How athletes can deal with the current situation? Adjusting running training and racing plans

I want to share a few quick thoughts about different ways to keep your mind and body strong in these uncertain times. It is now Monday, the end of day March 16th, and in many parts of the world there's an absolute lockdown because of the coronavirus. And that means the schools closed, bars, restaurants. Many people have to mandatory stay inside their homes, and that can cause quite a bit of uncertainty and feeling of being out of control. Yet there are several things that you can do that are within your control, and that is what I want to talk about in today's video. And so first of all, like, when you look at the coronavirus, many athletes who are physically in strong shape are most probably going to be okay. It is more the elderly people and the people with pre-medical conditions that are impacted by this. That being said, the reason why we're all trying to stay out of touch from other people is that we can spread that disease without even realizing it, and that is That is why this social distancing, this keeping that distance from each other is so important. So we can do everything we can to limit that risk of overwhelming the healthcare system. And so there are several things within our control that we can do. One of the first ones that comes to mind is focusing on enough sleep. Sleep is such a crucial part for recovery and for building an optimal immune system. So making sure that you go to bed in time at a consistent time every day and trying to sleep at least 7 but ideally 8 or more hours per night. That really can already help limit your amount of stress and the actual feeling of stress in situations like this. One of the other ways that you can do it is through journaling. I write almost every day just some of my thoughts on paper. There's so much happening these days. I just write it down and that already alone is some kind of therapy for me. And it really helps in a positive way there. I write down in the morning and at night what are some of the things that I'm thankful for. That alone helps give you positive vibes as well and positive energy. Meditation, another one. There's so many good apps out there these days that you can just plug in, just listen and follow along. 5, 10, 15 minutes a day will really help calm the mind as well. Proper nutrition is another one. So eating well, like trying to limit the overall sugars and the refined carbs, the processed food, which will really like impact your overall mood as well. What are some of the other ones that come to mind? Connecting with other people in your community digitally. We have set up with several of our friends like group Zoom calls. And so we can actually check in with each other that although we're not coming together in person, we're still able to check in. How is everyone doing? What are updates from each other's life? And we do that with both family and with friends as well. And then spending quality time together with your family. Like this is one of those moments where Everyone is so busy in their everyday life, yet everyday life just got disrupted like no tomorrow. And actually truly finding the joy in spending their time in the simple things. Like, it doesn't have to be much. This is a full reset. And just spending quality time together indoors for a few weeks can really almost be a reset. If you're in part of the world where you can still go outside and you're not on lockdown, enjoy it while you can. Go outside, smell the flowers, go for a run. A hike, go bike outside, whatever you can do. Just purely like being outside in nature can, can really help reset the mind and keep the mind positive as well. It helps boost your immune system as well. That's what you want to do. You want to be as strong as you can, that even if you get it, like, your chances are highest that you're just gonna breeze through it and you're gonna get out of it easy again. And so some of the other things: limiting screen time. I think automatically a lot of people end up tuning into the media. And when you look at all the media headlines right now, it almost is panic mode from A to Z. And so actually limiting the amount of screen time that you see over there, because a lot of this is an overreaction of what's going on right now as well. And so when you turn off the screens a few hours before bedtime, you actually calm yourself down that way, you will be able easier to fall asleep. Fall asleep as well. Um, what are some of the other things? Hydrating well. Like, obviously hand in hand with proper nutrition is hydration as well. And when you hydrate yourself well, like, that is one way to, um, keep the mind and body functioning optimal right there. So yeah, pretty much all major and even small races for the next several months are canceled, and that's something we cannot control. What we can control is how we deal with it and what we do with our fitness level at this point. All those months of training have not gone lost. We've learned a lot along the way, and all those miles will serve us very well in the coming months and years ahead. And so absolutely continue to train in the coming months and continue to maintain that fitness, and don't let it slip all the way through the cracks. So even if you're unable to go outside, like, when you can still go outside, absolutely go enjoy the trails, go on a run, Go on a hike with the family. Good job, Zaid. Good job, Dad. But for many people who are stuck inside, continue to find creative ways to work out as well. Maybe this is another time that you start focusing some more on mobility or flexibility. If you're lucky enough and you have a treadmill, obviously you're gonna do some more workouts on your treadmill. But if you don't, there are many other ways that you can work out too. There's videos that you can follow along, and what I'm actually thinking myself is setting up a few group workout sessions as well that we can all just work out together. I've never done that before, but we'll find a way to livestream it either through YouTube Live or through Facebook, or maybe even on a Zoom call where everyone can just have their camera on and we can all work out remote together. So this is just a time that we have to get creative, but we will find a way that we can continue to work out there. Eventually this coronavirus is going to pass. We don't know how long it's going to take, but you are going to get back to racing again. All we can do is continue to put in the effort and not let our fitness level go out of the, out of the window. And just being realistic as well. Working out consistently is something that is so important as well for the mind and for the body. It's not only the race that we train for. It's just the daily showing up that can give a lot of gratitude and satisfaction as well. As well. In closing, I want to share a great conversation I had with one of my mentors last night. And he said that this entire situation is a massive awakening. Not to discount the suffering and the loss. However, once this passes, there's a huge upside for humanity. That people are forced to take inventory of their lives. That this is something that we can control. And so this awakening fully makes us more appreciative of some of these things that we do have in our. And I think that is one way to look at this whole situation as well. To truly look at the things that we can control. Wow, look at the beauty of this trail. Might as well go for a run. I would love to hear from you. What is the situation like in your country? And what are some of the actions that you're taking to keep yourself under control and to positively help others in your community as well? Please let me know in the comments. Thanks for watching and much love to each and every one of you. Please be safe out there.