With all that is going on and races being cancelled/postponed left, right and center, all our best laid plans, training schedules have been thrown out the window…right? Well not necessarily…

It’s a strange title for a blog but it’s something that may be a foreign concept to a lot of people out there. Like every adventure race, nothing is straight forward, you have to adapt. You may have been targeting an “A” race and all your efforts have been looking forward to a certain date to flex your athletic prowess.

We just need to adapt. Group training sessions are out. That doesn’t mean you have to hang up your Vapour flys quite yet. You just need to be able readjust your plan. Think of your long game. If you have been training hard for an upcoming race, it might be a good time to scale it back and refocus. Keeping some of your usual running habits will help maintain the gains you made during your previous training cycle. These habits may include running at a certain time of day, getting your gear ready the night before, diet and food intake times post and pre-training etc. By keeping these you are triggering habits that signal it’s time to turn off Netflix and get active.

We have seen races been rescheduled and dates already announced, so perhaps you could target one of those instead.

Running in solitude
The pro’s of running alone are many. You are doing your bit to fight CV-19, by social distancing. It allows you to focus. You may be a chatter box or be in a group of chatter boxes when out running. Time usually goes quicker, but by not been stuck into the local gossip session, it allows you to concentrate on your footwork, your breathing, your timing, when to loosen up. These things can be overlooked when in a group. It may feel daunting at first to run alone, but it is easier than you think.

Vary your sessions
Don’t be afraid to mix it up. As mentioned above, if you are used to only group sessions, things could get boring…real quick if you are on your own. Do hard fast sessions, slow chilled sessions, big distances and short snappy ones. Swap from roads to trails and back again.

So where to run
Safety is your first priority. Especially, in these times, where if you were to get into trouble, our rescue/medical services are stretched, don’t stray to far off track. Stay local or on familiar routes.

Phone Apps
There are dozens of live tracking apps out there and we here at Kayathlon.ie, are big fans of RoadID. Click here for more details. It’s a free app that will live track your movements and automatically notify predetermined people if you get in trouble.

Think like a Pro
Linford Christie was once quoted that it was 10% physical and 90% mental. With being on your own, it gives you time to tap into the mental side of things and when you are on a hard session without no one there driving you on, it’s here you can make huge mental gains by pushing on through to the other side and not giving up.

Remote Sessions
It’s great to see how we adapting. There are more and more free remote training sessions happening through Instagram and Facebook from members of our awesome community. You can log in and follow your favorite instructors as they can put you through your paces. For example, current Continental National Adventure Series leader, Bernard Smyth from Ultimate Conditioning in Trim has started to stream turbo bike sessions through Instagram to keep you ticking over. All you need is a bike, a turbo trainer and an Instagram account. Our favorite Yogi Laura O’Driscoll posted up a load of free yoga classes on her Youtube Channel too.

In this vain, if you are giving a free remote sessions, let us know here and we will get the word out as best we can.

Cover up
As we know, the Corona Virus is spread through a virus that manifests in liquid droplets via the 3 main entries to the human body, the mouth, the nose and the eyes. It can be transferred by the hands or droplets aka sneezing/coughing. With this in mind, its no harm to wear gloves and buffs. When you get back, all your kit goes straight into the washing machine and you disinfect yourself accordingly using anti-bacterial scrubs etc. Worth mentioning that watches, jewellery etc are also overlooked as they too can carry the virus. Remember to practice social distancing and stay within government guidelines.

With the stresses of all that is going on, the social media overloading of doom, scroll after scroll, it’s imperative you look after your mental well-being as well. This can not be emphasized enough. By keeping up your exercise, you are getting that much needed release from it all…just be sensible folks!