Feeling it – RunningWell

Hi Everyone!

Holy, we’re halfway through the summer! But what a summer we’re having. The weather is great, races are on, events and camps and traveling and get-togethers are on… this is one to savour for sure.

I’ve been savouring my down-time post Ironman. I’m letting myself do what I want when I’m “feeling it”. Which so far isn’t a ton. And I’m thinking how strange this is, because leading up to the race, I didn’t really ever have to talk myself into any training – I was “feeling it” and “into it” the whole way through. And now I have to start back up again at some point and get excited about something. I’ve been reflecting about this. How sometimes we are excited and invigorated by our training, and sometimes it feels like a bit of a chore. I think it’s important to stay tuned into this. It’s reasonable to have some days that just don’t come easily and the odd workout where you don’t want to be there for the whole time. But if these are happening more frequently than not, and you’re dragging yourself kicking and screaming through most of your training runs, it’s important to re-evaluate your goals. Is this something you really want to do? If so, why?

I was very excited about my Ironman training because I had so many unanswered questions: How far removed was I from the person who did this 20 years ago? Was I still capable of doing this? Where will my mind go? How will I react? Is this the same body? Is this the same mind? These were all questions I was very curious about exploring. When it turned out I had qualified for another Ironman a few months away, I had no interest in going. I had answered all my questions. I wasn’t training for training. I was in it because I was excited about this one thing. And I knew I couldn’t force my interest beyond that. I couldn’t take someone else’s goal and make it mine.

Here’s the thing though: sometimes we find purpose through training. We have to start somewhere, and then the WHY pops up. What’s the old saying … “Mood Follows Action”. A big unknown challenge is one thing, but so is persistent perseverance. You start training in little steps and find a groove and think – “what am I capable of?” Sometimes you just have to start and the purpose and meaning will appear. I can’t tell you what your purpose and meaning should be. These are deeply personal and I believe they are things you “feel” rather than rationalize. Is this something you are drawn to and can find some sort of significance in? You don’t even need to be able to verbalize what it is. But something needs to be pulling you forward. You can’t train for the events that we train for because you feel you should or because someone else thinks it will be cool. It’s totally ok to keep moving forward while searching for that feeling – but if you’re weeks or months in and still haven’t landed on it, it’s ok to take a pause and wait for it to reappear. I promise it will come back. (And no, usually it doesn’t take 20 years!)

On to tomorrow’s workout – I think we’re due for a social/fartlek! The mid-point of summer feels like a good time. Let’s meet at Lakeshore and Leslie at 6:05 for drills, 6:15 Go time. We’ll run along the spit since there is enough light these days!

Easy jog if you’re just coming back from a big race or illness or that’s all you have in you.
6 min tempo, 3 min easy, then 2 sets of 4 x 2 min on, 1 min off, and 1 set of 4 x 1 min on, 1 min off – 3 min easy bw sets. This should lead to 5.5-7K of work for most. Don’t forget to regroup on all the Easy sections – starting with people is what makes this one fun!

See y’all in the am.

Seanna