Acceptance

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Hi Everyone!

 

Time to start learning to run in layers and with hats and gloves again – winter running is on its way and many of us are going to be ramping up our running and training, so let’s get into it!

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about acceptance. Not as a form of passivity, but as place of honesty from which to build. Our lives are not static. We are not the same person in the same body with the same life circumstances and obligations as we were 2, 5, 10, 15 years ago. If we don’t stop and take a clear-eyed assessment of where we are, we are bound to measure and judge ourselves unfairly. This can lead to fear and poorer performances than we’re capable of. (this is another concept from Groundedness by Brad Stulberg).

 

Acceptance doesn’t mean giving up. It means setting goals and building plans and objectives based on where you are now. The age you are, the number of people you’re looking after, your propensity for injury, your mental and emotional state, the role you have at work … these are all factors which you have to accept. And once you accept that you don’t need to be more than what you are right now and that you are enough, you can strive without fear. Acceptance allows you to be fully engaged in the present, because you’re less anxious about the future or outcome.

 

For those who follow Lanni Marchant – one of Canada’s greatest marathoners of all time, I think we have been shown how this played out for her. Lanni is very open about some of the extreme physical and emotional challenges she’s been through over the past few years. After breaking the Canadian marathon record a few years ago, she has struggled heavily with her running. She and her coach finally decided to just take all expectations off based on where she once was. She had to manage her current emotional state. If she didn’t feel like running or wasn’t well enough, she wouldn’t. She cut her mileage by half (down to 70K a week, which for a world class marathoner is very low) and often dropped out of her workouts or roller-bladed instead. She was accepting what her mind and body were telling her. Then she went and ran the NYC Marathon in 2:32 – a world class time and the fastest Canadian.  She was grounded firmly in accepting who and where she was, and so was free to reach and strive with the freedom of enjoying the moment.

 

If it takes chatting it through with a coach or trusted friend to help you take an honest view of where you are, then do that. But please remember that you are enough, and you can only grow from where you are right now.

 

“The world asks of us

Only the strength we have and we give

It.

Then it asks more, and we give it.” – The Weighing by Jane Hirshfield

 

 

Onto tomorrow’s workout! Back to Lakeshore & Leslie (6:15 first interval, 6:05 if you want to do drills)

 

 

We are going to start something slightly different: we’ve been hitting VO2 max workouts a lot lately. We’ll keep sprinkling them in, but I’d like to put the emphasis at this base season time on longer threshold workouts. Less intense, more volume (don’t worry – we’ll work our way up together).

 

To complement this, we are going to add the option of Monday morning Speed/Power with myself and Kerry. Once the Monarch Track opens, we can take advantage of that (stay tuned), but for now we will meet at the Riverdale Clubhouse at 6:15 am on Monday mornings for power drills, short hills and speed. Happy to chat about the science of this and why even marathoners need it if anyone wants to chat (I won’t bore you all here!)

 

For tomorrow:

 

2 mile tempo, 3 min rest, 2 x 1 mile tempo or slightly faster w 2 mins

Tempo = around your half marathon race pace. At least that’s what I’m looking for. (again, happy to nerd out about the definition of ‘tempo’ with anyone anytime) – we’re basically looking to extend your ability to run at threshold.

 

**If you are new to speedwork and different paces in running and find that 2 miles is the same pace that you do some of your regular runs, turn them into 1 mile or even 800m. We’re looking at stimulating a pace differential here. I’ll chat w you at the start.

 

That is all – finally!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

The Exercise Pill

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Hi Crew!

 

First up, congrats to our racers on the weekend! Fran, Annick and Meagan who ran the New York City Marathon!!! No one had a seamless build for this one everyone really maximized their potential and performed on the day. Wow. And back home we had Carol, Zoe and Jordan who raced the Hamilton Half Marathon. Way to go everyone!!!

 

For some reason recently I’ve been reminded of a Who’s The Boss episode I remember watching when I was a kid. Angela was starting her day and had just come back from a “jog” and Tony handed her her orange juice so she was ready to start the day. I don’t know why this scene is still in my mind – oh the brain space taken up by too much ‘80’s television! But anyway, I was thinking about how running and exercise were presented as something virtuous which high achievers did as something to be checked off on their to do list. Like taking your vitamins. Angela was the successful, organized, achieving woman, so of course “a jog” was on her list of things to do. We have been told that if we want to extend our lives, improve many health indicators and look better then we should exercise. And I think that some people do mechanically approach it this way. I also think that if many of the folks who exercise this way could take it in pill form, they would.

 

But that’s not what I see in our group or what we’re doing. We’re not “exercising”. What I see when I’m watching the icons of runners I’m tracking moving across a screen in the Boston or New York City Marathon apps, is so much more than a figure progressing towards the finish line. I see the months of uncertainty, tears, joy, laughter, pain, dread, determination, culminating and playing out in real time. There is so much vulnerability and humanity and self-discovery that are revealed through what we’re doing. It is so the opposite of Angela’s two-dimensional “jog before work”. The running IS the story! Every one of you is writing your own story through running and I find them fascinating and want to read them all. I actually feel lucky that I mostly get to from where I sit. What we’re doing means something and adds something to all of us. We don’t do it for health (many of us are doing it despite doctors’ orders to cut back), or beauty (hello hours of sun and wind exposure and extra daily gravitational forces), or to be better at work (ahem … naps under the desk anyone?) We do it because it is real. And if exercise ever does end up coming in a pill form, I’m pretty sure I know who won’t be taking it.

 

So I just wanted to let you all know that I appreciate all of you and watching the unfolding of your stories. And if there is someone in this group whose story you don’t know, ask them out for a run – I promise it’ll be more entertaining than an ‘80’s sitcom.

 

This week we’re back on tap with hills! I don’t care if you’re not training for a hilly race – the strength and power you build through hills will serve you. You’ll recruit muscle fibres that you’ll call on whether you’re running a hill later or not. They just make you into a more efficient runner.

 

Runners new to the group: some of us meet at Pottery Rd, and some at a hill in the beach (to coordinate if you want to attend that one, ask Tanis).

 

For Pottery, get there anytime between 6 and 6:30 (heck, earlier if you want to – you do you!) and run hard up, easy down. I’m liking mixing up the full and half hills. Let’s do this: 2 full, 1 half. Repeat 2-3 times. I was going to add a little tempo or pick-ups at the end, but let’s save that – just work on the hill part for now.

 

I’ll aim to be there around 6:05.

 

See ya in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

Colours

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Hi Everyone!

 

Hope you’re all taking some time to pause during some of your runs these days to soak in the fall colours. We’ll be getting dazzled by them in the coming days – hope you enjoy them!

 

I read something about leaves which I never knew before (in the marginalian by Maria Popova). Apparently leaves are naturally full of yellow, orange, red and purple pigments all the time. But the green pigment of chlorophyll masks them throughout most of their lives. In the fall when sunlight becomes more scarce, the energy cost of using chlorophyll to make food becomes too great, so the chlorophyll starts to break down.  And in the breakdown, the natural vibrant hues of the leaf which were there the whole time are revealed to us.

 

And as Maria points out, who doesn’t love a metaphor? The breakdown which reveals to us what was there all along. There is always value in going through certain breakdowns – whether physical or mental. (I’m not saying they’re easy – just valuable). They are there to help us shed what we no longer need so we can see what we truly value. Yes, even injuries. If we never broke down at all, we might never discover some of our brightest colours which are constantly over-shadowed. We might forget to cultivate our non-running relationships as much, or we might never discover the other experiences we can have which ultimately complement our running (hiking, biking, skiing, … or even – the arts!)  If always on an upward running trajectory, it is very hard to step back and value and invest in other areas of life which sustain us and keep us fulfilled. But luckily, nothing in life or nature is ever a trajectory. Neither growth nor breakdown. It is a cycle. A constant cycle. So wherever you may find yourself on that wheel, try to accept it and remember that you’ll come around and your bright colours will be revealed again.

 

Onto tomorrow’s workout!

We’ll do one more Lakeshore workout before throwing a hills workout in next week. Lakeshore and Leslie – 6:05 if you want to warm-up with drills, first interval starts at 6:15 sharp.

 

  1. 600’s. Here’s the twist: our recovery will be a 200m jog instead of standing and resting. I’ll mark out 100m from each side so we can do an out-and-back. Let’s aim for 8-10 of these and keep them at 10K pace. It will be a continually flowing workout, so lower intensity per interval but it will creep up on us!
  2. New York Marathoners!!!! Taper workout: 1 mile at marathon pace, 2 x 600 a bit quicker. 90 seconds between all. Feel free to cruise by a bit later if you need sleep – your workout won’t take as long. If we see you we will wish you luck in person!

 

Thanks all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

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