Johann's COVID Year Reflection

It's been an extraordinary year to say the least. One I’ve spent the majority of being a bike rider and only more recently joining Catalyst Coaching as a coach. COVID-19 definitely impacted my personal training and racing during the year.

My racing season was meant to start around April, which is pretty late. I liked that though, since the winter in Salt Lake City is cold and wet, so having that later start gave me enough time to get the miles in once the worst of winter cleared. This meant I didn’t stress about trying to ride around 80+ hours during December and January in sub freezing temperatures or on the trainer, as I knew I had enough time. Then, just as the worst of winter was behind us and riding outdoors became manageable, COVID-19 arrived. 

I spent the majority of March and April riding the trainer again. This was when Covid was so unknown and since no one knew exactly how it spread, I decided to stay indoors as much as possible. We lived in an apartment building where we shared elevators and hallways with other residents, so it was almost impossible to get out for a ride without coming into contact with other people. Back then, I was also scared of getting infected if I rode past a group, or nowadays, a group rides past me. Luckily, we’ve now learned outdoor activities are relatively safe when done correctly and here in Utah state officials actually encouraged people to practice sports outside to stay active and healthy. Since the end of April I’ve been training outside as usual, except I always ride alone. My condition, however, is nowhere what it used to be. The combination of not stressing about getting a lot of hours done during the previous winter, coupled with another two months of indoor riding, means I’ve been playing catchup ever since. 

As I mentioned before, I only recently joined Catalyst Coaching. We now know way more about COVID, and racing is closer on the horizon than what it appeared in March when everything got scrapped. As a coach, I’m preparing my athletes as I usually would during this time of year, with or without COVID. I had them take a break as this year has definitely been taxing, even without any racing. We are focusing on the basics and building the foundation. During this foundation phase, I will incorporate some sort of speed work to make up for the lack of racing this year. This ensures that when athletes get the green light to resume racing, they are never too far off being race-ready. 

One of my athletes commented that he didn’t need the racing to stay motivated this season. Doing epic rides with his dad and friends allowed him to channel his competitive side into some fun and relaxing cycling, while using the occasional group ride smash-session as a reminder to keep working hard. It also gave him the necessary time to follow a routine and focus on becoming a better athlete overall.

All in all, I think a positive that has come out of this is developing  closer coach-athlete relationships. With racing, it’s easier to gauge how your athletes are adapting and progressing with the training prescribed, but now with that off the table, that coach-athlete communication is more important than ever.