How to Stay Motivated During Quarantine
Anyone else struggling with motivation right now? I’m here to let you know you aren’t alone. Races have always been my key motivator. If there’s a date to work towards and a clear timeline, it’s a lot easier to get out there each day. With no races on the calendar in the near future, we need to find other ways to keep our head in the game and stick with our training so we can be ready to race when it becomes available.
I think the most important thing to do is to continue setting goals. The goals may be very different from goals you had prior to this pandemic, but goals keep us moving forward and allow us to feel accomplished once achieved. I think the other thing to be open to is doing something different. It doesn’t have to mean changing up everything you were doing, but just add a few new or different things here and there to keep training and being active exciting and to stay engaged. Below are a few ideas for new goals you can set without races and how you can change things up!
Run Streak
As a coach, I’m not a huge fan of run streaks because I think rest days are extremely important. However, you can set a mini streak to help you get back into routine and set a short term goal. Try making a run streak for just 7-14 days with a goal of running a minimum of 20 minutes/day!
Join a Challenge
Similar to a run streak, try a challenge with a group or on your own. Maybe it’s a push up challenge, where your goal is to get in 5 pushups/day for 30 days or a step challenge with a goal of ~10,000 steps/day.
Time Trials
Time trials are pretty similar to virtual races, but I like to do these with my athletes to check in on fitness if they’re coming out of a recovery period or haven’t raced in a while. You can do a 1 or 2 mile time trial where you run all out. Use the results to calculate paces for speed workouts and training going forward, and in 8-10 weeks do the same time trial again to see how you’ve improved! Here’s how to perform it:
1-1.5 mile warm up
4 x 20 second strides
1-2 mile time trial - all out. You want to be running on fumes at the end (if you feel like you want to puke at the end, you’ve done it right!)
2 mile cool down to get recovery started
You can then take your results and load them into this calculator to determine paces for future workouts!
Virtual Races
I’ve honestly never participated in a virtual race, but am excited to incorporate this (excitement - YAH!). It’s pretty tough to simulate a real race experience on your own, but you could get your family or quarantine partners to be on the course with fun signs or cheering you on from afar like in a real race! Since we’re entering summer and some really warm months, I often spend this time working on shorter distance speed like 5Ks and 10Ks before entering fall marathon training mode. I plan to hop into a few of these over the next couple months to keep me motivated and on track. I know having that date on the calendar will help even if I’ll be racing alone.
New Routes
This may be something you’re forced to do because your old training routes and trails are closed, but running a new route can really put some spring back in your step. Maybe there’s a great route near your house you never knew about. Take this time to explore and use this as a chance to spice up those views!
New Workout Program
There are so many at-home-workout options and live workouts happening every single day which means we’ve got quick and easy access to new workouts. There have been quite a few days during quarantine where staying home to do a workout felt much better than going outside for a run and I’ve been honoring that while also taking advantage of all the at home workouts to chose from. Maybe you want to get more into strength right now - even with no equipment, there’s a workout out there for you! Maybe you want to do more mobility and stretching - try a new 30 day yoga program (this can also be a challenge!).
Join a Group
Despite not being together, there’s a lot of we can do virtually to get some support and accountability. You can find virtual races to participate in with others, work with a coach or trainer virtually, participate in a virtual book club, zoom workout class, Strava challenge or group. We created a virtual book club for our Team Sugar Runs’ athletes and are reading The Champion’s Mind by Jim Afremow. I’ve been wanting to read this book for 2 years and have started it several times, but lack of time or accountability got in the way of finishing it. With more time on my hands at the moment, I’ve been able to pick it up again and having the group meeting every 2 weeks virtually ensures I don’t get too distracted and start up on something else before I finish it. It’s also nice to have that connection with others right now!
Don’t forget that whatever you are doing to keep yourself motivated and moving forward right now might just be motivating or inspiring someone else to do the same, so keep it up!
What other things have you been doing to stay motivated during quarantine?
J
