Growth in pursuing goals

Hi Everyone!

Don’t think anyone raced last week. There are some more fun summer races coming up if you want a little supported tempo, fitness check-in, or fun community event. Locally we have: the Don’t Trip Rail Path Mile Aug 25^th, Achilles 5K Aug 26^th, Toronto Women’s 5K/10K Aug 26^th, TrackSmith 5000 Sept 9^th, Toronto Island 5K/10K Sept 10^th, Yorkville 5K Sept 10^th, Georgina 5k/10K/Half Sept 10^th, Oasis Zoo run 5K/10K Sept 16^th, These are just a few if anyone’s keen.

I’ve been thinking and chatting with people recently about goals. It can seem strange that we get so caught up in running goals since as we remind ourselves time and time again “NO ONE CARES HOW FAST YOU RUN!” but that’s not the point. They’re important to us because they represent challenge, growth and learning. What are we here on earth for if it’s not to grow and learn and become our best selves? And I think we are innately driven to find paths to do that. Choosing challenging running goals is a very valid path in that pursuit. So yes, the results don’t really matter. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to try our hardest to achieve them. It’s the authentic pursuit that matters. How we rise to a challenge, how we handle adversity, how we choose and express our values through training and racing, how we help others and pull them up as we go, … There are endless ways to find meaning and growth in the pursuit of our goals. The key is that, they have to be challenging, and we have to be able to strive for them with dedication and purpose, but be ok if we don’t quite get them every time. There is not a lot of growth to be had in lobbing a soft goal which you could achieve easily. But at the same time, it doesn’t always have to be a personal best or a sexy looking time or placing. It should be something that will push you towards expansion right now. I’m personally not looking for any more personal bests, but am still excited and motivated to achieve goals I set for myself. Because even if life circumstances mean we may not be objectively running as fast as ever, our journeys are just as, if not more valuable in terms of our personal development. That growth never stops as long as we keep the pursuit honest.

On to tomorrow’s workout – back to Lakeshore and Leslie – 6:05 drills, 6:15 GO!

6-8 x 800 w 1:30 rest. A few ways to approach this: if you’re just getting back into workouts and building some strength and volume, keep these at a tempo-ish pace. I’d suggest this for ppl just starting a marathon build. If you’re in the midst of a build and have some strength and miles behind you, feel free to go around 10K pace. The range is there for you to do what’s right for you on that day.
If you’re working on extending how long you can hold a faster pace, suggest doing 6-8 x 600. Go out with the group, stop at the 600 mark, and pick them up when they come back through for the next one. (yes, you’ll get a bit longer break every other one).
Do a mix of 800’s and 600’s. Challenge yourself to do 4-5 x 800, and then do the 600 of the 800’s for a few more.
If you’re traveling and doing this by time: 6-8 x 3 min ON, 1:30 OFF. Pace between tempo and 10k.

That is it – see you in the am!

Seanna