Motivation: Dealing with disruption

As runners, we are creatures of habit. Not just creatures of habit, but creatures of well laid plans. One of the toughest problems for us runners is when something comes along that derails our plans and kicks us out of our habits.

This past week we Portlanders had a snowstorm that kept most of us indoors for a couple of days. Personally I had the flu on top of that. So while I was lying there inside all week, I was thinking about how best to deal with disruptions to our plans.

First of all, I think that it is always important to keep things in context. Missing a few days here and there doesn’t destroy a whole season’s worth of work. Far from it. As tough as it may feel to be forced off schedule, sometimes after a break we come back refreshed and rested both physically and mentally. Missing a week, or even more, with an illness, a minor injury or a scheduling problem will not wreck your season. The perspective to have in the face of disruption is that so long as you get back to it, you’ll be fine. Yes, you need to avoid prolonged lay-offs and repeated disruptions, but being derailed from time to time is going to happen – so roll with it.

The toughest part of having an external force, like weather or illness, get in the way of your plans is the havoc that it drops on your mental state. Being derailed by something makes us feel vulnerable and fallible, which is a tough cookie to swallow. But the truth is, we need to make sure that we understand that we are vulnerable and fallible. Take the reminders that come from being forced off of training every now and then to remind yourself how lucky you are to be training the rest of the time. Chalk up the time off up to time off and then get back to it as soon as you can.

The timing of these current set-backs might also be tough, because it is right at the start of the season for a lot of runners. You may have just made a New Year’s resolution to get back to training or you’re just starting to prepare for a race this coming Summer. Again, it’s OK. Just look later into your season plans and make adjustments there. If you had the perfect plan on paper then look to the middle or late in the training season and see what adjustments might be made. You might not get as much training time at the peak of the season or your might have to accelerate the tail-end of your volume ramp, but you can make those adjustments now with a view toward the whole season. Yes, it probably feels like you’ve fallen behind schedule getting started, but don’t rush the start of the season and risk an injury. Just adjust your plans later in the season to take into account the weeks that you were off and you’ll be fine.

So does disruption suck? Yes. Does it have to derail our plans? No. Just remember these three things: 1) you’re probably better rested because of the layoff; 2) you are, in fact, going to have set-backs here and there, so let’s be happy about being back to it when we are; and, 3) view your season as a whole and make adjustments now to your plans to take into account these disruptions.

And get back to it!