HElp Center

There may be times when you're in the middle of your training plan for a race but you have to take time away due to work travel, vacation, or other commitments.

(This does not include illness/injury -- see THIS article for what to do if you're sick or injured.)

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If you can't follow your training plan at all for a week or less:

There's not much to worry about. You won't lose your fitness in a week, so if you're totally unable to be active, you'll be okay. In fact, complete rest may mean you are extra refreshed and ready to nail your workouts when you're back at it!

If you CAN find ways to be active, definitely do it but don't stress about the details or duration.

But, when you're ready to come back, remember: 

‍DO NOT TRY TO MAKE UP WORKOUTS THAT HAVE BEEN MISSED!

In training, athletes should never look backward, only forward.  Just start training on the present calendar date when you return to your MōTTIV workouts. If you try to make up workouts, you'll only dig yourself into a hole.

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If you can't follow your training plan for one to two weeks:

Make an attempt to get as much physical activity as you can during that time, even if it's not what your plan prescribes. If you're on vacation and staying in hotels, try and find time to use the treadmill, stationary bike, or hotel pool and do what you can.

If you don't have access to a gym, try and go for some long walks or hikes. Some cities even have short-term bike rentals which you can use to get your legs turning over. If you can match some physical activity to something in your training plan, great, but don't do anything that could push you toward injury.

And again, when you're ready to get back to your plan, DO NOT TRY TO MAKE UP WORKOUTS THAT HAVE BEEN MISSED!

‍Just start with the training you're prescribed today and move forward. If the workouts feel a little bit tough, keep doing as much as you can until you're back up to par.

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If you can't follow your training plan for a month or longer:

With a layoff of multiple weeks in the middle of a training plan, it's going to be very challenging to fit in enough training to get you to your race goals. Depending on the distance of race you're doing and how fit you were before the layoff, you may still be able to finish the race but you will likely have to adjust your time/finish goals.
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For some, a month (or longer) layoff will be too long away from training to be able to complete the race. If that's the case, you may want to re-schedule to a race at a time when you don't have to take a lengthy break in the middle of training.

If you find your workouts are too challenging when you get back to your training plan, refer to the 10% Rule as a guideline for how to build back up to your previous level of training.