December 1, 2020 – Share your energy

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Hi Everyone! 

 

Yay winter! It is actually beautiful out there right now. I saw lots of runners out on the boardwalk early this am, enjoying the first snowfall. Just don’t forget your lights everyone! 

 

I just realized that today is Giving Tuesday which lines up well with my thoughts for this week. It’s not about giving financially, because this is the last group I need to mention that to (I am constantly inspired by the philanthropy in this crew) but about being generous with our energy.  

 

My energy is what I find is most needed by others in my life. The energy to be present, to listen, to physically help with something or get something done, to accompany, to nurture, to participate fully. I am also very good at using up all of my energy in one go so there is nothing left for anyone else.  

 

So I came up with a number. 75%. I was thinking about this the other day when an athlete I was coaching was supposed to be doing 800’s. She stopped after one and said, not today. I said, why don’t you do 400 of every 800? So she did that and completed the workout and came back to the following workout refreshed and recharged. I did this for myself last week as I gave myself a shorter workout to save energy for a race. I came away feeling energized and recharged, not exhausted. I had the thought – why don’t I do this more often and not just for selfish reasons? Leave some energy on the table to share with others. And then really do share it.  

 

Many of us in. this crew have two settings: All or Nothing. Let me propose 75% to you. You don’t have to do every ‘Hard’ effort at 90-95%. Those are beneficial for certain things, yes, but do they leave you with the ability to be energetically generous? Why not set an intention to work at 75% sometimes. It feels good, it lessens the pressure, and it leaves you with energy. You will still gain fitness. Remember, just doing that twice will get you to 150%! (ok, made up fitness math), BUT these do keep you consistent which counts for a lot!  

 

So on to workout options for this week – remember – please keep the numbers to 10 max at each time/location. And only do what you feel comfortable doing!  

 

  1. 4-5 x 1200 @half marathon pace (so like tempo) w 1:30 rec. (the path will likely be cleared as it is quite consistently ploughed and salted, but let’s really err on the side of taking it easy if it’s slippery) – 75% option – do 3 of them and go have coffee  
  2. 4-5 x 4 min ON, 1:30 OFF 
  3. Hills! Although might be slippery so be careful 
  4. Tempo: 15 min tempo, 3 min easy, 8 min slightly faster, 3 min easy, 4 min a touch even faster 

 

Have fun! 

 

Seanna