- Six-time US Pentathlon national champion Samantha Schultz, who qualified for the 2020 Olympics, said she’s been training just as hard even though the event has been postponed due to the pandemic.
- She said the most challenging thing has been losing the camaraderie of seeing coaches and other athletes every day during training.
- The key to staying motivated, Schultz said, is remembering that every effort counts, even if it takes time to pay off.
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When the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed, US pentathlete Samantha Schultz was just as devastated as every other elite athlete. After being an alternate for the 2016 games, she qualified to compete this year by winning a silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games. It was a dream come true, and Schultz, 28, has been working for a decade to make it happen.
Her specialty, the pentathlon, involves excelling in not one but 5 sports – fencing, swimming, equestrian (horseback riding) events, running, and shooting (the last two combined in a race that required skill, stamina, and steadiness).
Since the announcement to postpone the Olympics, however, Schultz has barely slowed down in her training,
“It’s about remembering I still have a purpose and I’m still driving toward my goal,” she said in an interview with Insider.
Although it's more than a year away, Schultz said she stays motivated by trying to make every minute of her Olympic training count, so she'll be more ready than ever when 2021 comes around.
A typical day for Schultz includes 6 hours of training, nearly as much as before the lockdowns
Prior to the pandemic, Schultz would wake up at 6 am every day, except Sunday, and head to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for a long day of fencing lessons and sparring, swimming, stretching, strength conditioning, and target practice.
Without the facilities, and her coaches, she's been improvising at her Colorado Springs home, setting up practice space in her garage and outdoors.
"My husband says 'I don't feel like you're training any less,'" Schultz said.
Her daily morning routine involves weights and an hour of running
These days, she sleeps in a little, waking up at 7 am and having breakfast before starting her training regimen. First, without a pool, she works out with resistance bands and other weighted exercises to incorporate the same muscles required for swimming.
She also does mobility exercises to rehabilitate her body after the high-intensity training of preparing for the upcoming Olympics.
"With the Olympics in August, I was lowering volume and upping intensity, so that's changed to maintaining strength and building a solid base," Schultz said, which will also help her avoid injury when the training center does reopen.
Then, she runs for about an hour, putting in 7-10 miles to keep her cardiovascular endurance up.
She fences without a partner - and watches fencing videos to remember what it feels like to face an opponent
After a break for lunch, it's then time for fencing practice. Without a partner or coach to spar with, Schultz does drills, hitting a target on the wall or a tennis ball suspended on a string, and practicing form and footwork. She also watches a lot of videos of elite fencing matches online.
"That helps my body and mind remember what it feels like to be fencing," she said.
Then, it's shooting drills. Pentathletes shoot with lasers, so there's no live ammunition involved, making it easy for Schultz to practice in her garage or just about anywhere. She also practices raising the sight and locking onto a target after sprinting or squat jumps, to develop focus and stability even when her heart rate is up.
Schultz ends the day with about 45 minutes to an hour on an exercise bike to work her lower body and cardio yet again. All together, it's about 5-6 hours of training each day.
It's tough having less social interaction with other athletes, but it means she gets more time with family
Although Schultz is still working out hard, she no longer gets to socialized regularly at the training center, which has been one of the most difficult aspects of her current situation.
Ordinarily, while a lot of her training itself is solo, she would see and chat with other athletes every day, along with working alongside her coach.
"That interaction on a daily basis becomes a support family," she said.
Schultz is still keeping in touch with her coach, and Olympic colleagues, via virtual hangouts.
An unexpected bonus, she said, is getting to spend a bit more time with her husband
"It's nice to have that time together because normally I'm traveling so much," Schultz said. "It's a bit weird to be home but I'm getting into more of a normal routine, and I do enjoy that aspects of having things slow down."
Schultz said the key to staying motivated is remembering that every little bit of exercise will count
Schultz may be an elite athlete, but just like the rest of us, she's struggling with the uncertainty about when, and how, things may return to normal. That can make it difficult to stay focuses on the reasons behind all the hard work she puts in.
When that happens, her solution is to take one small step at a time - lacing up her shoes, firing up some music, and setting the stage for a good workout.
"I've had a lot of those days lately. The biggest thing is just finding the motivation to start. I put my gear on, put playlist on, and get moving. Once I'm going, I'm going," Schultz said.
That, along with a focus on consistency and incremental progress, keeps her going even with the Olympics more than a year away.
"I remember I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to be an athlete, and I'm grateful that I still get that opportunity," Schultz said. "The stuff I'm doing now, I don't know if it's going to make a difference, but I need to stay positive that every little bit I do is going to help me stay sharp once I can get back into the gym."
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