Tuesday, August 12, 2025 – Trying

Hi Everyone!

Congrats to Jeff Smith who ran the Sunset Shuffle 5K in the smoking heat. These races in the heat have been testing us! Coming up this weekend we have Tanis and Shauna in the Toronto Island Tri, Leigh Anne in the Muskoka Half IM and myself in my season-ender 1500. And I’m not sure if anyone from this group is doing the TrackSmith 5000? That is on Saturday. There are a number of other races coming up soon – Toronto Women’s 5K and then we get into September 5K’s which are all around (Bum Run, Yorkville 5K and more). It’s never a bad idea to stay in touch with the effort of racing, even if you’re not in “race shape”. The effort and times will translate once you are.

Which brings me to what I’ve been thinking about this week: Trying. Earlier this summer I had run a 1500m race which was one of the slower ones I’ve run in a few years. A friend had captured some pictures of me finishing, and I was showing them to my daughter so we could laugh together at the state of my face. I looked like I was being tortured. But instead of laughing with me she said “Mum, I think that’s great! It looks like you’re trying so hard!” And suddenly I was proud of a race which I had previously been dismissive of. I WAS trying hard! It didn’t matter that my time wasn’t what I wanted it to be (that would come after a few more efforts). I had no regrets and was satisfied. All you can do is the best you can do, and doing that feels pretty good – no matter what it leads to.

I don’t always try my hardest in everything. I know that. I’m a Gen-X. We were known as the “slacker generation”. It used to be cool to be nonchalant, and very un-cool to earnestly try your hardest – or at least look like you were. We liked success, but it was way cooler if that success came with an apparent lack of effort. Fellow Gen-X ers might remember the author Gordon Korman who wrote about protagonists who got ahead while subverting the system and not trying hard at all. That’s who we tried to emulate. Our style was grunge – could you try any less hard on wardrobe? Our music and movie heroes were shaggily dressed, and showed up looking like they couldn’t care less. When that is your coming of age culture, it is hard to shed its deep resonance and internalization. My daughter obviously has had a different cultural indoctrination, and I’m happy for this. She thinks trying hard is cool. And looking like you’re trying hard is not a bad thing either. Effort is admirable – not caring or trying is a bit lame.

I’m now embracing this mindset – especially in athletics. Doing the best you can do is satisfying. And there is no reproach if you do. No one cares what our times are. I think we don’t really care that much either. For us the times represent what we think we’re capable of, and if we reach that, it means we tried our hardest. I’m glad trying hard is cool again. It is something that is within our control and completely achievable. I’m still working on shaking my slacker-vibes in other areas, but I’ll start with trying my hardest in the races I care about. If I can do that, I’ll be happy with any result. And as a bonus, my daughter will think I’m cool.

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

I think we might be getting some rain, but that isn’t a bad thing. It might cool things down a bit.

Let’s bring back 800’s. We can’t go right to the end at Carlaw, but we can start a little farther back towards Leslie and make it work.

Let’s do 5-7 x 800 with 90 seconds rest. This is not to make these the fastest you’ve ever done. Just find a rhythm and if you can, progress them slightly throughout the set.

People tapering: 2 x 800 tempo, then 4-5 x 150m as long strides.

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

xo

Seanna