Finding joy and gratitude

Hi Everyone!

Huge congrats to everyone who ran Around The Bay – whether as race or a training run. That is a serious distance on a serious course with some serious wind! Shout out to Laura, Chris, Sean, Andrew, Zoë, Amy, Bob, Jordan, Patrick, Nir, Julia, Gillian who all put themselves out there! Way to go crew.

I ran the 5K. At the start line I was chatting with a friend and fellow coach. I was trying to figure out approx times so I would know where I should be relative to him. Because I did not want to look at my watch – I just wanted to race. I told him, “because you know – I’m 46.” And he said, “well, this is what I am thinking but you never know because you know – I’m 56.” We’re both slowing down. And as I ran I reflected on that and how lucky we were that we could still run hard and fast (relatively). I felt gratitude towards my body because it didn’t hurt and was doing what I was asking it. I didn’t look at my watch and I didn’t really care (too much) about my time. I was just taking nothing for granted and feeling grateful to be there, with others, doing what I love.

I was listening to a podcast with Karen Walrond – author of The Lightmaker’s Manifesto (which I haven’t read but is on my list!) Walrond addresses the dichotomy of seeking out and feeling joy and pleasure while also holding space for the suffering and injustices going on around us. She says it is even more important to fill yourself up with joy if you want to be able to stay open to seeing the injustices in the world and trying to make a difference. For many of us, that joy is running. And races are the peak experience of this expression. We are so so lucky, and I think that remembering that, whether it’s cold, windy, hilly, hard – is the most important thing. Doing a hard run or a race is not frivolous, but nor is it a big, stressful, important event that matters to anyone else. It is for you. So find a way to fill yourself up and find joy and gratitude in it. I only have to look at the number of our team who did not make it to the start line to remember not to take any of it for granted. And I will do my best to help you all get to your next starting line healthy and filled with joy and gratitude!

Tomorrow, we’re back to hills! If you ran ATB, you can come out and jog, but no hills. If you raced it, take at least a week off/easy. If you did it as a training run, your next hard effort will be this weekend. You’re still recovering, and adding another stress too close to that will put a cap on the recovery benefits you get from the effort! We’re getting close to key races for many of you and this is where you have to work smarter than harder. You’re fit – let’s get you to the start line!

Pottery Road as:

Straight up hill for the first one.
Easy halfway, fast second half (stairs/construction) for the second one
Fast first half, easy second half for the third one
Repeat this sequence 2-3 times
3 min rec – then 5 min tempo (it’s not cheating if you do this downhill towards Dundas 😉 )

I’ll aim to be there around 6:10/6:15 – happy to pick anyone up en-route!

Seanna