​After the end of the quarantine, thousands of athletes will begin running again and return to their usual training, as if nothing had happened. But something DID happen... How much aerobic capacity did you lose while you weren’t running? Are you a slower runner now? Should you pick up training where you left off? ​You can essentially consider this your Post-Quarantine Running Guide.

​Running, ‘It’s just not for me’ says everyone at some point in time. If you’re me, then you’ve said this countless times. This was frustrating as I’ve always been a runner of sorts. I did cross-country with primary and secondary school, was always running around playing rugby, basketball, and/or football (soccer). I was a sprinter in high school and made the athletics team in each of my five years there. Without tooting my own horn too much, I just excelled in sports. I was always moving, which is why I just couldn’t understand why in my adult years, I could NEVER hack running. Granted, I was a lot fitter then, and admittedly I let myself go during my university years with a diet of booze and take out food at all hours of the day.

Runners love collecting and comparing data, especially when it comes to improving their performance in the sport! We track average speed, total distance, number of steps, average heartrate, altitude… there are so many things to track! But what if I told you that you could gain an incredible insight into your performance capacity by measuring a single metric? ​When it comes to training and performance optimization, one of the leading indicators is heart rate variability (HRV).

Most runners will tell you that a change of scenery can do wonders for your motivation. As pointed out in our previous post we discussed how running different trails every now and then will not only keep you motivated, it will also help you become a more efficient runner, build your endurance and speed and enhance your strength. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has definitely shaken things up, to say the least. The widespread virus continues to make its way around the world, forcing us to adapt and do our best to overcome the situation. 
 
Amidst the chaos, many governments are placing their countries on lockdown – or quarantine – to ensure the safety of its citizens. With this, hundreds of runners are now stuck at home feeling unsure of what to do.