Hi Everyone,

What I’ve been thinking about this week is pauses. Those moments where you allow yourself to stop moving forward for a minute. Or maybe two.

I think it’s a good idea to build in pauses either at the end of a significant chunk of focused work, and even often in the middle. Pauses are not times where you move backwards. In fact, it’s the opposite. Pauses allow you to fully absorb what’s come before so that you have room to take on more.

Pauses are crucial parts of all growth. The rotation pattern for the most productive fields are sewing, farming, harvesting, and fallowing. The fallow season is key for maintaining high quality yields. When a field is left fallow, it restores its natural fertility which would be stripped to nothing if it were continually used to produce.

This is absolutely true in terms of running. Most plans and coaches plan a “recovery week” in every three or four weeks during a build phase. This trend is borne out by many real life experiments with athletes where it has been shown that an unrelenting progressive workload is both unsustainable and destructive. So if you want success, you plan in pauses.

The same goes with bigger pauses after macro-cycles. If you’ve been training for something for a long time, whether you hit your goal or not, your brain and body need a little pause to regroup and catch-up at the end.

I am thinking about how many of us have used running to help us to navigate a difficult winter. For almost all of us, running has been our main social outlet, has represented our sense of control when so much else has been out of our control, has given us space to tap into our own thoughts and emotions, and has been a very necessary physical outlet. If, like me, you are grateful for all running has given you this past year, maybe say a little word of thanks, and take a small pause so that you can reflect and absorb before launching yourself forward again.

What this pause looks like might be different for different people. You might need a little break from running altogether. You might need to run “for fun” for a while, and not track mileage or time workouts. You might keep your favourite types of runs in there, but replace some others with other types of activities, like cycling or paddling, to take the pressure off running as your sole outlet and ambition.

But remember that a good pause is a sign of nurturing and respect for the thing you love. You are not going backwards or losing fitness – you are absorbing and regenerating. And I’m no expert, but I bet the same holds true for other things in our lives. It’s not a sign of weakness if you need to take a pause from the news, certain tasks and activities, or even certain relationships. It means you care enough to want to come back with more energy.  So take and embrace pauses in your life where you need them – they will serve you well!

Onto workouts for this week if you aren’t pausing:

1. Hills! I think we’re due! I like keeping a mix in these to keep them from getting too tedious – something like 2 longs and a short or long/short repeats. Whatever works for you, but try not to make to too “grindy” right now.
2. If something is hurting and you don’t want hills, go with the strides workout. A Good warm-up, drills, then 4-8 cruisy strides. So good for you.
3. Tempo option: 20-8-4 min tempo w 3 min rec

Have fun!

xo

Seanna

Hey Everyone!

Huge congrats to everyone who ran Around The Bay virtual 30K this weekend! (Shauna, Stephanie, Samantha, Laura, Amy, Zoe). What an inspiring show of positivity and “the show must go on” attitudes! I know many of us trained with you through the winter, and were very inspired by your races – just a reminder that even when you think you’re doing something just for yourself, it can have a large ripple effect to others.

Onto my thoughts this week! What I’ve been thinking about is noticing and paying attention to the moments that are fine. Or even good.

There are so many parallels in this pandemic with running a marathon, so I’ll start there. First up, in a marathon, the closer you get to the finish line, the harder it gets. There is no sense of relief with 10K to go. And please for the love of god, if you’re ever cheering for anyone running a marathon, never ever say “You’re almost there!” unless they are steps and I mean steps away from the finish line. And I think that’s where we find ourselves in this pandemic. We’ve put in the work and the time which have led us to this place pretty exhausted. And although yes, we have less actual time to go, it is all relative. It is so much harder now as we get closer to where we want to be. That is precisely because of all the work we’ve already done. Starting fresh, we could do this last bit no problem. But we’re not fresh. And everyone knows the marathon STARTS at 30K.

Most people also know that good marathoners work on their mental game as much as their physical game. One thing they really practice and get good at is staying in the moment.

Don’t think about how hard it is now, and how far you have to go, and that there’s no way you can maintain this pace given how this feels. That is the kiss of death in the last third of any race. Instead, seasoned racers who can push themselves to the limit think “right now, this is ok. Right now, I can put one more foot in front of the other”. They know their brains are bad at projecting and can get overwhelmed, but that a series of manageable present moments add up. They often don’t think beyond the next kilometer, or sometimes even the next footstep.

So don’t think:  “these days are so hard, I’ll never make it two or more months”. Just remind yourself that right now, you are ok. I was walking during sunset with a friend the other evening, and I said “this is all very hard. But this right now is really nice.” We smiled and enjoyed the moment. It’s up to you to notice those fine or good moments. Even during a time of difficulty they will appear, so it’s up to you to pay attention and savour them. That’s where you’ll find your mental strength to go on.

On to workouts for this week!

ATB racers – I hope you’re taking a good chunk of time off. No running for up to a week and then nothing structured for at least another. Then let your body and motivation guide you.

Everyone else:

1. 5-7 x 1K w 1:45 rec. Start at HM pace and if feeling good can work down to 10K pace.
2. If doing fartlek: 5-7 x 4 min Hard, 1:45 Easy
3. If your legs are bored or tired or needing something different, do a drills and strides “workout”. 2-3K w-up, 20 mins of drills, 4-5 strides, 2K c-dn
4. Tempo: try this – a few of us did it the other weekend and it was different and fun – 2/3 of your regular qty of hills followed by 2/3 your regular tempo. So something like 3-4 hills followed by 15-20 mins of tempo. The tempo is actually a relief after the hills!

Have fun everyone!

xo

Seanna

Hi Everyone!

First up, huge congrats to more Achilles runners! Gillian Irving ran her first EVER 5K and beat her 25 minute goal time with a 24:52! Also Jon Feasby crushed his predicted time and ran 19:45!!! Sub-20 club. (he was already a member but from a *short time ago 😉 ) We still have a few to come in, so keep the results coming in to me as you do it!

I’ve had to give myself some reminders this past week, so I thought I’d remind some of you as well (although many of you are probably like, d-uh Seanna – that’s so obvious!)

The reminder is to listen. Deeply. To the outside world and to ourselves.

When I started running in the ‘90’s there were no GPS watches, and you could run with a Sony Walkman, but it was pretty clunky and heavy and only played one tape, so I never tried it. Running connected me with my place and with myself.

I’ve noticed recently that as much as I “don’t care” what my watch says, I know it’s there, and it influences me. There is emotion tied to how I “should” feel at a certain pace – even when it’s not a run without any other goal than to just run. So I’ve started running with just my old digital Timex again, and I’m loving it. I can listen and respond to how my body is feeling without any external judgement or influence. I know about how far I cover in 30 or 60 minutes. If I misjudge my distance slightly, it won’t be by any significant measure that will affect me. I am feeling much more free and in touch with myself and I’m loving it.

The second behaviour I’ve fallen into – more recently over COVID – has been listening to something while I’m running. Maybe I’ve needed the distraction from myself, or maybe I’ve been craving information and a feeling of interaction with others. Either way, it’s become more often than not a habit when I step out the door. I will tell you though: in my 30+ years of running and not listening to anything for almost all of it, I have never once in my life had the feeling of boredom. Not once. And I’ve trained for multiple marathons solo. I feel that by not listening to anything, you become better friends with yourself. Give yourself this one activity to be with just you. You can plug in while doing a billion other things. But there is something about running and actually hearing your own footfalls, your breathing, the birds, the bugs, the wind, the rain, dogs barking, the cars, peoples’ conversation as you pass, that connects you physically to your place here. Don’t tune it all out – take it all in – you are part of it. And your brain loves it. Physical movement and free flowing thoughts and ideas go hand in hand. But not if you’re clogging up your brain with other people’s thoughts and ideas – as good as they might be!

So that’s what I’m doing and I invite anyone who isn’t doing it to join me. Run without listening to gadgets and electronics and data that someone else has decided you might need. You’ll become way more sensitive to hearing things like your own internal cues, you might start to notice which birds live along which routes you run, and I do believe you’ll become a better companion to yourself.

Ok, onto workouts for this week! 2 options depending on whether you’re training for a Half and above, or 5K/10K’s:

1. Half’s, 30K’s and Marathoners: 8-12 x 600 w 1:30 rest. This looks like a lot, and it is. The key here will be finding a rhythm and not straining. Start at half marathon pace and see if you can work down to 10K pace. Please only do 12 if you’re feeling good and are in a building phase. ATB peeps, you’re coming down now, so keep to the lower end.

2. As fartlek! 8-12 x 2:30 Hard, 1:30 easy

3. If aiming for more of the 5K/10K realm: 2 x 800 w 1:30, 3 min, 2 x (4 x 400) w 45 sec jog (or 100m jog), 3 min b/w sets

4. Tempo option: 12 min, 6 min, 6 min all w 3 min jog

That is all – enjoy and see you on the roads!

xo

Seanna

Hi Everyone! 

What I’ve been thinking about this week is teammates. Many people in this group I would consider direct teammates of mine, and are teammates with each other.  I see, communicate with and rely on many of you in some form or another. I think of many of you as teammates in life as well as in running. We know we’re here for each other and there is a huge confidence that comes from that. I’m grateful for it. 

I was listening to an interview with Quilen Blackwell, a social activist and changemaker. His view is that life is a team sport. Oftentimes when you’re on a path or undertaking something new, you might find you’re on a team, but you don’t necessarily know who your teammates are yet. But here is the thing: there will always be teammates who show up. I love this idea that we have people just waiting quietly for us to appear so they can join us and help us to move forward. Many of us are lucky to have already experienced this. In the same way, we often encounter others who we didn’t see coming, and recognize a teammate in the path they’re on, and so think nothing of doing whatever we can to help them achieve their goals.  

I think this is called having faith in humanity. Not everyone is on the same team, but we do all have our own invisible teammates out there who want the best for us and will help us get there. You’ll know them when you see them. And you’ll be one when you can. Here’s to teammates. 

Ok, onto workouts for this week!  

1. I think we’re up for hills again. Wow, three week cycles seem to be passing fast! For those not doing an Achilles 5K or 10K virtual, do hills! And mix it up. If you normally go long, throw some half hills in. They are so good for power and fast twitch strength and form. We endurance junkies can forget about that sometimes. 

2. If you don’t want to do hills, here’s a fun/different one to try. 8-10 x 200/200 run like: 200 Fast (3K pace – basically hard), 200 Medium (keep this at 10K or Half Marathon race pace). No breaks – keep going. This is a great workout for teaching your body to clear lactate. Equals higher lactate threshold. Equals can run at a higher pace for a more sustained period of time! So handy.  

3. If doing the Achilles this weekend, let’s do workout 2 but maybe cut the qty in half so we can go in fresh. 
4. Tempo: ATB peeps have 30-32 mins straight up. Start 5-7 sec slower than normal tempo. This one is a big confidence builder – you’re just callousing yourself. (callouses are ugly but so useful for protection and armour) Do what you need to to mentally stay with it. If you have a few slower km’s that’s fine. Learn to regroup and find a way through. You got this! 

That is all. Go Team! 

xo 

Seanna 

Hi Everyone!

I was about to say I think I can smell Spring, but then it just started snowing with a cold wind blowing in, so I think we’re in for some back and forth for the next little while.

Last week was a tough one weather-wise for training for many of us. At least three days were either deep snow, slick, invisible ice, or a combination of both. I think almost everyone changed and adapted their runs and workouts based on what was in front of us.

As I opened the door to let my cat out after her breakfast on one of those freezing icy days, she took one look and said “no thanks”, turned around and contentedly curled up on a chair instead.

It occurred to me that there is a lot we can learn from cats (full disclosure – I was also inspired after reading a review of Feline Philosophy by John Gray). 

Cats are masters of contentedness. They basically exist to please themselves, and they are very good at making the most out of any situation in order to do just that. If it’s cold, wet and windy out, they are just as happy to not go outside, and they feel zero guilt or shame or longing. Then when it’s nice out, they might disappear for a whole day with no excuses. When my cat wants to be patted, she’ll follow us around and makes sure she gets attention. Once she’s had enough, she turns around, throws her bum in our face and walks away. Unlike dogs (and humans), cats don’t have anxiety about what is to come or what other people think. They are completely self-reliant and know they have the ability to make the best of whatever comes their way. Just picture a cat. Whether it is sitting in a sunbeam or prowling in the garden, you can’t picture a cat wishing it were doing something else and not being fully content in whatever it is doing.

What can we take from this? For starters, don’t beat yourself up if it’s gross out and you don’t want to go out. Who is your master anyway? If it’s not going to bring you joy, you don’t have to do it. Or at least not for as long as when it’s nice out. It IS inherently less enjoyable when it’s freezing and slippery. There is no shame in admitting that.

And on the flip side, when it is nice out, take advantage and enjoy it! (and trust that you will) When we take our cat to the cottage she just goes and goes and goes until she collapses – when we get home she’ll sleep for two days! Similarly, sometimes we’re just gifted a beautiful day, a scenic setting and energy in our legs. On those days, we should go out for as long as we like and enjoy ourselves! Make yourself happy – you can rest up later.

Another lesson: don’t let the judgements of others dictate what you do. Our cat will take our love, but she doesn’t beg for it or live for it. You can tell by the state of our couch that she’s not trying to win our approval. This is how we should approach our relationships with our training and race results on social media. Likes and accolades are nice, but we can live without them. It’s our own respect that we need.

So try pleasing yourself with your running. Practice being content with whatever training decision you make on any given day, and trust yourself enough to know that you’ll go out and work hard when the time is right. Also, go sit down in the next sunbeam you see and close your eyes for a bit – it feels pretty good.

On to workouts for this week:

1. 3-4×1000 with 1:45 rest at 5K pace (if doing these on our path, do them as 800/200 then combinations of 600/400), 4 min rest, 4-5×400 with 1:15 rest at 3K pace (or just a bit faster)
2. If doing fartlek style: 3-4 x 4 min Hard w 1:45 Easy, 4 min easy, 4-5 x 1:15 Hard, 1:15 Easy
3. Hills if you missed last week bc of ice and feel like doing them
4. Tempo: 3 x 15 min w 3 min rec (this is if you’ve been building them and are training for ATB – Option of 3 x 10 mins if you’re not there yet)

Have fun and hope to see some of you on the roads at some point!

xo

Seanna