Training after Self Isolation - Race in October | Uphill Athlete

Training after Self Isolation – Race in October

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  • #44200
    Mark
    Participant

    Hi there,

    I have a 50km trail race in early October, and due to members of my household having to travel abroad, I may need to self-isolate too if they return back to the household.

    The problem is that I would have to self-isolate in the first 2 weeks of September, so I would miss the biggest build weeks of my training plan (Luke Nelson’s Intro to 50k). I’m currently on Week 13 of the plan.

    This is my first ultramarathon and I know that the proper advice is probably going to be “Back out if you can’t do those weeks”, but training for this race has been one of the few things that have kept me going during the lockdown and I would really struggle to adjust mentally if I wasn’t able to do the race.

    Does anyone have any advice for (a) whether I should continue with the race if I have to self-isolate during those two weeks and (b) how I do mentally come to terms with it if I have to back out in the end?

    I can postpone my entry to next year’s edition (May 2021), but I would feel really down if I had to back out because of not being able to train enough.

    Thanks for taking the time to respond if you do, I know everyone is struggling at the moment and there are bigger problems in the world.

Posted In: Mountain Running

  • Inactive
    Anonymous on #44245

    Self Isolation: What does that mean? Locked in doors? Can you run out doors at all staying close to home and social distancing?

    If you can stay active and do some runs I encourage you to stay with your plan and do this race. You need the experience of racing that far. You’ll learn a ton from that even if your preparation is compromised somewhat.

    You’ll be that much better prepared the next time to train and race.

    If you’ve done Luke’s plan up till mid/late Sept you’ve done the most important part: building a base.

    Go for it!

    Scott

    Participant
    davidbeckingsale on #44297

    Now that an experts have weighed in I’ll offer a personal anecdote 🙂 I was following the Intro to 50K plan for a race in June that ultimately ended up being cancelled. Additionally, I ended up spraining my ankle right after the biggest week of the plan and had to take 2 weeks off. I slowly built training volume back up over 8 weeks, mostly zone 1, and at the end of the 8th week completed a 50K out of my front door.

    I agree with Scott that the experience of doing that distance, and (for you) in a race environment will be so worth it. With your base training completed you should be able to finish the race no problem, and it will offer a great opportunity to learn. Good luck!

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