Zero to 50K on Hold - Race Cancelled

Things have really taken a turn the last couple days. Thousands of races and mass gatherings have been cancelled in the coming weeks and months due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s been a really scary time to navigate, but I thin race cancellations are probably the lest of our worries at the moment. The last few days have been some of the most stressful I’ve ever experienced as a coach and athlete and I can’t remember a time like this. Boston has been moved to September. London Marathon has been moved to early October. The anxiety I’ve felt coupled with the anxiety, fear, and anger my athletes are feeling left me so depleted on Friday.

Somehow, my race hadn’t been cancelled as Friday morning rolled around and I was feeling so conflicted about racing. With only 150 people in the race, it should’ve been fine to keep social distance and the race director emailed us a few days prior with the extra precautions she was taking to ensure our safety and the sanitation of all things we would be in contact with. With so many of my athletes unable to race, it felt like the right thing to do to go out and race for them.

I got an email at 1 pm on Friday from the RD that the City of LA had pulled the race permits for the park and the race would be cancelled. I felt a flood of both relief and sadness. The RD did all she could to put the race on. In the midst of everything going on, I think a lot of athletes are losing sight of what these race directors are dealing with and I think the cancellations are the right thing to do. We really need to take a step back and see that all of this is for the health of our society and there are much bigger things at play here. I felt relief because I wasn’t in a position to race. The anxiety and stress from the previous few days left me dehydrated and under fueled (anyone else struggle to eat when they’re anxious??).

I decided to go out the next day, what would’ve been race day, and get some miles in. I was hoping for 14-15 on the roads because I didn’t feel like driving to the trails. Once out there, I felt awful and asked myself to get through 90 minutes. At 60 minutes, I called it. I got in 8 miles at a 7:27 average (a very manageable pace for my fitness right now) and my watch told me I needed 32 hours of recovery and that I was being unproductive. Just confirmation that a race of the magnitude I was hoping to run would’ve gone poorly.

I’m sad because I’m not sure when I’ll really have a chance to go after this goal again or how to fit this into the remainder of my plans for 2020 (which could all go to shit depending on how the next few months go). With many spring marathons off the table and shorter races following suit, I’ll likely be spending this time focusing on strength, nutrition, mileage, and anything I can that doesn’t have to do with racing. I feel fortunate that, despite not having raced, there is a clear end to my training. I peaked, got through taper, and am now in recovery mode. For those in the middle of a cycle, it may be a good idea to finish out the training and complete the workouts without the race. Your body will still benefit from the fitness you build. If it works with the timeline of any of your races that may have moved, keep going!

This has been a good opportunity to revisit the “why” of why I run and I hope you all take time to do the same to stay motivated in the midst of uncertainty. I run to feel strong, accomplished, fit, healthy (mentally and physically). Races aren’t necessary to achieve any of those things. As tough as it is to train without a race or end date in mind to cap off training, there’s a first for everything. This may be the most mentally challenging cycle we face yet, but it could be the one in which we gain the most strength. If you’d like to catch up on my journey to this point, including some more of my thoughts on putting this goal on hold, you can check out my YouTube series here.

Please take care of yourselves and your family during this uncertain time. Stay safe, friends.

J