Helping You Find & Keep Your Mojo

This is the time of year when things are tough for athletes in the northern hemisphere...ok, well not if you live in the west, but if you live anywhere else the cold winter is starting to wear on you. It's been long enough that you don't remember the warm weather, you don't have the holiday's to distract you and the spring is still 8 weeks or more away.

Athletes usually start the year out strong; resolutions, new goals, race registrations open, etc. However, after a few weeks when the excitement fades, some athletes find that their training mojo does as well.




After this happens, many athletes feel like they are the only ones who are missing workouts and falling behind. When you add in social media where they see other athletes completing their sessions (of course mentioning what they do complete and not what they don't), it's easy to feel even more insecure about not training.

Sound familiar yet?

As someone who has been racing and coaching for a long time, here are some words of wisdom to pass along.

#1 - You are NOT the only one struggling with this. I would go so far as to say that MOST athletes are struggling this time of year.

#2 - Communicate with your coach. Even though you may not want to admit you are falling behind or having trouble, it's the BEST thing you can do. As an athlete, your coach knows you better than anyone. They can help motivate you, talk you through sessions that are causing issues and make schedule adjustments to get you back to your best self.

#3 - Stay present, don't worry about that missed workout yesterday or sleeping through your alarm last Tuesday. Focus on today and your next training session. That is the only thing you can control. You don't need to execute to perfection.

#4 - Sometimes training by effort is the best way to get back to your old self. Trying to train by wattage and pace can be frustrating in your first month back. You are not going to be fit and some sessions are not going to feel so great. View each session as one session closer to where you want to be. So take the pressure off of yourself.

#5 - Make good choices to support your training; get sleep, make good nutrition choices, hydrate, stretch and be good to your body. These first few weeks can be tough on it.

#6 - Surround yourself with positive influences who support your journey and who help hold you accountable. Remember, training is a choice!



When mojo starts to wane, remember that you are not alone, that everyone struggles from time to time and it's nothing to get down about. Your season is not over because of a bad patch in January. Your mojo will return; by talking to your coach and focusing on the things above, it will come back sooner, rather than later.






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