As the current uncertainty spreads throughout the world over covid-19, races around the globe are being cancelled or postponed at breakneck speed! It’s a difficult decision for any race director to make, but ultimately it’s probably the best course of action as we have no idea the breadth and scale of impact this pandemic may have on the world stage. So while your race may have been cancelled and your racing season is just a big question mark right now, we can’t resort to living in fear of the unknown future. You have a choice: fear and self-pitying, or calm and adaptable.
I know it can be difficult to swallow, especially if you had been preparing for a race with a lot of emotional investment. It could have been your first 5k, your first Boston, or your 10th Ironman...anyway you slice it, it’s a bummer. So take a day to vent, play the ‘if-only’ game, and get some sympathy from friends or family; however, wallowing in sadness about your race isn’t going to help anyone, and certainly not help you feel any better.
Some of you may feel like the wind has been taken from your sails, like you are now sitting in an ocean of uncertainty and lacking motivation. Some of you may even feel that all the time and preparation you’ve put in was a complete waste. I’m here to tell you that it’s never a waste!
First of all, on a scale of zero-training to any-training, ANY training is worthwhile! If you’ve put in a few weeks or months of consistent training, congratulations you are now fitter/healthier than you were a few months ago. The only way your training goes to waste is if you stop now and sit on the couch because your race was cancelled! Take some time now to reassess your training up to this point:
How was my training going?
Am I improving in the areas I expected to improve?
How is my body handling the training?
Is there a weak area in my body or fitness I can target better?
Is there anything I’d like to tweak to my program?
If you’re like me, most of you probably have some areas to work on! Now that you’ve identified areas for improvement, you can start to plan your training for the coming weeks and months to address a few of those weaknesses. While it may be difficult to plan too far ahead, as we have no idea if/when races will resume as scheduled, you won’t regret giving your brain something different to focus on. We can still make positive gains in fitness as well as improve ourselves as athletes, regardless of whether we have a race on the schedule or not. Who knows, you might actually find that the change in focus brings enjoyment and motivation back into your training.
This is also a great time to work on other areas of your sport life. Do you have a solid race nutrition plan? Well now is a perfect time to experiment with different strategies, gels, bars, flavors, amounts, etc! Has the quality of your daily nutrition suffered as your try to fit in your training around work and family? Come up with some strategies to meal prep or have healthy foods/snacks available as pre or post workout fueling sources. Are you sacrificing sleep to squeeze in more training? Try to evaluate your training schedule with your work/family schedule to allow for more quality sleep. Have you been pushing through a niggle or injury? No better time than now to get it checked out or do some targeted exercises to address the issue!
Uncertainty is all around us, and most of it is outside the realm of our control. We are not served well by worrying about those things that we cannot directly influence. So, in this time (and always, actually), control the controllables! Focus yourself and what you can directly influence: your attitude, your mindset, and your body. By the time the dust settles, you will not only have layered on more weeks and months of consistent training fitness, but you will be a smarter, stronger athlete overall by controlling what you can control, and addressing areas for improvement.
Also, please take a moment to appreciate and thank all the people who may have sacrificed part of themselves to help you with your training. It could have been friends who didn’t get as much social time with you, the family who understood you had to prioritize training during a family vacation, or a partner who picked up the slack around the house or put in the extra effort with the kids while you focused on your training. Remember that behind every successful athlete is a dedicated team!
To borrow a quote from WEDU when talking about forging a path through adversity, the path is always “Forward. Never Straight”.
Cheers my friends!