Tuesday, April 28, 2026 – Zooming out

Hi Everyone!

Huge congrats to all of our London marathoners! Lori, Carol, Carolyn, Elizabeth, Eleanor, Madalyn, Shauna, Sam F! I haven’t heard all the war stories in detail, but I think we should all try to get out for a beer and relive all the details. Also in the Bum Run, Erin came first in her age category, Pearce came third in his age category and Jason came first in his category! Congrats all. Also this wouldn’t be a running newsletter if I didn’t recognize the two sub-2 marathons in London! And on the women’s side the women’s only world record was set in 2:15. What a day. This weekend we have the Toronto Marathon and Half Marathon – I don’t think anyone in this crew is racing but I encourage you all to go out and cheer. Spread the Toronto running love!

This week I’ve been thinking about perspectives. When we care about something and want to drive it forward, it’s common to really focus in on it in all its detail. This can work really well because we put energy where our attention is. And usually that begets results. Small details add up. Doing strides one day or not doesn’t matter. Doing them consistently week after week for months does. In training, there are certain things we can’t control. But controlling the controllables adds up. Taking the time and sweating the details can help.

But there are times when all of the details and the swirling brain can be too much. Too much focus, too many details, and these may reveal themselves at 3 a.m. And in those instances it helps greatly to zoom out. Why do I do this again? What do I love about it? Am I healthy and able to enjoy runs alone or with friends? Then it’s all good. The details couldn’t matter less.

I have to remind myself about this at times. I can stress about things like my kids’ futures, my and my loved ones’ aging bodies and future health, the state of the world… and the more I focus in and drill down on these things, the less productive I become. The only thing that helps at these times is to zoom out and look at the big picture. Are my kids healthy? Can I still enjoy movement every day and spending quality time with loved ones? Is there still a sunrise to appreciate every morning and birds to listen to? Then everything is ok. We hear this from astronauts who get to view earth from hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. In this zoomed out perspective, they get a deep understanding of how beautiful our world is, and what really matters. It is not the petty little fights and battles we are engaged in down below. The whole beauty and perfection of it from a distance makes the small problems seem trivial.

Obviously we can’t stay zoomed out all the time. We have to come back down to earth eventually. But this is just a reminder if you find yourself caught in a zoomed in perspective to shift it out every now and then. Take a deep breath, appreciate the beauty, and don’t sweat the small stuff. It will all be ok.

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

Let’s do sets of continuous Hard/Tempo segments. I like these for overall strength, and for a little injection of lactic acid while teaching your body how to deal with it on the go. This is useful for races that involve hills, surges, shorter distances, or longer distances where you want to learn how to push it mid-race without panicking.

Let’s do: 400 Hard-400 Tempo-300 Hard-300 tempo-200 Hard-200 Tempo. This is one set continuous. Take 2 minutes rest and repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 sets.

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

Seanna