Running in Spring 2020 is probably as mind boggling as everything else in Spring 2020. All our events have been cancelled, training is suspended as are most of the activities that define normality for us, and we are not sure how long for. I suspect that we have all met this with slightly different concoctions of anger, frustration, bewilderment, disappointment and sadness. And these will be hitting us at different times depending on who we are, what we had planned and how our individual minds work. We will be missing the excitement of races, the reward that comes from knowing that the training has paid off, and mostly we will be missing the company and camaraderie that comes with group training and being part of the club.
So what now?
Firstly, allow yourself to recognise that this is a stressful situation and it is normal to feel sad or anxious about the current situation, as well as sadness for the events, or people, who we are missing. Remind yourself that everyone is in the same boat and most people are feeling something similar. I would suggest that now more than ever we need to focus on what we can control and try to let go of the things that we can’t. That takes a bit of practice but it is worth it.
Next, we change our focus or goals to suit the situation. Many of us have shelved our marathon or PB dreams, but we still have beautiful countryside on our doorsteps and some of us will have more time on our hands now that most commutes are cancelled. Quite a few of us are trying to recreate PE lessons. I would suggest that we shift our goals now to whatever is most fun. Run your favourite routes. Try a series of different things to keep you and the kids active. We have skipping ropes and a funny sort of circuit training that I am happy to share with you. One day we run, one day we attempt our circuits. That is the theory, the reality is more chaotic but so far there have been happy times in doing it together. And one 5 k PB. So let’s just focus on the fun and the funny sides to this and see if we can get through it as happily and actively as possible for our sanity’s sake.