Adjust Your Athlete Grind

We’ve all got routines…

Morning routines, work routines, sleep routines…the list can at times be endless. In your training (whether it be for a Half Marathon, Trail Run or Triathlon), has it become a grind? Is boredom something that sets in at times for you? Do you anticipate or dread what’s next?

Stagnation with your training and racing can happen. We’ve been there, we get it. What’s a quick way to bust out of that feeling of “boredom” or “flat” with your training and racing?

MIX IT UP – Sounds simple and perhaps even cliché … but changing up just one aspect of your training can reinvigorate your passion. Switch the time of day completely around. Change the intensity level OR duration. Try a session with a friend or a group. Same goes for racing…pick a different race distance, event, venue or time of  year and go for it!

LISTEN TO SOMETHING DIFFERENT – Another simple sounding solution, but it works! Some of the longest runs can be completed with ease by listening to audiobooks or podcasts that stimulate your mind. Why? Because your academic brain gets a chance for more lively stimulation instead of counting the minutes, miles and mundane aspects of longer workouts.

VOLUNTEER – If you just “aren’t feeling” a race day OR a more stacked race season, volunteer! You get tons of race morning excitement, action, swag and fun WITHOUT the sometimes dreaded anxiety or nervousness.