Tips for outlasting the pandemic: 'Optimism is an antidote to anxiety'

There's a special kind of exhaustion that endurance athletes embrace. When fatigue sends legs and lungs to their limits, they are able to push through to another gear. These athletes approach fatigue not with fear but as a challenge, an opportunity.

It's a quality that allows an ultramarathoner to endure what could be an unexpected rough segment of a 100-mile race. And it's an ability that many of us wish we could employ as we face the mental exhaustion of making it through the pandemic, a race that seemingly has no finish line.

There's good news, however. The drive to persevere is something some are born with, but it's also a muscle everyone can learn to flex. Some of the world's best extreme athletes shared what they do when they think they've reached the last straw. How do they not only endure but thrive in daily challenges?

One message they all had: You are stronger than you think you are, and everyone is able to adapt in ways they didn't think possible. But there are a few techniques to help you along — 100-mile race not required.

For starters, pace yourself. It's clear by now that this is something that we're going to have to deal with for a while, said sports psychologist Carla Meijen.

"When we think about the coronavirus, we are in it for the long run, so how do you pace yourself?" asked Meijen, a senior lecturer at St Mary's University in London.

She recommends thinking about your routines, practicing positive self-talk and focusing on processes instead of outcomes. You don't know when the pandemic will end, but you can take control of your daily habits, Meijen said.

Deplete your resources early and you'll be in trouble. If you use all your mental energy in one day or week, you may find it more difficult to adapt when things don't return to normal as quickly as you hope. There's a pacing in living day to day, just as in climbing.

"When you get to the summit and you use every single iota of energy and calories to get to the summit, and you don't have the strength to get down, then you're setting yourself up for an accident or for something to go wrong," Anker said.

Sports psychologists also recommend creating small, achievable milestones en route to a big goal.

"Setting goals that are controllable makes it easier to adapt," Meijen said. "If you set goals that are controlled by other people, goals that aren't realistic or are tough or boring, those are much harder to adapt to."

Professional ultrarunner Coree Woltering is especially skilled at conquering mini-goals.

How micro? "I break things down to 10 seconds at a time," Woltering said. "You just have to be present in what you are doing, and you have to know that it may not be the most fun — or super-painful — now, but that could change in 10 seconds down the road."

Developing a daily routine creates a structure that produces a sense of comfort and normalcy.

Dee Caffari, a British sailor and the first woman to sail solo, nonstop, around the world in both directions, said structure is imperative to fight loneliness and monotony. On the sea, she bases her structure around a twice-daily weather report, and all decisions follow from there.

"You need to get up in the morning knowing you're going to make something happen," she said.

And when all else fails, look to something new: a new hobby, goal or experience. The key is to adapt, adapt and then adapt again.

Now that she's not traveling, Caffari has shifted to spending a lot of time in her garden, while Anker has put his extra energy into calligraphy.

"The next moment is always completely uncertain, and it's always been that way," Gervais said. But adapting, adjusting expectations, and discovering new goals or hobbies can allow you to continue to build the muscle that is mental toughness.