Getting email after email about your races continuing to be cancelled as of late can be disheartening to even the toughest of us. All that hard work, time, effort, and sacrifice, and then there’s no test? No way to see if your results are paying off? Sort of makes you think, “I might as well just stop working on getting better until next year…” right? I honestly can’t blame you for thinking that, but I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. I’m sorry (actually I’m not, eep), but you just are.
Why am I saying you shouldn’t just wallow in self pity and cookies until your races are all back on the calendar? Because wouldn’t you be just a teeeeeensy bit annoyed with yourself if you didn’t take advantage of your current situation? If you’re anything like me you definitely would be peeved, even if it’s only a little bit. SO I’m here to tell you to not give up and give in to training to be a couch potato, but instead to go even deeper in your training and really focus on the details and minutiae that you don’t normally have enough time to fix.
This time off from racing every other weekend is a gift! (Not the most popular opinion, I know, but stick with me). You can finally take the time to break down your freestyle kick and figure out how to make it more efficient so you have more energy when you jump on the bike. You have time to do all those run drills you’ve been putting off because you’d rather just get your miles in. Training equipment can actually be used properly for injury prevention and strength training in the pool, not just sit at the bottom of your bag unused. Don’t get me wrong, these are things that should always be done. But making concrete and effective changes takes TIME, which you don’t normally have when you’re jet setting off to Cozumel one weekend and Lake Placid the next, now do you?
So it’s not much, but it’s time to step off my little soapbox and let you get back to it. If you choose to dive head fist into your couch and become one with the cushions, go right on ahead. But if you take even one step towards working on those things you just keep putting off? I think you’ll be that much happier. Unless you’re a dog, then definitely stick with option 1 for maximum happiness and couch naps.
