It’s official. Ironman Canada 2020 is postponed. Sigh. We’d been hoping against hope that this race would still go on but it came as no surprise to get the email officially postponing the race. It is disappointing for all. 

The road to Ironman is never easy but this is the first time in over 20 years of coaching that the road has included a trip through a pandemic!  For several months we have watched many of our athletes struggle with what all the uncertainty, quarantine and cancellation of events has meant to their training.

Some of our athletes have had more time to train and others even less. Some have stayed motivated or even been more motivated while others are feeling exhausted and unmotivated. For some, training has become a lifeline to maintaining stability and focus. For others, training is much harder as they have had to learn how to navigate kids “attending” school via video and home school requirements, their own jobs, spouses working from home and just the underlying angst and stress of everything going on. 

This blog was originally going to be about the mental side of training for an Ironman. As we thought about that, we realized this still applies more than ever and not just for those who had hoped to be on the starting line in late August at IMCA.

Rest. For most athletes, this is a four-letter word (and not a good one). Most do not like rest days or days off and resist. And when I say athlete, I mean anyone who is out there doing something new, working towards a goal, or even just adding in fitness for health reasons. It applies to all and not just those towards the front of the pack.

Is it something about how we are wired, our culture or something learned? I don’t know the answer to this but I do know that in my over 20 years of coaching, teaching athletes that rest is just as important as training still remains one of my biggest hurdles. And truly, the idea and practice of it challenges even me at times.