Coronavirus Adjusts Your Training
On Thursday, we all realized that the spring road racing season would be cancelled. I had recently compiled all my clients’ upcoming races in my calendar and every weekend had at least 1 person racing. That calendar has been wiped clean.
Everyone had different goals, but with 1 thing in common: they had goals. We all do!
Some runners are changing the goal, some are postponing their goal, and some are hopeful that a not-yet-cancelled race may in fact not get cancelled. No matter how you respond to the cancelled race season, here are some things we can all do:
Keep Running
We are so fortunate that running can be done alone and without shared equipment. We can keep training while socially distant or in self-quarantine by running outside or on a home treadmill. It’s important to stop going to the gym right now. I have some clients that use public treadmills, but for now if they can’t run outside the alternative is a day off running.
Even without a pressing goal race, it makes a lot of sense to keep running. This is one area we can maintain a sense of normalcy amidst so much uncertainty. It’s good for the mind! Secondly, exercise is actually a good way to boost your immune system and we all need to keep up our defenses. (Check out the articles below for more info.)
Don’t Max Out
I’m dialing back high-intensity and extended efforts from all training plans and I recommend you do too. Here’s why: Even though exercise can boost our immune system, really hard and long efforts temporarily compromise our ability to defend against illness. There is no need to excessively fatigue the body right now with super hard workouts.
Let’s be real, I’m not a health expert or medical professional. I’m a coach that wants people to train safely and stay healthy. I support hard work, mental and physical toughness, etc. but I do not recommend testing your limits right now. Just be conservative.
As a coach I’m capping effort at E7 “hard” on the perceived effort scale for individual intervals within a workout, and limit overall effort for a whole workout at E6 “somewhat hard.” That means that while a few intervals in a workout or a couple miles in a run may feel hard, the day as a whole should not exceed an effort of “somewhat hard” at the maximum.
EXTREME EXERTION NOT RECOMMENDED
No need to push your physical limits right now
Prioritize Recovery
Recovery should always be prioritized, especially now. Eat healthy foods and maintain a balanced diet. For many of us, social distancing means a lot more free time, so get lots of sleep! Be kind to your body and don’t stress it unnecessarily.
Be Open Minded
Keep the race schedule and future goals very fluid. If your race hasn’t been cancelled yet, it makes sense to expect the cancellation, rather than hoping against hope that things will go as planned. Consider a few options with the understanding that planning is a luxury we don’t have right now.
Try Something New
This could be a great opportunity to begin a good habit of self-therapy, or strength and conditioning at home. I have a free download which includes 9 exercises that can be done without any equipment, in your home or in your yard. Get resourceful and creative with your home workouts. Here’s a video of a recent home workout in the Sifuentes Backyard.
Additional Resources
Here are some great articles with more information and supporting research on some of the items I wrote about today:
The compelling link between physical activity and the body's defense system
How to Train and Eat to Boost Your Immunity from Coronavirus
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Nicole Sifuentes is a former professional runner and 2-time Olympian, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and full-time Running Coach for adults of all ages and abilities. Read more about her services, and schedule your free consultation today!