Every day we wake up to more changes regarding COVID-19. We went from being careful to shelter at home in what felt like a hot minute. It's easy to check your app hourly to see how many more cases, deaths, is the curve flattening?
But I've also been busy, so fricking busy. I've yet to clean a closet or binge on anything
Coaching is changing daily with races coming off the books, athletes' schedules change to more work depending on what they do, working at home with kids underfoot, to not working at home, and getting paid to not working at home and not getting paid. The stress levels are different for each athlete, some a #shelteringathome with too many people, some are alone, some have parents to worry about, etc. The value I bring to my athletes now is flexibility, responsiveness, and checking in to see how they are doing. Sure the scheduling is essential, but it's mainly based on each person. Some need less, some need more, in general, I am backing off intensity for most. Why? We are not in the race-specific cycle; with added "life" stress, we want a bit less training stress, and this is not the time time to wear down your immune system, thus being more susceptible to illness...My other job is contracting meetings and events, so just imagine how that is going. Most of my days are spent talking with clients about 1- do we move the meeting to new dates, if so what dates? 2- will they cancel the meeting? If we do it too soon, they will owe money, but we need to ensure there is enough time for attendees to cancel plans, etc. The motto of HPN Global right now is "lift and shift" Find new dates for the meeting. With hotels closing for 4-6 weeks and laying off thousands of salespeople, sometimes 1/2 the battle is finding who can help at the hotel. The added stress is, if the meeting cancels, I don't get paid. With 5 cancellations so far, let's just say the race cancellations actually help me financially. With flights being credited, AirBnB refunding $, it's okay right now.
My race cancels so far: 4/4 Oceanside 70.3, 5/3 Belgian Waffle Ride, and Ultrman520 Canada 8/1-3. Am I disappointed, yes I am? But my more significant priorities are saving business and keeping my athletes happy. I had a great chat with my coach today, and it was what I needed. I needed to be an athlete for a bit to chat about my season and races. We have a solid plan in place and whether I race in Aug, Sept, or November, the plan soldiers on. I have a lot to "fix," and now the runway is even longer!
So as my CEO shared with his team, I share an excerpt.
We all need to be two things during this time: Be Strong and Be Kind.
During times of uncertainty, we need to embrace the shift, letting go of what we have known and how we have always done things. Uncertainty + Fear = Anxiety. We must
learn to uncouple fear from uncertainty to evolve – to embrace the shift.
Our wish for you this week is that you focus on taking care of yourself and your family. Focus on your strength (you are more durable than you realize) and move through the week
with kindness. On the road ahead, we will be refining our plans to support you
and our HPN family, along with strategies for our collective future success.
"With a warrior heart, square up your shoulders, keep your chin up and keep
swinging."
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