer than February. We’ll get there…

 

What I’ve been thinking about this week was prompted by a podcast I listened to: “Is self-improvement too selfish?” It resonated with me because a lot of what I’m involved in is in helping people to improve in areas they’ve chosen. Not to mention the time and energy I put towards my own personal goals! We are drawn towards these endeavours because they make us feel good. About ourselves mostly. So, is there any greater value to all of the time and energy we put towards ourselves?

 

After mulling it over, I think the main answer is Yes. But with an asterisk. There is the overused analogy of putting the oxygen mask on yourself before you can help others. I think that holds true with things like “self-improvement”. It is hard to reach out to others and care about our communities and put real emotional effort and energy into changing injustices we see in the world if we are ourselves unstable and hanging from a cliff. For many of us, the energy we put into running (and swimming, and cycling, and other…) helps us to feel righted and grounded and able to be our best selves so that we can turn our “self-improvement” into “helping others”. Whether that means giving us confidence so we can show up at work with more to contribute, giving us emotional breathing space so we can come back and have more to give to our emotionally needy loved ones (anyone else here dealing with teens??), or just making us feel happy and optimistic – which is the best precursor for getting off your butt and trying to tackle any seemingly insurmountable crisis.

 

I think the big key here is to continually zoom out and keep your goals and your processes in check. We can start along a path that has all the best purposes and ideals, and at some point we can lose sight of the fact that the end goal isn’t for us to achieve personal glory and be put on a pedestal. It is for us to show up better for those around us. And if your training starts holding you back from that or taking away from how you show up for your community and loved ones, you may want to take a little step back and re-evaluate your goals and processes. It doesn’t mean you’re “failing” in achieving your athletic goals. It means you’re “succeeding” in life.

 

So, is self-improvement too selfish? It can be we if let it be. But I do think that if you invest in yourself you have more to invest in others. There is a wisdom of self-knowledge and kindness of spirit I seem to recognize often in runners and endurance athletes. And I do think the world would be a better place if there were more runners. So I like to think I’m trying to make the world a better place – one runner at a time.

 

On to tomorrow’s workout!

 

Pottery Road baby! Here’s the drill:

 

  • 6-9 of them. First three easy up, fast down. Then switch to hard up, easy down. (Boston ppl this is a great one for you)
  • People racing this spring: take 3-4 mins at the top, then finish with 8 min tempo (can be on your way home if that works).

 

I will aim to be there around 6:05-ish. Just start when you get there and we’ll see you on the hill!

 

xo

 

Seanna