Tuesday, June 23, 2026 – Happy = fast

Hey All!

HUGE congrats to all who ran the Ekiden last Tuesday! We fielded three solid LES teams, two of which came first and second in the women’s category! Also I noted quite a few PB’s but I won’t go through them all here. And thanks to all who came out and cheered/ supported! It made for a very fun and celebratory running evening.

I was having a conversation with my longtime coach and friend the other day. He coaches a group of post-collegiate runners. He said, “it’s amazing – everyone seems to be running PB’s”. I said, “it’s because everyone seems happy”. Credit to him, but I don’t think it’s necessarily because of the exact formula of the workouts (they are good, but as everyone knows, those don’t guarantee pb’s). I think it’s because the group has a positive, happy vibe, which keeps people coming out consistently, working hard, and recovering well. I’ve heard it said before, and I do believe it: A happy runner is a fast runner.

I think we often mis-attribute this in the wrong direction. We think that when we’re running well, we will start to feel happy. And when we’re in a good place in life, and running is going well, we might think the running is responsible, and keep chasing that so it can continue to deliver. But in reality what happens is that when we’re content and feel supported and fulfilled, running just becomes easier. Showing up for workouts isn’t as hard, putting in hard efforts is more accessible and enjoyable, and you actually do recover better because your nervous system can settle back down and get into recovery mode more quickly and easily. Again, it’s not the workouts you do, it’s what you can get out of them and recover from that makes you faster. And showing up day after day with a sense that your cup is full, makes that formula much easier to hit.

You see this with professional runners a lot. They might hit a slump or downturn in their running, and they realize that it’s not the running or training that needs to change, but the things surrounding it. Some go back to school and their running takes off, some move back to their hometown and the difference is made, some find a supportive and energetic training group somewhere overseas… The point is, the formula for happiness is not the same for everyone, but it is definitely a large piece of the puzzle to running fast.

I actually do believe that running makes you happier. So if things aren’t going great at the moment, running is better than not running. But if you want your running to thrive, everything that surrounds it matters. A happy runner is a fast runner. And I think being part of this group helps with those happy vibes for sure. So thank-you everyone for being part of that, and let’s keep them coming and keep getting faster together!

Tomorrow’s workout: Fartlek on the spit! Meet at Lakeshore and Leslie at 6:05, 6:15 drills.

Let’s do:

3 min tempo to warm-up/ get into it

2 min rest

Then sets of 2min/1min fast with 30 seconds in bw. Just enough to slightly regroup and change gears a bit so your 1 min is faster. Then a full 2:30 easy jog bw reps.

So it looks like: 2min @ 5K pace, 30 sec easy, 1min @ faster, 2:30 easy (that chunk takes 6 mins)

I think 5-6 of these will be a good number. This is a more intense workout, targeting our VO2max, stamina, and running economy. Marathoners, you need to keep an eye on this stuff as well! Surround with longer EASY wup and cdn if you need extra km’s. (if cdn is longer than 3K, consider bringing a gel for post-wrkt)

That is all – see you in the am!

Seanna