5 Skills You've Developed as a Runner to Help You Through the Pandemic

Whether your specialty is the 5K or 100-miler, there are certain mental skills you've undoubtedly developed as a runner that can serve you and your loved ones well in this time of uncertainty. When things start to feel especially challenging, remember that you've been practicing these 5 skills for a reason!

Let's be real, running is not always fun. In fact, it can be painful, monotonous, lonely, and discouraging. I bet most of us can think of a time, or several, when it felt like the miles you had left until the end of a run felt impossible. So what did you do? You probably said something like, "I'll just run one more minute", or "I'll just make it to that next tree". And you did that over and over again until eventually, you finished.

The world is plenty uncertain right now, and there can be a lot of anxiety surrounding not knowing where the end of it all is, or what the end looks like. Now is not the time to focus on finish lines. Live as you do when running - as much in the present as possible. Take it one day, one hour, or one step at a time.

How often, during a run, have you felt like absolute garbage, only to feel amazing 5 minutes later? What about that time you caught a cold and couldn't run for a few days, and agonized over your lost training, but eventually recovered and realized you hadn't really lost that much fitness at all? Have you ever been injured, and unable to run, but eventually healed up and excelled at running again?

The point is, in running, we often experience pretty low moments, but they almost always pass. As a runner, you are skilled in recognizing that conditions are dynamic, and negative feelings will eventually pass.

When things don't seem to be going quite right during a run, there's almost always something you can still find to be grateful for. If it's cold and rainy, you may be grateful that you have the health and resilience to move your body through harsh weather. If your legs feel heavy and slow, you can be glad to be outside in the fresh air. If you're not on pace to finish a race in your desired time, isn't it still great that you're there participating?

Many of us may struggle with feeling a bit low in the coming weeks and months, but as a runner, you have been unknowingly practicing skills of positivity and gratitude. Now is a wonderful time to apply this skill to everyday life and focus on the amazing things we still have.

One of the hardest things for many people who practice social distancing or who need to quarantine may be that they are forced to be alone with their own thoughts. Sitting with yourself can be harder than it may at first seem.

Fortunately, when we run, we think of all kinds of things - what's going on in our lives, how to process problems, or oftentimes not really thinking of anything at all. A bit like meditation, running helps us find comfort in our own minds, even through difficult circumstances.

Whether it's your friend who meets you for a run every morning before work, your spouse who watches the kids while you get our for a run, or the person who gave you an energy bar while you were bonking in that race, one thing about the running community is for sure: We are there for each other.

We know how to show kindness to each other even when we're suffering. We know how to share with our companions, even when we are in need ourselves. We know how to graciously accept the help of others, and how to rally together a team to reach a common goal.

Whatever the future holds, we are in this together. And as runners, we are in a position to exemplify strength and caring for those around us.