Tuesday, July 9, 2024 – Racing as meditation

Hi Everyone!

Huge congrats to everyone who raced the Muskoka 70.3 Ironman! Jon McCrea who came top 10 in his age group in a big PB, Carolyn Steele Gray who came 7th in her age group – not sure if it was a PB but looked like a very fast time. And Jason Jacobs who sustained a running injury before the race, but did the swim and the bike anyway. Great perseverance. Oh – good thing I just looked up results – and Mike Greenberg who came 13th overall and 1st in his age group! Way to go crew!

Lately I’ve been thinking about races, and where and how they fit into hectic schedules and busy lives. I think we can often get caught thinking, “I’ll do it when space opens up” or “I don’t have any bandwidth for that right now”. Entering and doing a race can feel like a big undertaking, and when your head and life are swimming with too many other things, it can just feel like more than you want to take on. The start of summer is a good example of hectic schedules, new routines, different obligations popping up. I have felt this way over the last couple of weeks. Like my head has been full and I don’t even know where to start with certain projects and I’ve potentially taken on too much in some areas … And then I went to run a track race.

As soon as I arrived at the track, like magic, everything other than running melted far into the background. Everyone at races wants to support you and wants you to do well. Everyone’s expectations of you are exactly the same: go run a race. No more, no less. My mind and body go into automatic pilot. I know exactly what to do and when to do it. For the next 2 hours, I am in the zen mode of the racing bubble, and no other worries or problems rise to the surface or concern me. It’s not what many people would call the most relaxing or even pleasurable experience. There is some pre-race anxiety, there is the intensity (pain?) of racing, there is the mixed emotions of deciphering your time and effort after the race. But there is also the euphoria and release and camaraderie at the end, and the feeling or rather knowing that everything is as it should be, and everything will be ok.

There is an old Zen saying: “You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you’re too busy, then you should sit for an hour.” Maybe we should make a similar rule for running: “You don’t have to race if you don’t want to. Unless you’re too busy and stressed out to race. Then, you should definitely race”. It makes sense when you experience it.

On to tomorrow’s workout: Back to hills!

I’m away so you’re all on your own for this one. Beach crew, coordinate w Tanis, Leslieville/Riverdale crew, meet at Pottery when it works for you and just roll into ‘em!

Let’s go back to the most recent favourite of: 1 long (400 m), 1 short (200 m), and 4 min tempo. Soon we’ll get back to some straight up long hills with no tempo and I don’t want any mutinees! Just warning… But for now let’s stick with these. The variety seems to elicit more intensity, so when we get back to straight up long hills we’ll have to go back to steady-eddy. 3 sets of these seems like a good number – if feeling great, 4 is max.

That is all – I won’t see you so have a great one!

Seanna