Staying Motivated in 2020
Written By Coach Ruth Winder
Ruth began cycling at the age of 15. Since then she has been competitive at a high level. Most notably, she made the 2016 Olympic Track Cycling Team for Team Pursuit, winning the 2019 National Road Race Championship, and taking home the over all win for the Tour Down Under in 2020. Ruth has seen much success on the Velodrome in past years and in European racing since transitioning back to road after the 2016 Olympics. She is currently racing full time in Europe for the Pro World Tour Team: Trek-Segafredo. She found her passion for coaching in 2015 and has really enjoyed sharing not only her knowledge of being a coached athlete for 11 years, but her tactical knowledge as well. Ruth is a USAC level 3 coach.
It’s nearly the end of August, and for some of us, racing season never began. For others, we may have just gotten re-started. In Colorado we’ve been lucky that we never got fully locked down, and we were always allowed to go outside. Even so, this year has been all over the place for a multitude of reasons. With that, so has my motivation.
To help you (and remind myself as well), here’s 3 key things I’ve done to keep myself motivated through this year…
1. Strava “Races”
Very early on in the lockdown my friends and I competed in Strava “races”. We would pick two segments per week. You could choose the day you went out to target the segments (but you had to do them both on the same day!). Then we would take the times and combine them, the fastest person would win the week. I think we completed about 4-5 weeks of this! It was a great motivation boost.
2. Cross-Training
Another key thing to do to keep the motivation high while not racing is to think of a fun cross training project. Take time to work on your mountain or cross skills. Maybe you’ve always wanted to be able to do at least 10 good push ups (… no I’m not talking about myself… ), or perhaps start a living room Zumba class (again, this is definitely not about me). Whatever it is, choose something a bit out of your ordinary routine, that lights your fire. Pick a goal, and make it work for you.
3. Mental Wellness in Coaching
If you’re open and honest with your self, and with your coach about how your mental state and motivation is, it can really go a long way. Don’t forget your coach is there to help get the best out of you. The more open and honest your communication with them is, the better the result that week in training and then of course subsequently in the long run
And hey, you know what, if you just feel like you need a day off to lay in the sun and read a book, or whatever you do to relax- don’t try and talk yourself out of it! Just take it easy for a bit and listen to your body. Chances are you probably need it. Your motivation is still there, it just needed a rest day… So take it easy like your coach told you too!
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