Tuesday, Feb 27, 2024 – Clapping

Hey All!

Spring is in the air, and with that the scent of spring races is noticeable. Starting off this weekend with the Chilly Half. Some are racing it, some are training through, but it’s always a great way to “wake up” from winter and decide where we want to take our training for the season.

What I’ve been thinking about this week is the ability to ask for support. I’ve always thought that “distance runner” is a personality type more than a chosen activity. Whether our sport has shaped us, or we’ve been drawn to it because it suits us, we do tend to exhibit some similar characteristics. Among these are independence and self-reliance. We know that when we’re out there, training or racing, it’s really us vs. us, and us with us. We show up for ourselves, learn to trust ourselves, and spend a lot of time in our own heads.

I’ve been at a lot of track meets lately. If you’ve been to any track meets, you’re probably familiar with the Jumper’s Clap. It’s the slow, rhythmic clap that jumpers (triple, long, high, pole vault) do above their heads before taking off. The crowd and fellow competitors immediately join in, and everyone within earshot starts clapping slowly. The jumper then prepares themselves and builds into a sprint before taking off as the clapping cadence increases all around them to help propel them forwards or up. The jumpers are basically saying “hey, help me out here” and everyone does. Now, there is a lot going on at track meets, and often I’m not even looking at the jumper or I’m continuing on with a conversation I’m having, but I always participate in the clap. When someone asks for support, you’re more than happy to support them. And jumpers are very good at asking for support.

I’ve always admired this about them. Sure, it’s ballsy. It’s very “look at me … here I go!” But why not? It’s so different from most distance runners. But I think we could take an example from this. We can learn to ask for support when we need it. People around us want to support us if they know how. This is why I tell people to let others know of any big goals. Bosses, colleagues, family members can all inadvertently put up barriers to you trying to get your shit done, but if they are aware of a big goal, more than likely they will want to support you. So put it out there. Tell everyone you’re training for a marathon or to run a PB in the 5K … whatever it is. Most peoples’ natural instinct will be to assist you in getting there. The trick is, you have to start clapping for yourself first. Then they’ll all join in.

On to tomorrow’s workout! We’re a bit divided here. People still working on strength and a solid base with some pep are doing Hills + Tempo. People racing or training through the Chilly Half this weekend will do a little more specific prep work.

Hills: I think a lot of ppl liked the last one (myself included), so let’s repeat it. You can add a set if feeling a little stronger. 2-3 sets of 2 x Pottery rd (or 400m hill), walk to tempo spot (~ 1 min), 4 min tempo.
If racing Chilly: 600 at race pace, 2 min rest, then 4 x 400 a lil quicker w 1:30 rest
If training through Chilly (ie. Executing a solid training run): 2 x 800 @ half marathon pace w 1:30 rest, 2 x 600 @ 10K pace w 1:15, 4 x 400 @ 5K w 1, 1 x 800 @ half marathon pace – 2 min bw all sets. This is to set you up to find a good marathon pace rhythm in the race that you can stick to.

That is all – see some of you in the am!

Seanna