By Sasha Gollish

When Kevin asked me to come and speak to a group of avid runners, of course I jumped at the chance. He asked me with how I managed it all (engineering, PhD, boards of directors, volunteering, etc.) with being an elite runner? I had never really thought about it; really, it just all seems to come together.

A little reflection helped me understand what I do on a daily basis to try to be successful at managing it all. Here's what I came up with:

My Top 5 Ninja Moves For Managing It All

1. Make a yearly training plan for your entire life - Treat your life like it’s an an elite sport

I started with a slide that said, ‘a goal without a plan is just a wish.’ And it’s true, if you do not actually plan something it makes it really challenging to accomplish that, running, work, anything in life.

My advice is to plan out your year. Write down your big races, work events, family events, and anything else that is important to you. And then plan around those events; and be kind to yourself when you cannot make your running work. 

Make running a priority when it counts, and let the other things in life take priority other times.

2.     Make deliberate play a part of your daily routine

We’ve all heard of deliberate practice, the notion of practicing something with intention until you become an expert at it. Deliberate practice was borne out of performance (i.e. music and chess) and education, and has since been directly applied to sport. What we have learned is that the 10,000 hour rule does not necessarily correlate with sport, sometimes it’s more and sometimes it’s less depending on the activity.

But more importantly when I came back to be an elite runner I promised myself I would always make sure I was having fun. Sure there are workouts and times when it’s tough and the fun factor drops but for the most part I remind myself I love what I do.

I’ve heard too many stories of elites quitting because there not having any fun, and I don’t want to become a statistic. I’ve changed deliberate practice to be deliberate play to remind myself to embrace the fun factor. I challenge the science and suggest that for sport it is very important that there are aspects of fun.  

3.     Stick with the positive bias

A long time ago I decided I was going to be more optimistic, try and see things in a positive way, and not let negativity rule my life. To me it just seemed like a lot of energy to carry around the negative bias compared to the positive bias.

Over and over again I’ve been asked by people about the ‘sacrifices’ I have to make as an athlete. I tell them that I have not made any sacrifices but that I’ve made choices; I have chosen a path and I’m excited to see what I can accomplish. I usually remind these people that I choose to see things more positively because it makes what you’re trying to do seem so much enjoyable, interesting, and it doesn’t feel like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.

My brother has this great tattoo. It says, ‘GRIND.’ We all refer to the daily grind. Get up. Maybe eat breakfast. Go to work. Hopefully workout (or maybe you did that before work). Dinner. Hang out with the kids. Go to bed. Repeat. My brother’s tattoo, GRIND, stands for ‘Get Ready It’s A New Day,’ which really when you step back and think about it takes something we all see as negative and makes it so positive.  

4.     R.E.S.T. (Recover, Eat, Sleep, Time)

Rest is not just about sleep. It’s about eating, at the right time and the right foods. It’s about taking care of your body and recovering; seeing a massage therapist, having a contrast bath (don’t forget you have to finish with the cold), embracing passive rest as well as, and sometimes instead of, active rest. And allowing your body the time it needs to heal.

5.     Make Fear Your Friend

I again have to give credit to Dan Jacobs (founder of TEDx Toronto) for this one. He so eloquently stated that when you embrace your fears they no longer seem insurmountable.

I think what many of us actually fear is uncertainty. Uncertainty when you toe the line of a race. Uncertainty part way through. Uncertainty around the times you want to run. But when you really sit down and think about it, it’s not so scary. And remember if you’re having fun and plan to have fun then fear really can take a back seat.

Whatever you’re racing and endeavouring this year and next year, venture with all your heart. Go with gratitude and presence. Love what you do. And make sure to smile every day.

Thanks Marathon Dynamics!

Sasha Gollish    sashagollish.com 

5 TIPS TO A STRONG COMEBACK

By Coach Jennifer Faraone

In a snap, I went from being in top shape to joining the couch potato community. I was a hard-core athlete to suddenly having a hard time walking up the stairs. It’s been around 6 months, and fortunately I’m beginning to regain it all back.  What’s been the best part of this experience? A greater confidence in my body’s ability to bounce back from setbacks, AND a newfound appreciation of the benefit of complete rest and adequate base training.

As some of you know, I suddenly experienced significant and painful symptoms in my chest while racing the Hamilton Half Marathon. I was forced to take a month off (no exercise whatsoever) and oddly enough, I didn’t go stir crazy. 

I was patient. 

Part of my sanity was due to my readiness for a break; the other part was my wisdom kicking in (this wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve had to bounce back!). As my body healed, I slowly started exercising - starting with 1 day of 20 minutes of light activity followed by 2 days off. Over the next few months, I progressed to exercising 3, 4 then 5 days a week. But, no hard efforts allowed.

I was patient.

Finally, in late March, I was able to start throwing in some moderate intensity workouts. If I tried to go too hard, my body would quickly remind me that I was not yet ready.

I was patient.

It’s now early May. Am I able to execute the same hard workouts I was accustomed to last year? Not quite. But on the plus side, I know that I am getting much stronger, fitter, and faster.Proof? I just won (female) the North Face Endurance Challenge in New York State in the half marathon (trail). I was also 11th overall (I like chasing the boys). How did I manage to regain my fitness after all these months? Truth be told, I’m not exactly sure! But I think that it was a combination of the following:

• Focusing on what I can do, rather than what I can’t.

It’s so easy to think about what we are not doing, the fitness lost, etc; that just creates negativity rather than optimism. I just continued to stay focused on my progress and felt grateful for the activity that I was able to do.

• Keeping busy!
  

I filled my time with other priorities that had been on the back burner during my training days-this enabled me to feel more balanced, fulfilled and happy.

• Running free!
  

Not having a structured plan to follow worked well, as I simply ran when I felt like it, and when it was convenient (remember those cold winter days where you wanted to stay in bed?). It was also very liberating to not be tied down to a structured plan. Disclaimer: my coaching skills came in handy to help determine appropriate runs and I’m a good self-motivator to get myself out the door!

• Setting new and fun goals.

Knowing that I couldn’t work on top-end speed but could run long and slow, I decided to pick races that would be amenable to this. And why not do a few races that I’ve been longing to do? On my list: a ½ marathon trail race in NY state, a 37k trail race in the French Alps, Cabot Trail Relay and hopefully a 50k race trail (says the girl who has yet to run a marathon!).

• Establishing my base.
  

This point should not be underestimated. It’s so easy for us runners to jump straight into harder workouts, wanting to push ourselves further. I’m certainly guilty of this, only to end up injured or feeling burned out. This time, things were different; my injury forced me to hang out longer than ever in the foundation or base phase-even with my cross training activities. This resulted in feeling rested and allowing my body to regain the necessary strength and resistance.

And once I was ready to start moderate intensity workouts, I resisted the urge to start doing intervals, but instead focused on steady runs with a slightly more challenging pace. I’m only now starting to do KM repeats. Do I have that top end speed back? Not yet, but I’m not planning on doing any 5K soon; but I am close to my half marathon pace I think! And I’m still feeling rested.

Finally, the other factor is BELIEVING. I simply chose to believe that I would come back strong – if I wanted it (after all, it is a choice).  Whereas some may focus on the fitness lost and be discouraged with age creeping up, I figured I had just as much chance of a comeback as no comeback.  

So why focus on the glass half empty? I would much rather have hope and have something to look forward to, only to be proven wrong. I would have more fun in the process, compared to if I just admitted defeat.  And you know what? I’ve been having a blast. And getting stronger, fitter and faster!

I began running in elementary school at a charity run, surprising everyone (including myself) by outrunning all but one boy. It was the first time I received attention for any accomplishment doing wonders for my self-esteem!  I was a small, very average student with tall super smart friends. Running gave me a chance to shine a little bit.  I also was a "sensitive kid" (a cry baby) and running seemed to toughen me up emotionally.

 I continued to run all through to high school getting faster all the time. I managed to get my 5km time under 18 minutes once, collected a few provincial competition medals and competed at the national level in cross-country. I found the more I ran, the more I could focus in school.  I went from a B student to an A student. I ran varsity at the beginning of university; but admittedly the social butterfly in me took over and my heart just wasn't into it.  I was the number 3 girl on a team of 7 cross-country runners at a big university.  Often I was late for practice and I even slept in and missed a race once—yikes! So I decided to quit before I got kicked off the team, and I emerged onto the Montreal party scene like a 'bat out of hell'.

Seriously, my descent into the after hours club life was so easy.  My endurance made me very well-suited to all night dance parties, and party people are so friendly—like me!

Within a year, the list of drugs that I had experimented with was way longer than the substances I had not tried.  My absolute favourite was cocaine. 

It was the feeling of the runner's high times ten! The "come downs" were terrible—worse than any tough workout I've ever run.  You become sweaty, jittery, paranoid, and depressed.  I quickly learned that I could take "the edge" off by binge drinking through the "come down" until I passed out (blacked out).  This soon became my regular weekend habit for the rest of my university years. 

My habit was expensive, so upon graduation (I passed with mediocre grades) I decided it would be best if I just moved in with my coke dealer.  We lived together and were romantically involved for the next three years.  At this time, the only healthy habit I had was running.  Although I was in poor health and drank most days of the week, I still ran (well, jogged) 2-3 times per week. I also dealt with a lot of depression...not surprisingly.

My first job moved me to Toronto. I broke up with my dealer boyfriend and Ieft Montreal, bringing my bad habits with me.  I quickly made friends in the Toronto club scene and all was well...until it wasn't.  I can't remember the exact order of events...but a close party friend killed himself, I fell on my face while wasted, ending up in the hospital, and then came the DUI….screech!  

In order to get my driver's license back, I had to pass a series of random drug and alcohol tests over a 6 month period.  I remember being furious about this because how was I supposed to get to work as a commuter, and then crying because I didn't know what I was going to do on my weekends? It was then that I had a Scarlett O'Hara moment: the one where she is crying on the stairs at the end of the movie and she suddenly remembers that she can go back to "Tara"...except for me I remembered I could go back to running.

I joined a free running group and set a big goal.  I arrived at the track weak and waif-like, but I was determined that I was going to run a marathon in 6 months.  The coach was unsure, since I had never run farther than 10k before, but I was persuasive.  I loved the training, I felt happy, and my addictions lessened.  However, I had learned that there was a pattern to the "not so random" drug and alcohol testing, so I was able to keep partying if I timed it right.  I was very candid with my coach about my addiction issues.  When we first started, my goal each week was always to keep my mileage higher than the number of drinks I had in the week.  As the marathon training progressed, that just happened naturally.  My marathon debut was a 3:15...I was elated and I bawled my eyes out at the finish line. 

Running continued to be a focus in my life over the next few years.  I had a string of PBs and my addictions continued to be less of an issue. Unfortunately, my progress and enthusiasm for racing was halted due to injury.  I continued to run regularly mostly for my mental health and fitness up until pregnancies however.

My pregnancies were bad--nonstop nausea and depression. My second pregnancy was worse than I could ever have imagined! 

The nausea was relentless, and the depression in the third trimester came on so severely, that it felt like I was coming down from a cocaine high for 27 days straight. 

It was nonstop crying and I was unable to work. I was no longer sleeping and was in a state on constant anxiety and sadness. Scientology wasn’t going to get me out of this one Tom Cruise!

I was put on more anti-depressants along with multiple doses of Ativan a day.  Ativan is highly addictive, but we saw no other options at the time.  After my second was born (healthy but tiny) it took me 6 months to break my Ativan addiction. 

Running again with my baby stroller was a main source of healing for me through another postpartum period and provided addiction recovery.  I remember praying during my second pregnancy for help, and promising that I did pull through and am happier and healthier than ever!  I changed jobs and now work in the health and wellness field.  I organize volunteer run clubs for kids and fitness training for my coworkers, which I find very rewarding.

I have been with Marathon Dynamics for a several seasons now and I am loving it! 

I never really completely solved my injury issues, but they don’t really bother me like they used to, because I am now mentally tougher.  Besides, broken crayons can still colour.  I find that being sincerely grateful that I can run, and that I am generally healthy, helps a lot.

When people ask me why I run, I usually tell them because it "calibrates" my life.  Running has truly played a major role in counter balancing my sensitivity towards depression and substance abuse. The natural dopamine high lifts me and keeps me out of trouble (for the most part).  Running is my only good addiction and I'm not willing to give it up anytime soon.