The five-time Olympian tells Euan Crumley about the need for adaptability in times of uncertainty

The coronavirus pandemic has affected every single aspect of our daily lives – and it’s no different for athletes. The last time Jo Pavey can remember anything vaguely close to this was the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001, during which the closure of places such as Bushy Park and Richmond Park merely made life a little uncomfortable for those training in London.

The current situation is on a scale which no-one has seen before, of course, and rarely has the 2014 European 10,000m champion felt more fortunate to live in rural Devon, surrounded by space and room to run – for as long as government measures allow, at least.

Yet, like anyone who had a training plan in mind this year, Pavey is having to think again. Her bid to reach a sixth Olympics is now on hold, while a more immediate goal had been the Antrim Coast Half Marathon which was due to take place on March 21.

It has since been rescheduled to mid-September and has provided at least something of a foundation around which to build a long-term plan. In the middle of constant uncertainty there is something resembling an anchor point and a new focus.

It is the ability to find flexibility and quickly switch focus towards new goals, says the 46-year-old, which is likely to be of greatest use during this time when so many people are looking for clarity, as well as a reason to keep on training.

“We’ve all got to replan and make new goals”

It’s why Pavey believes that those who have had their spring marathon aspirations pushed back to the autumn are, in fact, the lucky ones.

“We’ve all got to replan and make new goals,” says the latest AW cover star. “A lot of events I was excited to be involved with have all been postponed or cancelled but we’ve all got to face these challenges.

“For people doing the London Marathon they now know they’re aiming for October 4 and that’s a great mental state to be in. They know ‘that’s my date, that’s my target’ and they can refocus.

“We can all still enjoy running. Something like the London Marathon might now be a longer term goal but you can feel excited that you might get the opportunity to run in the only autumn edition of the event. It’s going to be quite a unique thing.

“There might be athletes who are relieved and now thinking ‘I’ve got a bit more time to get ready’. I’ve done both the London and New York marathons. London was an absolutely awesome experience and a dream come true but, in terms of training, I did find it easier to get ready for an autumn marathon.”

While we all still can, it’s important to keep running for a number of reasons, believes Pavey. It’s important to be sensible about how hard you push yourself, too, but she is also mindful not to fall into a trap now of simply just going for a one-paced jog.

“Keeping a certain level of fitness is going to be good for the immune system and just feeling good about yourself,” she adds. “Also, find different ways to train and try to use the situation positively.

“Thinking about moving forward, of course there’s going to be disappointment and frustration where you might think ‘what’s the point?’ and that’s normal and natural because what you’ve been aiming for now isn’t happening when it was meant to.

“Moving forward, get positive again and try and keep the different training elements going.

“I think it’s a mistake to think ‘ah well, I’ll just go for the odd low jog’. I think if you can find a quiet stretch of road or a trail then you can still do some intervals and try to keep some different paces going. That’s going to really keep everything there.

“If you completely stop doing that for weeks then you’re not only just going to give yourself more work to do but there’s also an injury risk. If you’re in the position where you haven’t been injured and you were raring to go for something like the marathon and then you let all the speedwork go, when you start doing all of that again then there’s more chance of getting injured from your body being unaccustomed to it.

“That’s why it’s important to over. It is tough for everyone and, with no races going on, there is also the danger of overtraining. Don’t just keep grinding on.

“This is the time to keep all the different elements ticking over, but at the same time doing a really, really hard long run where you could deplete your immune system is not going to be a sensible decision.

“You want to have that balance, particularly in the short term.”

“I’ve done my gym work in the lounge for many years now. Pushing up and down off the coffee table, doing one-legged squats at the bottom of the stairs”

Given the social distancing restrictions, households everywhere are now becoming accustomed to the reality of home workouts,
a concept which is far from new to mother-of-two Pavey who is coached by her husband Gavin.

“I’ve done my gym work in the lounge for many years now,” she says. “Pushing up and down off the coffee table, doing one-legged squats at the bottom of the stairs or using light hand weights for doing lunges.

“I’m always one to multi-task while I’m doing gym work anyway. I could be making a stir fry, then doing a couple of exercises and stir it a bit more…chop a carrot and then do another exercise.

“Your strength and conditioning and core stability can all be done at home. You can definitely improvise and keep that going.”

There’s a fundamental truth to bear in mind, too.

“It’s important to feel fortunate that we are runners and we are fortunate that we’ve got our health to be able to run and keep our health intact,” adds Pavey. “Take the positives and think of this as an opportunity.”