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

 

 

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 1^st 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 4^th set.

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

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

 

 

Hi Everyone!

 

First up, huge congrats to Cindy who raced the 50K Gatineau Loppet on the weekend and came 2^nd in her age group! Way to go. Imperfect training and imperfect conditions but awesome race execution!

 

And Awesome job to many on this list who tackled their first Big Long Runs of this build, despite snowy windy conditions (again!) Everyone here is inspiring me – I love it!

 

Lately I’ve been thinking about our ability to listen to ourselves. To our bodies, our intuitions, our inner voices. I was just watching an interview with Molly Seidel where she is asked “what is the most important thing for runners” and her answer is “honesty with their body”. And in order to be honest, you have to really be able to listen to the signals. This is actually not as easy and straightforward as it might seem. As runners training to run further and faster, we’re continually over-riding what our brains and bodies are telling us. As members of a busy life with never-ending noise and signals, we are constantly tuning out our more quiet needs. So how do we know when to listen and what to listen for?

 

I heard somewhere that when we ignore certain needs for too long, we just become accustomed to a new state and think that is normal. The example given was socializing. This is an innate human need, but over covid we’ve tramped it down for so long that we might find we have to force ourselves back into it at first. We no longer naturally have the drive that once sustained us. The same goes for sleep with most of our population. We ignore natural impulses to sleep when it’s not convenient, and have normalized functioning on way less than optimal sleep and don’t even realize how over-tired we are. (For the record, this is one area that I feel that I shine and I know I’m lucky to be able to, but I will nap as soon as I get the signal that my body needs sleep). Another signal that busy people can tune out is hunger. Again, if you ignore it for long enough, you can lose touch with it. You’re now blind to your body’s sleep and hunger needs – two of the most important areas to listen to for performance.

 

But here’s the thing. As Seidel says – it’s about being HONEST with what you’re hearing. Sometimes your body will say it’s too tired today but you know you can get up and go. Sometimes your brain/body tells you to slow down but you know you can push through. But sometimes your body hurts in a different way or is tired for too long, and that is where you need to be in tune and really listen and be honest. No coach can tell you perfectly when to push and when to back off. The most seasoned athletes know this intuitively because they have learned through trial and error, how to listen. It is one of the most important skills you can develop.

 

Never forget: you’re not fighting your body. Your body is your best friend. She is there telling you (and sometimes only in a whisper) what she needs. Listen up and pay attention. You do not want to lose touch with that communication. As an athlete, that is the most important thing.

 

Onto tomorrow’s workout!

 

Lakeshore again – 6:05 for drills, 6:15 GO time

 

3 x 1000 (@10K pace) w 1:30; 3 min; 6 x 400 (@5K pace or slightly faster) w 1:15; 3 min; 2 x 200 (Fast) w 1:00

 

If doing it fartlek style: 3 x 4 min w 1:30, 3 min easy, 6 x 1:30 w 1:30, 3 min easy, 2 x 40 seconds fast

 

I will bring a cone. We’ll have to do some joggling around for the 1000’s – I have a plan.

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

Hi Everyone!!!

 

Hope you’re all noticing and enjoying the longer days. I didn’t need my headlamp after about the first 10 minutes of my run this morning! Small celebrations.

 

Congrats to the LES crew who ran the Donna Half Marathon on Sunday! It was an amazing celebration of resilience, strength and community, and a great starting point for Spring training. Here we go!!!!

 

This week I’ve been thinking about challenges and doing hard things. It is interesting how we seek these out at times. We know there is growth and learning through effort and struggle, and many of us seek out these experiences. I am sure that is what brought most of us to endurance sport in the first place. I’ve been reading a bit about some Stoic musings, in Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. One of his great insights is “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” This quote is expanded upon by Ryan Holiday in the aptly named book (which I haven’t read): “The Obstacle is the Way”. The idea is basically that our best innovations, breakthroughs, discoveries, insights, occur because there is a threat or challenge – an obstacle. Therefore we should seek out and embrace the hard things and the challenges if we truly want to grow. And when we’re truly inhabiting a growth mindset, we can take a lot of joy and pleasure in seeking out these obstacles.

 

But what I notice in myself (and I think this is fairly universal) is that I can easily lose sight of that purpose when I’m measuring myself – particularly in running. If I am after an experience that challenges me mentally and physically, I shouldn’t just want a certain result and hope it comes easily. Sometimes I approach races with an excitement about a hard challenge ahead of me. Those often end up being my best races. But sometimes I slip back and get too attached to the end result and it pulls me out of embracing the process. I am looking for the result, not the experience. I want it to feel easy and I want a fast time. Ha. And sometimes a hard, challenging experience can result in a time that we don’t feel “should” be reflective of that experience. But the time is not what matters – in reality, when we zoom way out and pretend that other peoples’ eyes aren’t on us, that is not what we’re seeking. We are looking for an experience in which we can overcome our own fears and accept the obstacles without judgement. If that’s the case we should be able to embrace snowstorms and hurricane winds during racing conditions. I’m working on this! I just think it is interesting and a good reminder. So try to seek out hard things for their enjoyment and for the sake of challenging yourself and overcoming them. A little afraid of 5K’s? Seek them out as an experience! Intimidated by working out with others? There’s an opportunity to face a challenge! Not confident doing long runs alone? See what you can learn! If you are challenged and you persevere, you have succeeded. I truly think that even at the Olympic level, it is the athletes who can maintain this mindset who make it to the top. (and I know they work on this with teams of sports psychologists, so don’t judge yourself if you lapse and forget to embrace the challenge – that is yet another obstacle to point yourself towards… I know I am!)

 

On to tomorrow’s workout: Hills! + Tempo! (I will aim to be there around 6:10, but start when you get there).

 

1. 3-4 x Pottery Rd followed by 5 min tempo (let’s find a little loop maybe on neighbourhood roads with ok footing) – Repeat (you don’t have to do the exact same # of hills second time – depends on how much of a challenge you’re seeking ;))
2. If you raced Donna, you can jog up and say ‘hi’ but lay off the workout for now. If feeling ok by Friday you can try a tempo – talk to me for options.

 

That is all for now – see y’all on the roads!

 

xo

 

Seanna