My COVID diaries: searching for motivation

It is hard to believe I am four weeks into writing a column about well‑being, but have yet to mention running.

Initially, this was intentional – I am best known for being that vet who runs and banging on quite a lot about how great exercise is. To avoid being typecast, I decided to surprise you all by not mentioning running straight away.

I thought this would be a tricky task. The combination of sunnier days, abundant time and being stuck inside would surely have me clocking more miles than ever before.

Yet, as I sit writing, it seems every person in the country has dug out his or her dusty old trainers and jogged past my window – except me.

Having spent years talking about the benefits of exercise on our well-being, it is strange that, come a global health crisis, my motivation to run has completely vanished. I feel a bit of a fraud.

Maybe I will have to rename my blog “This Vet Does Not Run”…

Out of sync

I know my return to night work is playing a part. One reason I stopped working as a night vet was the effect of chronic tiredness on my mood and my desire to exercise.

However, nearly all of us are coping with hugely altered working patterns – and, as other locums will know, this is not a time when you can afford to be picky with shifts.

But I think there is more to it than just a return to out-of-hours. As days stretch on with little structure, I have found myself lacking in motivation where I thought I would crave it.

In normal life I battle to cram sessions into snatched lunch breaks or dark evenings after work. During lockdown, there is always tomorrow.

Apparently, I find it easier to fit exercise into a hectic schedule than a completely empty one.

Important

I know from experience how much my mental health suffers when I stop exercising. It seems likely that a global pandemic is going to have an effect, too.

So, I have written this piece to give myself a good talking to, but I am not shaming myself.

I promise I am not going to flog myself with this article just for losing my mojo. Honestly, there are much more important things to worry about right now.

It is just that, for me, exercise is important. I do not have the word count to list the countless benefits of exercise on our well‑being, but that is okay because you probably know them already.

Running is the thing that clears my noisy mind, gives me a sense of achievement and helps me manage my up‑and‑down personality – things that could not be more important for all of us right now.

It is vital to be kind to yourself during lockdown – and getting myself back out running is being kind. I wrote this to remind me of that.

Not alone

I also wrote this because – among the hoards of new runners, cyclists and Joe Wicks fans – a few of you may also be struggling. Despite appearances from my window, you are not alone.

Don’t beat yourself up for it, but if you are sat reading this thinking getting more active may help you, too (I promise it will) then take a breath and make tomorrow a new start. Or, even better: today.

Now I have given myself a literary talking to, I am heading off into the sunshine for a few easy miles with nothing in my head except a good audiobook.

I am already looking forward to how much better I know I will feel.

Stay well x