Goal Setting

It is definitely pretty tough to keep on track when everything planned has been cancelled and anything not cancelled is probably a crapshoot whether or not it will actually happen. I was scheduled to do Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga in a few weeks and I’ve had that rescheduled to next year. All of my summer race options are gone. Ironman 70.3 Texas is moved to November and I still have the Twin Cities Marathon scheduled in October. And if I’m being honest, I don’t believe either of those races will happen. And if they do, would I be comfortable toeing the line? I’m just not sure. I haven’t had this type of uncertainty in my 13 years of racing and it’s not fun.

It’s also hard to keep a training regimen. In some ways its nice to be low pressure and I’ve been doing this for so long that I know how to keep in shape without a real end goal in sight. But even I can’t stay motivated forever. I think its important to remember that this is part of your identity. I associate myself with being an athlete and that means I train on a schedule. To that end, 80/20 Endurance has a ton of free training plans that are designed to be used with a Training Peaks account. I don’t use a coach so I find TP to be extremely valuable as a self-coaching site.

But I think its important to remember why you do this. It’s not just to stay in shape but it’s a lifestyle. One day I’ll be able to race again (or heck, just get into a pool) but until then, I can still call myself an athlete while I keep my body ready for the next event, whenever that may be.