Grabbing on with both hands

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Hi Everyone!

 

Shout out to those of us who raced this past weekend! Gillian I with a huge half marathon PB in her virtual Scotiabank Half Marathon. And Jen, Erin and Cassidy and Moi who raced in the Toronto Women’s 5K. It really is fun to be back.

 

What I’ve been thinking about is how during covid, we all experienced that sense of getting off the treadmill for a bit. Less running around to scheduled things, fewer (ok no) activities, nothing on the calendar. Just full retreat. How strange that we all collectively went through that together, whether we needed it or not. Some of us probably did need it more than others. And now, we can decide what we want to opt back into with maybe a little more intention.

 

And what I’m seeing from many of you, and what I LOVE, is the really grasping with two hands of the things we do want to do. No more taking events and opportunities for granted. No more “maybe one day I will”. The intention I’m seeing is not “I have to” or “should” do this, but “I GET to do this”. I’ve seen people signing up for more big hairy audacious events, more things just outside their comfort zones, more jumping in with both feet ready or not, and I love it. I feel like we’re living life! And we’re letting go of the fears that used to hold us back. What would normally hold us back from putting ourselves on the line, taking on challenges and racing? Usually it’s fear that we won’t be ready, we won’t be great, we’re scared of judgement – from ourselves or others. But now we’re saying f*%K it – and we’re not letting that fear hold us back. We’re jumping into races when we’re not “race fit”. We’re taking on challenges we’re not completely certain we can accomplish. I feel like I can sense a collective shedding of some of our egos. We are all Eddie the Eagle. We’re going for it – win or lose! We’re gonna go and do our thing to the best of our ability, embrace every moment, and not give two shits what the results say. I think we’ve all realized that we only get one shot at this life, so we’d better dive in – Let’s Go!!!!

 

Back to Lakeshore again tomorrow!

(note on time: we will start the first interval at 6:15 – remember, if you want more of a warm-up, please arrive earlier – I will start mobility drills around 6:05. There are some who would like to move the time back to 6:00 am start bc people are starting to go back into offices. I am fine with this but want to keep the group together! So let’s take a vote tomorrow. If you want to vote, show up!)

 

  1. Broken miles as: 1 mile (10K pace), 1:45 rec, 2 x 800 (5K pace), 90 sec, 4 x 400 (faster), 1:15 – Then finish with either 4 x 200 Fast w full recovery. Whether we’re training for an upcoming 10K or doing base work for longer events, 200’s are key to work on turnover, muscle recruitment, running economy and form. So let’s keep touching base with this.
  2. If you’re running New York, instead of the 200’s, finish with 1 mile at race pace. You’ll have run 3 miles quite a bit faster and it will be a good way to just remind your system how to work at that pace comfortably when it’s fatigued. Almost taper time …

 

That’s all – see ya in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

The gift of failure

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Hey All!

 

First of all, huge congrats to Steph who ran the Georgina Marathon, crushed her PB, came 2nd in her age group and got a BQ! And Congrats to Carol and Zoe who ran the half, and Chris R, Gillian, Dave K and Eleanor who ran the Scotiabank 10K! What an amazing weekend of RACES BEING BACK!!!

 

Speaking of races. As so many of us know, races are 90% mental and the other half is physical.

 

The anterior cingulate cortex is an area in the brain which is in control of internal conflicts: ie the battle between wanting to slow down and wanting to keep pushing in a race. Endurance exercise is known to strengthen the ACC. Presumably bigger ACC’s provide a greater ability to “stay in it” and not give in to the voice telling you to hit the brakes. Interestingly, a larger ACC is also associated with having experienced adversity. In a study where students were tested on pain tolerance by holding their hands in cold water, those who had experienced the fewest adverse experiences growing up pulled their hands out earlier. But students who had experienced a lot of trauma didn’t do well either – those who faired the best had experienced difficulties, but nothing severely traumatic. Top athletes who have had difficult childhoods or have experienced some suffering credit those struggles with their ability to endure. They have built a strength and resilience within the structure of their brains which helps them to “ride it out”.

 

HOWEVER – if you have so far been blessed with a trauma-free life, don’t fret for your endurance capabilities. This is where the gift of failure comes in. In many cases, top athletes associate their repeated failures to achieve their goals as actual painful suffering. Therefore the main element they were lacking in order to truly succeed, can be built through repeated failure. Psychologist Robert Wicks has termed this sensation “sweet disgust”. This is the opposite sensation of defeat. When you don’t perform as you’d like, instead of feeling defeated and walking away, you become fed-up and channel that anger into a healthy inner fuel. This in turn enhances the maximum perceived effort and intensity you’re willing to endure. It is a flip-switch in your brain that can be brought about by failure.

 

I have definitely experienced this in workouts and races. Sometimes when confronted with the question “how bad to you want it”, the answer to myself is “not that bad”. And then I’m disappointed with my performance. If this happens enough times in a row, I can become fed-up with myself, and find I can really tap into a new level, just to avoid the pain of defeat.

 

If you don’t experience pain or suffering when you don’t perform well, you are free from all of this and you vibrate on a higher plane than me. If you do experience pain or suffering from a poor performance – that is your gift. Don’t sugar-coat it. Allow yourself to be upset. And turn that healthy wrath into a super power for the next one.

 

Lakeshore workout for tomorrow:

3 x 1200 w 1:30 rest, 3 mins, 4-6 x 400 w 1:15

If you ran the 10K on Sunday, take a break or just do the 1200’s if feeling ok

If you ran any distance in Georgina, no workout (and absolutely no running yet if you did the marathon)

If you ran Boston, you can come and jog, but no workout

If you’re just coming back to workouts, consider doing the 800 of every 1200

 

6:15 am GO TIME. Come earlier if you need more time to warm-up.

 

See ya in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

 

Giving Thanks

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Hi Everyone!

 

Wow – huge congratulations go out to all of our Boston Marathon runners from yesterday. I’m still tired from following all of you on the app! But seriously – a huge day run with so much heart. Most of you overcame some significant obstacles just to get there, (physical injuries and setbacks, family schedule juggling and accommodating, work stresses, logistical and travel hurdles…) When you’re the type of person who doesn’t put yourself first all the time, (and I’m not sure I’d really want to coach someone who did), getting to the start of an international major marathon after (during?) a pandemic is a pretty big accomplishment.

 

We still have other teammates running marathons in the next bit: Georgina this weekend and New York in a few weeks. So pumped for all of you!

 

Since it was Thanksgiving weekend, I’ve been thinking about gratitude.

 

Last night my family had a hard time adjusting to the last day of a long weekend. My kids (yes, they’re teenagers) kept appearing in my room for various reasons well into the night. I had a morning run with friends planned which relied on my kids getting organized and out the door on their own. But by the time the morning rolled around I realized they would need my help. So I regrettably bailed on my friends. But as I said to them, I’m actually grateful that I can still have a role in helping my kids. As they get older, there is less and less I can actually do to help to influence their days. So instead of feeling put out or annoyed at the experience I was missing, I felt gratitude for the opportunity I had. (I am well aware that in 5 years I will wish I could help my kids with something as simple as making their breakfast and sending them off with a hug)

 

Gratitude is a way of seeing the world, and it’s a muscle which can stay in shape, or atrophy if we forget about it.

 

Not everyone had the race they had planned in Boston. This is life. But everyone I’ve spoken to or seen posts from so far has found so much to be grateful for. From our training and running support community (huge!!!), to our physical health (never to be taken for granted), to the opportunity to experience a huge celebratory event with strangers who wish us well and want the best for us instead of yelling at us (that alone makes me want to weep with gratitude), to small moments of personal human connection, like the little kid who hands us licorice to help us on, or having friends to laugh and cry and experience all of this with.

 

As a coach I can feel responsible for the concrete time outcomes that I know everyone wanted so badly, but I am happy that you’ve all found growth and gratitude through your experiences. I suppose if I had to pick one, I’d pick growth and gratitude for you over achieving a specific time. And I would say you have all been successful in that. And for that, I am proud and grateful!

 

Tomorrow’s workout is Hills!!!!

 

Boston runners, obviously take at least a few weeks off. One week off running and at least another one or two off workouts (we can chat individually)

Georgina runners – no hills! For you, 1 mile at race pace and 2 x 600 a tad zippier. Less is more now.

NYC runners – these hills will help you!!!!

Scotia 10K runners – I’d leave the hills out. Instead do a fartlek of 8-10 x 1 min pick up, 1 min easy

New members to this group: hills are less formal than our speed workout days. We show up at Pottery Rd sometime between 5:45 and 6:30 (depends how many hills you plan to do) and just start going up and down. Some people do a hill in the beach, but I think most of that crew ran Boston.

For Pottery Road let’s do: sets of 2 full, 1 half. (the half hill starts at the stairs). I’ll plan to be there around 6-ish.

 

Thanks all!!!!

 

xoxo

 

Seanna

 

Confidence

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Hi Everyone!

 

I’m typing this with wet feet from a run – a feeling I think we all will have to get used to this season! What I’ve been thinking about recently is how much our mindset can affect our performances. I know we’ve discussed this before, but I specifically wanted to call out the mindset of confidence. I’m not talking about braggy, show-boaty confidence, but deep, quiet, inner confidence.

 

We live in a culture that values humility. Nothing wrong with that. It’s good to keep our striving and accomplishments in perspective. But it doesn’t hurt if your deep deep inner voice believes you are great.

 

I recently experienced this voice and was glad it showed up when it did. I had been training for a half ironman. I blasted my training hard out of the gates and was not too long after sidelined with lingering fatigue, anemia and a hamstring injury. I hobbled along for 6-7 weeks, dropping my running mileage to a third of my usual and not being able to complete tempos, workouts or long runs. At one point, as I dropped out of yet another tempo after 10 minutes, my coach questioned me – “How long is this race you’re doing again? Are you sure you can complete it?” I had no clue. I stopped trying to test myself and just approached the race with a sense of curiosity and the usual race day excitement (because I really do like racing).

 

As I was getting to the end of the bike portion in the race, I started to think about the run. Welp, just see what happens. Then the strangest thing happened. As I started to run, I heard a voice in my head that said “You’re so fit. You got this”.  Obviously, this was not my conscious thinking as I had no business believing that, but that was the deep deep inner voice that was programmed in. It kept coming up as I was running, “You’re so good. This is your event. This feels great. You’re fit and fast”. And somehow my body believed it. I ran faster over 21km than I’d been able to run for 10 minutes in training. I’m not saying I was a world champion or anything, but I do think I outperformed my actual abilities that day thanks to that voice which I didn’t even know was going to be there for me.

 

So. For those of you training, program that voice in. It may feel uncomfortable to sound that egotistical, but no one will hear you but you. Go over the top. “You are the best. You are fast. You are fit. You are strong. You are so tough. You are ready for this. This is what you love and do.” Find something that works for you, and don’t be humble. This sport has enough humility waiting for you – this is your defence against it bringing you down. (and by the way, studies have shown that speaking to yourself in the third person works best – so it’s “you are” not “I am” – you are telling yourself how it is).

 

For those of you racing, have some phrases at the ready if you haven’t been practicing to have them pop up automatically. Because there might be a competing voice that pipes up at times telling you something different. Drown it out. Your body is listening to what your brain is saying. Smother it with confidence. You area fit, you are fast, you are strong, you are ready. Let’s do this!!!!

 

Workout for tomorrow – 6:15 am GO time at Lakeshore and Leslie (so if you want to do some warm-ups, try to get there a little earlier)

 

  1. 1 mile tempo, (2 min), 2 x 800 (1:45), 2 x 600 (1:30), 2 x 400 (1:15) – all progressively faster
  2. If you’re tapering: Option 1: sleep in if you need it. Option 2: 1 mile at race pace, 2 x 800 a touch faster but no straining

 

We’ll get back to hills next week.

 

Have fun all – YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

Patience

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Hi Everyone!

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about patience recently. I think a lot of my pondering has been prompted by having a teenager! But I’ve been thinking about what makes us impatient. A lot of it, I think, stems from not having faith. In ourselves, in the process, in others. We don’t trust the ending, so we want to rush it.

 

When we start a marathon, we are not totally sure what we’ll feel like at 30K, but we know it will feel hard. That feeling is coming, but it’s so far away. We want to rush it – to get there – to start the fight now. But we can’t. We have to be patient, have faith that our future selves will be able to handle it. Our present selves can only help by being patient.

 

When we’re injured (yes, we’ve ALL been there), it’s the not knowing if and when we’ll be healed that is the worst. I think this is what gives us our greatest sense of anxiety. A bit of time off isn’t stressful. Not trusting that your body will ever heal or that your future self will be able to resume in the same way you want to, makes the waiting worse. I can guarantee you this: you won’t be injured forever and you will be back as strong or stronger than before. But it always feels like we won’t. We lose faith every time, and with it our patience.

 

Impatience is living in the future. We want it to come because we’re ready to deal with it now. But trust your future self. You will be there for yourself. Your present self can relax a bit knowing you’ll be there.

 

One thing about teenagers (at least mine) – they don’t ever seem to be in a rush. They have all the time in the world. I think a lot of that stems from their sense of confidence that things will work out. As my son often says, “that sounds like a whole lot of Future Hugo’s problem”. Which is super annoying as a parent, but there is something nice in his confidence in this Future Hugo’s ability to step up and deal (and yes, he usually does).

 

So when you’re feeling impatient, try to trust in your future self. Sure, there are things you can do to help set yourself up for better success, but you can’t deal with the future now. Be where you are, and have a little faith in future you – she’s got your back.

 

Onto this week’s workout! Back to 6:15 at L & L. (I think we should take a poll as to whether 6 should be our start time after this one … bts routines getting tight, but take the z’s while you can)

 

Boston racers, this is your last week of workouts. Please make sure your recovery runs are shorter than usual and very easy. This workout is to get the legs rolling faster. Will help with your running economy and efficiency so that race pace comes easier. Everyone else, same principle – let’s use this one!:

 

  1. 6 x 600 w 1:30, 3 min, 4 x 400 w 1:15, 3 min, 4 x 200 as long strides (45-60 sec rec)
  2. If doing this fartlek style: 6 x 2 min w 1:30, 3 easy, 4 x 1:30 w 1:15, 3 min, 4 x 30 sec strides

 

See you guys in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

Imperfection

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Hi Everyone!

 

Hope you all enjoyed a perfect weather weekend. Looks like we’re in for some rain this week. But, we gotta train in everything because we might get anything.

 

What I’ve been thinking about lately is perfectionism. I think many of us can identify with the perfectionist mindset. It is behind a lot of distance running tendencies. Show up, do the work, achieve results, feel good about yourself. The more we repeat this behaviour loop, the more it becomes a habit, and then a self-identity. Although these tendencies can lead to success, I think it’s important to remain self-aware and know when they are holding us back in certain ways. For example, in terms of fear of failure. When we are given a workout to do, or think we know the direct path to our goals, the more rigid our mindset, the scarier it is to veer from that path. And in fact, if our perfectionist habits are influencing our self-identity, it can become terrifying. Who am I if I don’t “succeed”?

 

But the truth is that imperfection and even failure IS an option. I have a talented new-ish runner whom I coach, and I’ve been giving her workouts to do with the group by time. So basically a number of timed segments, without too much guidance from me on exact pacing (it is cross-country after all). Afterwards she said she never knows how hard to start because she’s worried that she won’t have anything left for the last one. I told her that we’re trying to find that point in practice, so failure is a data point. I said go out, have fun, take the limits off, and if you don’t finish the workout as prescribed, this is a safe space to do that!

 

This is a hard headspace to try to embrace for many perfectionists, but it is also the path to higher potential limits. Yes, you might fail. But if you’re secure enough in who you are, failure becomes a learning opportunity – not a threat to your identity. I have seen some of you do this well when I’ve given you “prescribed workouts”, and I celebrate that. Within reason. I’m not advising recklessness. But if you find you’re always sticking so closely to the rules because you have to execute “perfectly”, maybe try to challenge that inner voice. This holds true for a “perfect” number of miles per week, a “perfect” long run, and “perfect” workouts. Your races will very likely not be perfect. So practice imperfection. It might take you to new places – and honestly, it’s more fun.

 

On to our workout for tomorrow! – something special planned so we’ll start at 6:00 am.

 

  1. 4 x 1 mile at HM pace w 1:30 rest. If you can creep the last two down in pace close to 10K pace, go for it.

THEN: Fall Marathon Racers (Boston, NYC, Georgina): 2 x 1 mile at race pace, taking water each time you pass the 400m mark. I will be set up there with water and cups so you can practice taking it at race pace. Don’t worry, I’ll pick up the garbage. Just grab, sip while running, and throw. I’ll show you how I do it. I think this is a good thing to practice or at least take some of the anxiety out of doing it “perfectly” on race day. If anyone wants to stick around after the 4 x 1 mile and help me hand out water, you’re welcome to! I think it will be raining. So imperfect.

 

Thanks all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Groundedness

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Hi Everyone!!!!

 

First up, congrats to all our triathletes this past weekend! Shauna, Adam, Carolyn and I went to Montreal for the Esprit de Montreal ½ Ironman, and Jon McCrea did the C3 ½ Ironman and Zoe and Carol did the relay. Wohooo!!! As nervous as I was leading up to it, it was a good reminder that racing really is fun and special. (Just a reminder to all of you in the middle of hard things right now and maybe asking “why am I doing this again?” – it IS worth it)

 

What I’ve been thinking about this week is the concept of “groundedness”. There is a new book out by Brad Stulberg (one of the authors of Peak Performance) called Groundedness. I haven’t read it yet, but have caught some insights and listened to him talk about it.

 

Here’s what I’ve taken from it so far: Whatever we’re reaching or striving or training for, it’s important to have a strong foundation of roots which “ground” us. It’s important both to set these up first, and to cultivate them along the way if we are looking for long-term success. For example, one of the principles of groundedness is building a strong community – people who share our values and support us – win or lose. In the running analogy, this is our base. Now, once we get into the frenetic chase of a specific goal, it’s easy to put our heads down and chase in the name of “efficiency”. Lifting weights at home is more efficient than going to the gym. Doing your workout on your own time is more efficient than meeting a group. Eating lunch at your desk or texting a friend is more efficient than a meet-up or a walk. It’s true. And sometimes we need to do these things – we’ve all found ourselves there. But they will only sustain us for so long if we don’t have strong community roots, and at some point we will have to go back and become “inefficient” and build our community and friendship ties if we’re in this for the long-term. A race is one data point on a long trajectory. It might blip up or down, but if the long-term trajectory is to go up, we need to be firmly grounded. We sacrifice a lot in our culture in the name of efficiency, but often our long-term success depends on those things we are sacrificing. Our culture places a high value on results – whether it’s in work or race results or financial “success”. But if we haven’t cultivated a strong base, by being intentionally mindful of the process and finding value in the journey, whatever results we get will feel hollow. On the flip side, if you are firmly grounded and have grown and strengthened your values and support through training (just talking running here again), the race itself becomes less stressful. In fact, you are more likely to succeed because you feel free to take risks. You’ve already won, so you can go out and enjoy the process, and the outcome will not define your entire journey.

 

There are many other points on Groundedness which he brings up, but maybe I’ll actually read the book before I share those! Lol.

 

Ok, onto tomorrow’s workout:

 

First, thank-you SO much to all who have signed up for and/or donated to our Work Out For War Child team! Lucky you, now you get to do 15 x Pottery Road hills!

 

  1. If you’re up for some sort of challenge, come out any time and see how many you can do – no pressure! I’ll aim to be there by 6 am with Gatorade, gels and bars. It will take me a long time as I plan to do lots of walking. Remember: relay style is fine!!!
  2. If you’re training for Boston or NYC or Georgina: 6-7 x hill, followed by 2 x 2K @ MP w 3 min easy (let’s not over-do the hills bc there’s a big wrkt this weekend)

 

That’s all! Let’s hope for not too much rain – if it rains it’s my fault bc apparently I’m weather-cursed this summer.

 

Thank-you!!!

 

Xo

 

Seanna

Do You

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Hey Gang!

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

xo

 

Seanna

The ‘Grind’

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Hi Everyone!

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Lakeshore Workout for tomorrow!

 

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

 

See you in the am!!

 

xo

 

Seanna

You are not your running

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Hi Everyone!

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

  1. Boston and NYC people: focus on steady pace up and down. So the down is “running” down vs. slow shuffling. You don’t have to crush the uphill – keep them all steady. I recommend 6-8 and then a 10 min tempo after a 3 min recovery.
  2. 5K runners: 4-5 “full” hills and 3-4 “half” hills
  3. People training to train: Any combo you like 

 

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

 

Seanna