Your Future Success Depends on What You Do RIGHT Now!
As the leaves on trees turn colors, the weather cools off, and the pumpkins start to emerge in the front of people’s homes around town, we are reminded of just how amazing this time of the year is to be a runner. The signs of fall are a reminder of cross country season, major road races, and holiday runs. However, this year runners will need to find new ways to motivate their running during the fall months. It’s no secret that runners rely on racing for motivation. You can be extremely passionate about the sport and still struggle to find your spark when there are no races on the horizon. With that said, this is our new reality. No one knows when road racing will resume but we do know that the work you have put in these last several years will potentially be wasted if you choose to be inconsistent right now. As a running coach, it’s my job to keep people inspired. I will be honest, this is the hardest I have ever had to work to accomplish this goal and I can’t even say I have been 100% effective in my efforts. Many runners (myself included) want to get faster and work towards long term goals, but how can you do that if you can’t line up to race at your local turkey trot or halloween run? Our solution at Spewak Training has been creating Virtual Racing Series and organizing time trials for our athletes to run in. We understand, it’s a mental grind to race by yourself. However, we also understand there is a HUGE value in running race effort. If you do have long term goals in this sport, don’t be surprised if you don’t see the same progression this spring and beyond if you choose to not run consistently with time trials/virtual events mixed in there this fall. This doesn’t mean you need to be racing every weekend but it does mean that for you to improve you need to create a fall training plan that looks similar to the one you would not only follow but would be game to train through if races were in session. My suggestion is for you to pick weird distances to tackle for your time trials. Remember your long term WHY and remind yourself this is our hobby not our job! I hear it all the time from people, “Mark, I want to get to Boston. I will do whatever it takes.” If you truly believe in your future self, put together a schedule this fall that challenges you. Training consistently right now is very special. If you continue to put the work in, you will be the one kicking ass when races resume. As always, listen to your body, build a plan that best suits your goals/needs, and don’t ever count yourself out. Good luck!