Human Nature
Slowly the country is poking its head out like prairie dogs after months of being in various states of quarantine. It’s been an interesting time as the majority of us adjusted to working from home, not working at all, hanging out on Zoom with friends, masking up everywhere you go and wandering empty streets of virtually every major city. How we coped with being cooped up has ranged from binge eating, being watching TV, day drinking – all the gluttonous things, to catching up on rest, finding a new exercise routine, learning something new – better for you choices. Raise your hand if you’re like me and have gone through all of them yourself! Regardless of which habit or how many habits you picked up, they are all ways of dealing with the stress of the unknown that the pandemic has brought.
I admit, I started off the first couple of weeks worried and panicked under the façade that everything was alright and found myself more and more disappointed in myself that I wasn’t being more of a boss in handling the situation. I mean, I’m a trainer! I’m supposed to have control over weakness and not let emotions get the best of me, right? I’ve completed half iron distance triathlons, I’ve pushed myself to qualify for Boston multiple times, why can’t I figure this out? But in the end I’m as human as the person next to me. And while I didn’t want to admit to myself that I was in a state of depression, I had to resolve myself that I was. Realizing that was the pressure valve needed to be able to hit my reset button, pull myself together and find a path back to me. As trainers and coaches we like to have that sense of control, of being able to plan the variables and create a plan to overcome the challenges and obstacles. But with the pandemic, there hasn’t been a clear finish line to establish necessarily. So where does that leave us? Back to foundations and knowing your bottom. Let me explain.
With many situations, we know where our line is the sand at; where we won’t let ourselves get past; where we say enough is enough. Regarding fitness and our health, that line sometimes happens in the form of bad test results at the doctor’s office, or our clothes not fitting right, or not being happy at what we see in the mirror. For me, it was looking at why I do what I do. Personally, I LOVE racing! I love training for them, I love the excitement of race day, pushing and testing my limits, earning a medal, all of it! But with everything canceled or postponed, where does that leave me? Back to my purpose of staying healthy and feeling strong. Back to wanting to set the example for others about what a life of health and fitness is, not just a moment or few months of it. So while traditional racing is not on the calendar, the targets need to change with it. Getting back on my training regimen so I can be ready once races come back; working on imbalances in my game; taking advantage of the extra time to put in workouts more regularly and scheduled is what is on tap now.
It’s safe to say most people have found more time in their schedule because of either being furloughed, working from home or even fighting less traffic because of the many shut downs. As we step back on out into the world, hopefully we’ve picked up a new, healthy habit or two. Whether it’s staying diligent about getting more sleep, eating healthier or sticking to working out regularly, I hope everyone keeps these habits going. It was easy to push these things off to the side pre-COVID because we think them as less important than other things. Hopefully the shut down has caused us to re-evaluate the importance of these things in our life in helping to manage our stress, keeping us sane and overall keeping us healthy for the long haul. I would be remiss if I didn’t invite you to reach out to set up a time to talk about your plan for keeping this new fitness routine going. That’s why I’m here. I truly believe in the value of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and wanting to help you stay on that path. If you’re not sure where to start, email me at info@endurancefitnessperformance.com and let’s develop your plan and get you going. You won’t regret it!
