Still Here?

Coach Lesley doing a T-Stand at a T-intersection.

We are still here working, playing and living. And, of course, Covid-19 is still here too. 

We know all too well how Covid-19 continues to disrupt our lives; changing how we socialize down to the basic chores of grocery shopping or buying shoes. And let's not discount the underlying and ongoing anxiety and uncertainty which living in a pandemic brings.

However, it isn’t all doom and gloom!

We are seeing some of the professional and college sports resume and in the fitness world some events have re-started too! Of course with new virus related restrictions in place, events are different but we can find ways to enjoy them nonetheless.

Virtual events took over our world at the rise of the pandemic and there continues to be a host of them. For many these have been a good challenge and a lot of fun. For others, these virtual events just don’t work and that is okay too. Beyond virtual races, many people have been really creative and are working on their own goals close to home which have been fun and inspiring.

I have loved hearing how everyone is adapting to the challenges and finding their own way.

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Find Your Goal

Ann out for her Plank-a-day!

Finding your own goal can be more important than ever right now. 

Some of us are entering the dark, wet and cold time of the year where staying motivated can be really hard. Others around the world are facing a return to lockdown and social restrictions due to rising virus counts. Goals can be simple to complex, big or small. It is easy to forget that we don’t have to be climbing Mt. Everest to be able to call something a goal.

Here are a few ideas to help you find that goal.

Take on a daily challenge.
Maybe the challenge is simply doing something every day. There are a lot of options here depending on what strikes your fancy like a plank-a-day, push-up or burpee challenge, the Sally challenge (google this one!), 15:00 of yoga or doing a prescribed physical therapy exercise or routine. It does not even have to be the same thing all the time. You set your challenge. Anything can count.

We’ve been loving seeing photos of client Ann all over Seattle doing her plank a day in conjunction with her walks around the city. While out for a run, Coach Andria had to do a bridge pose in front of two bridges and Coach Lesley was inspired to do a T-stand at a T-intersection (see photo above)! We would love to see photos of your adventures too! Post them on the CLA Team Facebook page as it can be motivating or a good hoot to all.

Try a Virtual Event
Virtual Races like CRAW (Circumpolar Race Around the World) are keeping some of the CLA Team busy. Currently we have two teams of ten who are counting their run, walk, cycling and swimming (if they are lucky enough to have pool access) miles as they race virtually all the way around the world.  

Community events and support
If you have a Strava account, our local running store partner Super Jock 'N Jill is running a free monthly challenge on Strava. Each month sign up for the challenge. Then get 20 activities in a month (any activity counts) and there are free prizes and incentives including drawings for other goodies. Your activities must be visible on Strava to count. Thanks Super Jock 'n Jill!

Streaming and Video
You could connect with  friends or family all over the world for a workout together via zoom or try one of the many free streaming videos that are out now.  Or try one of the big platforms like Zwift or Peloton with group rides and classes.

For strength, we have a few new CLAFitness.com strength videos on our YouTube channel and we are glad to give ideas of other strength videos we like as well. Just ask if you need some pointers! It is always good to mix it up. 

Run Every Street
Another fun (and long term!) project has been running every street in our city here in Seattle. Now Seattle is a big city so we have been having fun running every street in different neighborhoods and trying to complete neighborhoods. Citystrides.com is a desktop based website that lets you connect your garmin account and shows you where you have run so you can track your city (this website works all over the world!).

What we are finding is that no wonder we can get a bit bored running as we are always running the same exact routes! It’s been great fun to run on streets we’ve never even driven on and see all the amazing neighborhoods with unexpected views. Sure it’s hilly but that is building strength! It’s been a great mental game too figuring out routes. Note: We aren’t in any way affiliated with Citystrides.com. It is a free website with pay options if you want to support it but you don’t have to use it! Printing out maps and going to town (pun intended) with a highlighter also works. 

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The Caution

Remember recovery is important too.

In these anxiety-inducing times we are seeing some athletes lose themselves with keeping busy by doing so much activity that they are forgetting about rest. It is really important especially now (COVID) to keep our immune systems strong and acknowledge that, yes, our bodies do need rest.

For others, it’s been hard to motivate to do anything. Don’t worry, you are not alone.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, tired, unmotivated, try starting with something very small that you can do every day and then after this becomes a manageable habit think about adding on a little more. That’s why we like those plank-a-day challenges or even hitting 10-15 minutes of walking every day. Little steps can do a lot! 

For any of us, it’s also important to acknowledge when you need help dealing with depression and/or anxiety. Are you overdoing workouts rather than dealing with stress or anxiety? Are you so stressed and anxious that you can’t do anything? Are you not sleeping? Not eating? Overeating?

You may feel that “it’s not that bad” or you may discount your own feelings by looking around and seeing others much worse off than you. But remember depression and anxiety are a medical condition. You wouldn’t wait to seek treatment for beginning symptoms of a heart condition, why wait to seek some help for mental health treatments? Now there are even many online options for treatment. There is nothing wrong with asking for help! As we head into winter and surely disrupted holidays, please take care of yourself in all ways.

We Got This

We hope this gives all of you a little to think about and motivates you to find your challenge to carry you to the New Year. I can’t believe I am even thinking about 2021 but I think we can all agree that we will be happy to see it arrive. 

We know the holiday season will look different for everyone but we encourage you all to embrace these changes just as you have your fitness goals. More than ever it is important to reach out to friends and family in any way we safely can. Get outside, have some fun! Remember to be grateful for the small things. We will all be stronger for it.  

We appreciate all of you.  

Cheers to the Holiday Season ahead.

Blog originally published November 17th, 2015. Updated November 10th, 2020.