Staying Well through the Global Pandemic

Like many athletes I like structure, routine, goals and being in control. These traits have helped me achieve in both my academic studies and in sporting life. 

However, these traits can make you or break you. 

When these traits become too rigid and/or you’re feeling a loss of control over something, it can easily start to affect your health and mental wellbeing. For me that has been periods of my life where I have had an unhealthy relationship with food, serious body image issues and more recently, periods of depression.

Staying healthy, mentally well and achieving in life is a fine balance at the best of times, now let’s throw a global pandemic into the mix.

Here is my story of how I have been managing in the COVID-19 outbreak so far. The highs and lows and how structured training and utilising technology has actually kept me the healthiest I have been in a long time!

I came back from the European Duathlon Championships on March 9th more motivated than ever before! I had finally had my chance to stand on the top step of the podium and had had one of my best ever races. I was getting excited for the season ahead and the further improvements I could make. Then COVID happened.

Club training sessions stopped, and I slowly saw my racing season disintegrate. I was really worried; this was the perfect storm of events which could lead to a deterioration in my mental health. I couldn’t control what was going on and I was struggling to see a way forward. 

Like many others I spent a couple of weeks in a “well who knows what’s going to happen anymore” mode and spent my time drinking more alcohol than I had in the last 6 months (I don’t drink very often!) I reverted to training I enjoyed and didn’t worry about pace or watts. However, despite becoming a Sauvignon Blanc connoisseur, a few too many sore heads in the morning and the closure of my favourite running routes left me realising that I needed to change my routine and develop a better coping mechanism for this pandemic.

I soon realised that lockdown measures were actually quite a good thing for my controlling nature. The government was now controlling the way I exercised, socialised and lived my life outside the walls of my house, but actually it was great! I didn’t have to try and fit commuting, placement, training, work and travelling across London to various places to try and maintain a social life anymore. I wasn’t living in the fear and anxiety of letting people down, being late or not being able to train as well as I wanted to due to being tired. My life had been simplified considerably.

I have been given an excellent structure of webinars and online learning by my university. I have been appreciating having the extra time to fit in yoga and more S&C sessions. I have really enjoyed having the time and energy to really smash my Catenary Cycling turbo sessions and have been seeing constant improvements. I have started doing some structured run sessions courtesy of Tim too which again have given me a goal to aim towards each session. These have all allowed me to develop some structure day to day and give me things to look forward to. However, for me, there is always the possibility of getting too carried away, this is where technology has saved the day!

Being able to talk to others, have fun and do activities which I’m not in control of, helps me break any potentially unhealthy cycles which thrive off isolation. With us all being at home in the evenings, socialising has taken a new virtual form! Many of my evenings now have scheduled fun quizzes or catch ups with mine or my boyfriend’s family. Virtual social riding with other Catenary coaching athletes has been awesome and we have also started our own team quiz! Despite athletes living all over the country, we have been able to interact using a variety of mediums which really helps that team spirit!  I have taken part in some virtual duathlons and am currently doing a virtual LEJOG with my mum and sister! 

There are still so many unknowns and I am very much struggling with “when will life go back to normal?” and the uncertainty of the future. However, this lockdown has taught me how to identify things which you can control even when it seems that everything is out of control. It has taught me a healthier way of dealing with uncertainty and it has taught me that keeping in contact with friends and family is of huge importance and virtual technology is a great way of doing this!

Megan Powell