Tuesday, April 8, 2025 – Running and thinking

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Hey Gang!

Huge congrats to those who raced this weekend! Chris Fortin just missed the sub-19 min mark by seconds at the Spring Run Off. When there are no massive hills and no gale force winds, he’ll sail right under it. Monica ran the 8K there and came 4th in her age group. In the Beaches Spring Sprint, Roz Salter came 2nd in her age group, Zoe and Carol came 1st and 2nd in their age group respectively, and Anna D top 10 in her age group! Way to go everyone!

I’d mentioned a few newsletters ago that I was giving meditation a shot. I’m not giving up on it yet, but personally so far it has nothing on the mental clarity that running brings me. When I’m running, I can actually picture my thoughts going from jumbled blocks to organized Tetris pieces with everything having a proper slot and then being put away. Again, I think this is part of what defines me, and probably almost everyone in this group, as an athlete. We process everything better when our bodies are in motion. Not everyone does. Some do better by painting or making music, or just sitting still in silence. I think I just have to accept that is not me.

What I do notice when I go for a run while wrestling with a jumble of thoughts, is that if I start with a negative slant on them, or am angry or sad or otherwise upset about something, when those thoughts become bathed in endorphins and endocannabinoids, I can interpret them differently. I don’t mean to do this. Sometimes I head out on a run with the intention to stew! But I’ve noticed that more often than not, I finish the run with a way more positive and optimistic take on the whole thing. I’ve definitely stumbled upon this mental benefit of running, as it’s not why I started 35 years ago. But lately as I get sucked into doom scrolling, and start to feel depressed or anxious about the state of the world and the future of humanity, or as I experience difficulties in relationships, whether hurt, grief, irritability or anger, and I take all that load on a run, I can tend to find reconciliation, understanding, and a measure of peace by the end of an endorphin filled hour. And maybe that is the point of meditation. I have heard people joke about their Sunday long run being their “Church”, and it’s probably not as far off as it may seem – there can be something spiritual about the wisdom and peace and forgiveness that drops in the middle of a long run – whether you’re seeking it or not. I’m no guru, and I’m not finished seeking and exploring different ways to see and be and feel, but there is definitely something to this running thing. I might give it another 35 years…

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

Back to winter conditions!! (at least my app currently says not as windy – fingers crossed!)

1.       800’s! Let’s do 5-8 of them with 1:45 rest – the first one or two can be more of a tempo/ find your pace thing. Try to finish strong. Once you start falling off the pace, you’re done (or you can shorten to 600’s for the last 2 if you like)

  1. If going by time: 5-8 x 3 min on, 1:45 off

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna

Tuesday, April 1, 2025 – Self-compassion (reminder)

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Hi Gang!

Huge congrats to those who ran ATB! Which turned out to be Kerry who came 4th in her AG in the 15K, and Jeff and Jason who did the 30K! Colette was taken out by a virus before the race, and Jordan was too, but gamely tried until I think about 20K. This winter seems to be doubling down on many of us.

Which actually brings me to what I’ve been thinking about this week: taking care of ourselves. I tend to circle back to certain themes at times. I think it is time for a reminder about self-compassion. As often happens when we’re training hard, while dealing with all the other stressors of life, a number of people in our crew have recently been or are still now struggling with injuries and illnesses. I know this sucks, and I want you to know that you are not alone. What I want to do is give each person a hug and tell you it’s ok to rest when your body is telling you it is tired or overwhelmed. Because often on top of these setbacks we pile frustration, self-judgement, and negative feelings towards our selves. And this is the exact opposite of the kindness and compassion we owe ourselves and which might help us out of the hole. Yes, getting an illness or injury can just be a sign of bad luck. You came down funny and twisted your ankle, or your sick kid coughed in your open mouth (if you know you know). But very often they are signs that you need a break. I’ve read about people who have had desk jobs they hated and which stressed them out, and they developed serious physical ailments like migraines or debilitating back pain. Those were their bodies’ ways of getting them out of an untenable situation. Your body is on your side. So if you find yourself developing injury after injury or one long illness after another, your body might be trying to tell you something. And listening to what that might be requires self-compassion.

Again, self-compassion is not about letting yourself off the hook or going easy on yourself. It’s about truly being on your own side. It’s about treating yourself the way you would a friend or a loved one. You still want them to succeed, but not to punish themselves in order to do so. I think many of our inner voices tell us to push through and suck it up or else be met with our own harsh self-judgement. If our choice is between a long run or sleep, weights or some quiet time with a book, a workout or social time with friends to unwind, we often push towards the former options. But what we miss is that the options we aren’t choosing aren’t the softer choices: they are the recovery tools. A self-compassionate viewpoint can see that quite clearly. A self-judging viewpoint does not, so we push until our bodies force us to rest.

As always, this is a tricky line to walk with endurance sport where we do have to override many initial self-preservation instincts in order to improve. The key is to do it with self-compassion and self-love vs recklessly and with negative feelings towards ourselves. Please don’t take this to mean that if you are sick or injured you have some deep inner demons and need to seek therapy. Often it is just the bad luck of a twist or a slip or an encounter with a virus. But it might not hurt to look at your overall systems and patterns and make sure they are aligned with your health and best interest at heart – and not just your race times.

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

Let’s do sets of 400’s. I like these because there are lots of options for pacing depending on where you are in your training, what you’re training for, and how you’re feeling. If feeling niggles or low energy, keep them all the same pace. If leaning into a bit more speed and trying to find a bit more fitness, pick them up each set. If training for spring 5K’s/10K’s,really lean into that last set. If you’re not sure, just show up and play it by ear!

1.       3 sets of 4 x 400 – first set w 1 min rest,second set w 1:15, third set with 90 sec. 3 min bw sets. Marathoners: finish with 1 mile @ MRP!

2.       If going by time, same sequence and rests, but go for 1:30 for every 400 instead of distance.

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna

Tuesday, March 25, 2025 – Exploring

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Hey Gang!

Pretty sure there were no races this past weekend. Lots of stellar long runs though! Coming up we have Around the Bay this weekend. I believe we have Colette, Kerry and Jeff running it (anyone I’m missing?) Good luck and have fun! So far it looks like the weather will be very Around-The-Bay-y. Ha. If it’s not sideways hail it’s a good weather day there.

I just listened to an interview with Alex Hutchinson on his book “The Explorer’s Gene” (I’ve ordered it but haven’t read it yet, so probably more to come on this topic). He was talking about how we’re wired for exploration – at least many of us are. Yes, there is a gene for it, but like most things it is a scale, with some people being more wired to seek and search and find than others. On the other side of the ‘exploration’ scale is ‘exploitation’– making the most of what you already have in front of you. Some people are very good at doing this. Those of us who tend more towards exploration thrive in and seek out uncertainty. We light up with the idea of the unknown, exploring limits, moving towards the unfamiliar. (Interestingly in a side note he did mention that the exploration gene did seem to have a link with ADD which seems to make sense – it also highlights the fact that humanity thrives with a diversity of these traits and there are no good or bad, but it might help each of us to know where we fall on the scale and what makes us tick).

In listening to Alex talk, I identified with the exploration way of thinking when it comes to my endurance activities. I’ve done the Ironman twice, 20 years apart, and I think 20 years is enough time to make it new and unknown to me again. I flit between race distances as they become different challenges to me, especially as I age. Running after having kids was a bit of a new frontier and gave me new life for a while. Right now, the 1500 on the track feels new and fresh to me again. I’m currently going into the Boston Marathon quite undertrained, and for some reason this feels more exciting to me than if I were well prepared. I have no expectations but I’m very excited to challenge myself and discover what it will look like. To me, perfect preparation and predictable results are fun – but not time after time after time. I guess I’m not very good at exploiting. I get bored and move on. But I still do love exploring.

If you think you might be wired similarly, and you sometimes find yourself in the running doldrums, then all you need is to find a way to explore a little bit. It’s not your fault if you find yourself a bit uninspired in doing the same things again and again. But it is your responsibility to find a way to seek new frontiers that excite you. There are lots of things outside of your comfort zone which you haven’t tried yet. And if that thought excites you – you might have the explorer’s gene.

On to tomorrow’s workout! Back to hills!

1.       People training for Boston for the most part have their biggest runs coming up this weekend. In support of maximizing the long run efforts, I propose:

3-4 sets of: 3 x short (200m) hill, followed by 5 min tempo. However, the first two “tempos” should be at goal MP. I am trying to make this workout one that won’t leave you feeling as beat up and fatigued as they sometimes do. Don’t worry: you’re all fit. We just need to prioritize where we put our efforts now.

2.       Ppl tapering for ATB: 2-3 sets of 1 x half hill (200m), 2 min tempo

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna

Tuesday, March 18, 2025 – Routines

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Hi Everyone!

A few snowbanks left, but boy does it feel good to be able to run with sure footing. The little things we take for granted. If you were away for March Break, welcome back. If you stayed in the city, hopefully it still feels like you’ve turned a page of sorts and are into the Spring chapter.

I’ve been thinking about routines – shedding old ones and starting new ones. I do love a good routine when I find something that works. There is comfort and stability and consistency in routines. But they’re push and pull. I wrote recently about how we have to know when they aren’t working any more and have to let them go. But letting go of a routine doesn’t mean we have to float aimlessly forever. I think when we shed a routine, we then enter the Explore phase. That’s where I’ve been for the last few months. Trying new things on – taking different classes, running at different times of the day, mixing up my ratios of work to rest, … I do enjoy the Explore phase. It’s novel, unstructured and low pressure. But in the end I usually eventually come back to “finding a routine”.

The past few weeks I’ve reintroduced spinning classes a couple times a week in place of a run. I just have been finding I can get a good effort in while it’s easier on my body. This past Monday I did my morning spin class, followed by 10-15 minutes in the steam room where I attempted to meditate. I’ve been encouraged to start meditation many times over the years by various people, and have kind of tried it, but never with any real commitment. I have read about the benefits and I know many people say it’s great – I’ve just always thought it’s not for me. But it still feels like something I should try to give another shot. Ok, so my ‘meditation’ session in the steam room wasn’t great (all I could think about was what a great new routine this was), BUT it was a start and I think I will make it my new Monday morning routine.

For some reason the idea of a fresh routine makes me feel excited and positive. As much as I enjoy free-wheeling it and being unstructured, it’s also nice to settle on a little system which you can count on. If you’re feeling stuck or not loving your current regime, toss it, explore a bit, and try some new ones. Who knows if this spin-steam room-meditation routine will last. But I’m excited for next Monday so I can try it again – and that’s what matters.

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

Let’s do cut-down sets.

1.       1 mile tempo, 3 min rest, 2 x 800 w 1:45, 2 x 600 w 1:30, 2 x 400 w 1:15, 3 min rest, 1 mile tempo.

2.       If away and doing this by time: 6 min tempo, 3 min rest, 2 x 3 min w 1:45, 2 x 2 min w 1:30, 2 x 90 sec w 1:15, 3 min rest, 6 min tempo.

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna

Tuesday, March 11, 2025 – Shifting

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Hi Everyone!

Well this past weekend was finally an ok one for running! Yes, there were still patches of ice/puddles, but we’re coming through and running is already so much more enjoyable than it has been. Thank goodness because I was kind of forgetting that I even liked running! Now I’ve had a few days where I’ve remembered how much I love it again.

Lately I’ve been pondering where running fits into my life – how I approach it and what I want to put into it and get out of it. There are so many things I do that I have to examine and re-examine because maybe they used to work in terms of making me faster or bringing me joy or even peace, and so I’ve locked into patterns that I think will lead to those results, only to realize that things may have shifted. It used to be pretty simple. At one point in my development it was just “run more and you’ll get faster” and that worked. Or run really hard a few days a week for a great rush of endorphins and elation and that will keep you floating. I could dependably rely on my routines to keep me running well and in many ways to help me feel balanced, organized, confident, productive, … It stands to reason that when my running isn’t feeling great or if my mood or life seems to be falling out of balance, I should double down and cling even more tightly to the running routine which has worked in the past to keep me afloat.

I think many of us do this at times. Our lives feel chaotic, our bodies aren’t responding, we don’t have the energy, we have aches and pains, and we react by doubling down and forcing it. Sometimes this works and we find it was just a little blip that needed to be pushed through. But other times it’s not a bad idea to re-examine “the routine” and what is serving us and what isn’t. For me right now, I’m realizing I still love running and pushing myself, but only sometimes. I’m currently enjoying a very unstructured approach to running. I will go hard when it feels good, and will stop when it doesn’t. I don’t like running when things hurt, so I don’t. Many of my ‘recovery days’ are now non-running activities. I don’t think I personally need more miles on my legs at this stage in my running career. I’m sleeping in and running when I feel like it instead of forcing it in the early hours to make sure I can control the fact that I get it in. Actually, I’m at a stage in life with kids and career where I don’t have to wake up early, and I don’t feel guilty about that because I’ve put my time in! I’m reconfiguring my running routine to fit my evolving stage of life. I still love running as much as ever, but I’m becoming way more relaxed about how to make it work for me. I’m not clinging desperately to a routine out of fear. These days I’m more self-aware and I know what makes me feel good and I choose to run out of desire instead of compulsion. I still love to run fast, it still makes me feel powerful, I still get that blissful experience of freedom and mastery that sometimes unexpectedly arrives in the middle of a run, and I still find running with friends to be the best thing for my soul, and the answer to many of the world’s problems. So I do hope that running will be a part of my life for a long time to come. I’m just at a point where I’m respecting it more, and demanding of it less. I have the feeling that for me, that is the only way I’ll be able to keep it around.

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

I think quite a few people are away on March Break, myself being one of them. If you’re away, you can either find a track if you’re somewhere warm, or do this one by time.

This one is shorter and peppier intervals.  I think this is a great way to welcome in Spring with a bit more pep in our step and get back to some quicker paces.

1.       800m tempo. 2 min rest. 2 sets of 5 x 200m fast w 200m jog (not too slow). 400m jog bw sets. 2-3 min rest. 800m tempo.

2.       If doing this by time: 3 min tempo, 2 min rest, 2 sets of 5 x 45 sec fast, 60 sec easy, 2 min easy jog bw sets, 3 min tempo.

That is all – have a great one and enjoy! I will see you all in a week!

xo

Seanna

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 – One more day (Cindy Warner)

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Hi Everyone!

HUGE congrats to all who ran the very Chilly Chilly Half this Sunday! Brianna (PB and 3rd in AG), Erin, Colette (PB), Lori (PB), Leigh Anne (PB), Carol, Annick, Avia, Meagan, Fran, Anna and Jason. I saw many pictures of this crew together before and after the race, and it just warmed my heart and made me so happy to be part of this crew (even though I wasn’t there). Everyone ran so tough and so fast. Way to go all!

Today we have a guest post from Cindy Warner (thank-you Cindy!)

One More Day

I was listening to a podcast this week that was talking about how a key part of any 12 Step program for addiction recovery is “one more day”. Don’t think about not having or doing the thing for the rest of your life, that’s way too long and way too intimidating. And hence, way too easy to give yourself and out and give up. But, if you take it one day at a time, it is much more manageable to get through.

The podcast then went on to apply this to being a champion runner, but I was thinking about how it applies to any runner, and really any human. We’ve all started training blocks wondering how we will get through all the miles and get to the start line running the paces we want to. As she started training for the 2024 Olympics, Malindi Elmore posted on Instagram that whenever she starts a training block, she has a hard time believing she will get to running the pace she needs to in her goal race (in her case, 3:25 / km!!) Seeing that was so reassuring for me – I thought, “ok, wow, her too”. But we do it, and we do it by getting up and getting out and running one more day. Even in the midst of a pretty tough winter for running, we’re getting out there, one more day.

Thinking about ‘one more day’ also gave me some comfort around other parts of life too. When things are tough, even if they are tough for a long time, we get up in the morning, put one foot in front of another, and get through one more day. Even the hardest ones. And when things are good, we still get up, we put one foot in front of another, and we go through one more day – hopefully with more joy and gratitude for those good, even great, days.

On to tomorrow’s workout – back to good ol’ hills!

I think I’ll just keep our standard: 2-4 sets of (either 1 full, 1 half OR 3 half) and 4 min tempo.

People who raced Chilly, take a break. You need to recover before rebuilding, so at least a week off workouts if this was your goal race.

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna

 

Tuesday, February 25, 2025 – Spring coats

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Hey Gang!

What can I say – it’s been another challenging week for running. I’ve joined the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” camp and been trading in my running days for cross country skiing and gym classes. I know many of you have been valiantly training through all this – huge respect. Whatever you’ve been doing … you’re all doing great.

I think my cat Heather is a very good representation of where many of us are right now. She is an indoor/outdoor cat, and in the summertime we barely see her. She travels around, all the neighbours know and love her, she manages and protects her territory from enemy cats (they’re all enemies to her). She comes inside to eat and sometimes to sleep. In fact, she has become so much more ‘outdoor’ than ‘indoor’ cat that at some point I realized she hadn’t used her litter box in a year, and so I just got rid of it. Heather would so reliably ask to go outside whenever she needed to pee or poop that we all just kind of forgot that she even had biological functions. However this winter has transformed her completely. She is currently fully an indoor cat. She tried to go out a couple of times but the snow was 4 times over her head, and she couldn’t get anywhere. I realized that I had to step in, so I went out and bought a new litter box and all the accoutrements. That sort of felt like both of us giving up. Poor Heather. I feel like it’s humiliating for her to poop in a box in her house, and I feel like she must miss all her neighbours and paths and trails and sites and sounds from outside. She just sleeps all the time and stares out the window. Sometimes I push her out the door, but she takes about four steps and turns around and asks to come back in. I feel like we are all Heather right now in a way.

However, the other day as I was petting her, I noticed a large amount of fur coming off. Although she is still mentally fully in winter mode, her physiology is getting ready for the spring. I looked this up – cats’ fur thickness is governed by the amount of daylight outside. She doesn’t know it yet, but spring is just around the corner, and when it comes, she’ll be ready in her new spring coat, feeling light and fresh and ready to go!

I think it’s normal for us to retreat a bit and lay low when nature seems to be telling us to. And I think we have to trust that our bodies and minds will wake up again in a few weeks when the snow melts and the sun comes out. We are not far off. So don’t let Heather be a step ahead of you in spring fashion – go buy yourself a new spring outfit so you’re ready to enjoy it when the time arrives! It’s closer than you think. (And I can’t wait to get rid of the litter box again).

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

The path we normally use is very icy with a thin layer of melt-off freezing along it. If there is salt we may be able to use it. Otherwise, let’s do what we can on the South East side which is a little better (although not perfect and if you feel uncomfortable with the instability don’t push it).

1.       Chilly Half racers or ‘runners’: 1 mile tempo (or 6 mins), 3 min rest, 4-6 x 400 (or 90 seconds) a lil quicker with 90 sec rest.

2.       People not racing Chilly, do the above, rest 3-4minutes, then repeat.

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna

Tuesday, February 18, 2025 – Accepting

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Hi Everyone!

Huge congrats to Cheryl who ran the Palm Desert Half marathon and finished 3rd in her age group and was top 25 in the overall women! And this was a process/training-through race for her next one. Great job!

As for the rest of us … well, we’ve been doing what we can in getting out in this weather. Not to beat a dead horse but this has really been one of the most challenging winters for running that I can remember. And given that, we have two choices: 1. Not let go of the original plan, and keep squeezing out kilometers on the treadmill, finding little run-able strips to go back and forth, trying to force the pace, distance or effort on uneven, sloshy, icy ground while scaling mini snow mountains every block, OR 2. Take a deep breath, and accept.

Accepting doesn’t mean rolling over and going back to bed. It means looking with clear eyes at the situation, and accepting what we can and can’t control. It’s turning long runs into cross-country skiing, tempos into swims, speed into strength at the gym. And accepting is getting out and enjoying runs at at least a minute per kilometer slower than usual, without fighting it or feeling badly.

I’m not telling you which choice is right. I’ve often taken the first path and MADE IT HAPPEN come hell or high water. I’m not sure what drives that when we do it – sometimes it’s fear of giving up control. Or sometimes it’s being in a really good fitness run and not wanting to lose it. For me, maybe it represented a phase in my life when my kids were younger and I wanted to and actually could control so much more in my life. On winter weekends I could setup ski adventures or snowy city explorations or skating parties with friends. I had a vision of a “great day” and would do my best to make that happen. It was the same with my running. Once I had an idea of how I wanted something to look,I was very good at finding a way to make it happen.

As my kids have grown into teenagers, I’ve been forced to learn a new skill. Taking a deep breath, and letting things unfold as they may. This doesn’t mean I don’t care about the outcome or try my best to support in ways that I can. But it means I am not in the driver’s seat and have to accept that choices will be made and consequences will be had which are beyond my control. I have found that this winter this mindset has also influenced my running. The weather and conditions are under just as much of my influence as my teenagers’ choices. It doesn’t mean I’m giving up on my goals or that I don’t care. But I’ve become way better at letting go of my tight-fisted control of how my training should look, and going with the flow a little more. I’m way better able to handle unplanned days off or replacing non-running activities for a training run. No, this is not what an Olympian would do. The elite athletes I know have all fled snow-maggedon and are training down south. They know how to move mountains to get to their goals. But I’m not an Olympian. I’m a dedicated,hopeful, open-hearted, almost 50-year old mom of teenagers who is doing my best and trying my hardest, but knowing full well what is within and outside of my control. I’ll look at the weather, and look at my plan, and if they jive that is awesome. And if they don’t, I’ll take a deep breath, accept, and do whatever I can on that day.

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

I ran by the path today and it is not currently good enough to do intervals on. The south east side might be better. I will say, if you’re really determined to get this done well, I encourage you to find an indoor track. You are welcome to join me with the Culture crew at Monarch at 7:30 pm.If we decide to do it on the south side, we can go by time. OR if it’s not safe to run fast we can do a social. Treadmill is always an option although I find it tricky to get to the paces we’re asking for here.

2 x 800 (~ 5K pace) w 1:45 (if going by time, 2 x 3 mins)

3 min rest

4 x 600 (~ 3K pace) w 1:30 (or 4 x 2 mins)

3 min rest

4-6 x 400 (~ 1500 pace) w 1:15 (4-6 x 80 seconds)

Remember: these are all paces based on effort equivalency. The freezing cold with a million layers will likely add a few seconds to each.

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna

Tuesday, February 11, 2025 – Energy

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Hi Everyone!

Way to go everyone who is still getting out there and doing the best they can in these winter conditions. Just be extra careful when the footing is rough and slippery. A snowy kilometer is a lot harder on the body than a dry, clear kilometer, so just slow down and try to go with the flow.

This week I’ve been thinking about energy, and how that affects our running and training. It seems like it should be a simple concept.The famed Norwegian triathlon coach Olav Alexander Bu has coached some of the top athletes in the world by “sciencing” all the training. He is famous for explaining that training is just energy expenditure and can be measured and matched by calorie consumption. Energy in = Energy out. Of course there is also structural and system fatigue from muscles and the central nervous system in being able to create repeated efforts and forces. This is not as easy to measure, but is fairly simple to keep in check with a simple formula of hard/easy ratio. So as long as you have enough energy in the form of calories and you are giving your body ample time to bounce back between hard efforts,you should be able to perform at a predictable level.

In addition to physical energy availability, there has been some more recent interest in mental energy availability. Alex Hutchinson (SweatScience) has reported on mental efforts and their effects on training: Yes,your tired mind is slowing you down. Basically studies have shown that after strenuous mental tasks (which make no changes in muscle recruitment,heart rate, or breathing), exercise performance is hampered. There are theories as to why this might be, but suffice it to say that mental energy, along with physical energy, is a resource required for strong athletic performance.

That leaves a third source of energy, which I haven’t seen documented anywhere, but am sure has a significant effect on performance: emotional energy. As both a coach and athlete who experiences the emotional waves of being human, I have noticed that emotional energy is powerful. Yes, when performing a hard physical task, whether a workout or a race, you have to have enough calories, a healthy physical system, and it helps to be mentally fresh to remain focused on the task at hand. But it also helps to be emotionally available and engaged with a level of care and commitment in wanting to do the thing. I have noticed that when we are going through difficult emotional times, our bodies and minds might be ready and willing, but there is a big missing piece of energy. This does sound unscientific, I realize. I used to think that if you trained a body and set it in motion, it would perform to its capabilities. All measurements say it should. But in the real world we know that’s not the case. When athletes are going through difficult emotional times, it almost always spills over into their performance. Emotions are powerful, and on the flip side, when we can learn to use them to our advantage, we have an extra boost. Sometimes in big races we tell athletes to “run with heart”. We’re calling on their emotional strength to pull them to a result beyond what they might think possible, and this often works. The brain, body and heart (real and metaphoric) are all intertwined in a way we cannot measure. Energy isn’t just a calorie. It’s physical, mental and emotional. Just something to consider as we evaluate ourselves and our performances. If our athletic performance is a barometer of our health, we have to look at all the factors that influence it. So maybe we need another gym session or a hilly tempo session. But maybe some self care in the form of some easy jogs with friends, some solo reflective time, or even a few therapy sessions could go just as far if not further. Emotional energy could be the missing piece.

On to tomorrow’s workout – back to hills! Riverdale/Leslieville group at Pottery, Beach Crew at Glen Manor. Coordinate w your peeps on timing.

1.       I’m liking our good ol’ 1 long, 1 short, 4 min tempo.

2.       Option 2: if you want a little more pep and find you’re losing steam in the long hills, 3 short, 4 min tempo (same volume just different pace/endurance formula)

That is all – see Pottery people in the am!

xo

Seanna

 

Tuesday, February 4, 2025 – Measuring

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Hi Everyone!

Hope you all survived the deep freeze on the weekend and the icy conditions. This weather is definitely testing our love and resolve for running. Do what you need to do to feel good – take a day or two off, run on the treadmill, cross-train, go shorter, … there are no rules for getting through.

On that note, some of us are still training for races and trying to get a little fitter or faster – or at least be able to complete them. As such, we do need to train. I think these days it helps to think about what training means. It means basically, putting your body in a state of discomfort or slight stress, so that it will respond by building systems that can handle those states better the next time. I think it’s helpful during these days and conditions to think in those terms. We often think too rigidly about times and paces and compare ourselves ruthlessly to past performances in measuring whether our training is successful or not. This can lead to “all or nothing” thinking, and when we’re not measuring up, we figure the entire session is a bust. But in reality, there are so many variables which can lead to a productive and successful training session.

The other day I was attempting a tempo session into what felt like gale force headwinds. I checked my watch and my times were almost laughable for the effort I was producing. Then on the way back my times were almost a minute per kilometer faster for the same effort. I won’t lie: I’m in a bit of a running slump right now. I’m fine with it – I’ve been here before and I know these things come around. However, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed running just by effort – knowing that the times meant nothing. It’s hard to decouple our emotional responses to times and paces. Going in knowing you’re already throwing those out the door is actually a bit of a relief.

So this challenging winter, I suggest doing more of that. See if you can make your runs challenging enough to elicit a training effect, but try to keep the paces meaningless – or at least at arms length. Allow them to be hilly, or windy, or cold, or snowy. And ask yourself: is this producing an effort or discomfort? If the answer is yes, you are training, and getting fitter and faster – not to mention mentally tougher!

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

I am giving an option of a bigger workout for those who are into training now and want to dig in (specifically for people peaking for Chilly Half) This workout will likely be too big for most – I am offering it bc I am giving the same one to a couple of other athletes training for the same and I want all to have the opportunity!

1.       2 miles @ HM pace, 4 min rest, 1 mile @ 10K pace, 4 min rest,  3x 800m @ 5K pace w 2min rest

2.       People who want to support ppl running this wrkt but aren’t quite there:

2 miles @ MP (this can be a progressive from MP to HMP), 4 min rest, 1 mile @ HMP (can progress to 10K pace),3 min rest, 3 x 600 @ 5-8K w 2 min rest

That is all – hopefully we all get restful nights and can make it out!

See you in the am

xo

Seanna