The Running Thread - 2020

[Smilelea]

I’d say we’ve adjusted pretty well all things considered. I worked from home all week, home-schooled all week, and managed to get in way more miles than ever in a week. The flexibility of working from home allowed me to fit in runs throughout the day instead of having to wait until after work. We are officially on spring break this week so I’ll have even more flexibility and time to get in workouts.
I hate all that is going on but we are trying to enjoy the parts of it we can. DH is still having to work but we aren’t sure how much longer that will last.

Stay safe and well everyone!

 

[LdyStormy76]

So how's everyone manged so far this week?

It has been interesting. The panic in southern Illinois started Friday the 13th with the announcement of the schools being closed. Needless to say grocery shopping on Monday was interesting; no bread, rice, meat, or toilet paper, but lots of pasta, soups, cereals (including oatmeal) and Easter candy. I was supposed to be in the Chicago area this weekend, but that trip was cancelled Tuesday since 3/4 of what I needed to do up there either had canceled or was already closed. DH works for the local hospital (administrative type role), and it has been nuts for him. Based on the growing numbers of Covid-19 cases in Cook and Dupage counties, and a 7 day work week now for DH, he is very thankful that I didn't go. The 2 county area I am in had its first 2 cases, one in each county, confirmed Wednesday.

We closed on our new house March 2nd, so I've been spending a lot of time over there. One day last week I walked 3 miles, up and down a 5 step ladder. Today was 3 miles of wall scrubbing after removing wall paper, and 2 miles of painting. Maybe not true steps, but it is still exercise.

 

[WelshMorgan92]

starting to worry I may have the virus.. Last week I ran 40 miles at a fairly good pace, this week I have suffered headaches/sore throat and sinus pain. I have tried a couple of runs ( in the middle of nowhere at night to stay away from everyone) and have been struggling with shortness of breath and a massive drop in pace/aerobic capacity

I am asthmatic but it's never really hindered my running so not sure where this dip in ability has come from other than the virus.. sadly no local testing so will continue to isolate and hope for the best!!

 

[Novatrix]

So how's everyone manged so far this week?

NJ has been nuts and the situation has been changing abruptly day by day. I work in industrial manufacturing, so our plant is still up and running at full capacity. A lot of our mechanical and electrical contractor groups we bring in for projects have not been so lucky and have needed to lay off half their personnel.

I think the saddest part is the panic and misinformation I hear when speaking with not only the operators but my otherwise well educated colleagues.

It seems like "news" and "facts" from social media are spreading faster than the actual coronavirus.

 

[ANIM8R]

starting to worry I may have the virus.. Last week I ran 40 miles at a fairly good pace, this week I have suffered headaches/sore throat and sinus pain. I have tried a couple of runs ( in the middle of nowhere at night to stay away from everyone) and have been struggling with shortness of breath and a massive drop in pace/aerobic capacity

I am asthmatic but it's never really hindered my running so not sure where this dip in ability has come from other than the virus.. sadly no local testing so will continue to isolate and hope for the best!!

Hoping for the best, too!

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm doing okay. I've been on official WFH for a little over a week (and I happened to have been WFH the day they announced the policy, so I've actually been WFH for longer). My company is pretty well set up for remote work (my manager is actually fully remote), so while it's definitely an adjustment on a person-to-person level, the company has been able to run pretty decently.

I wasn't really in a good running rhythm before this, and I haven't gotten into one. Hopefully this week. I have been doing barre classes at home every day, though, which helped. And we upped our meditation sessions at work from once a week to twice a week, so that's been nice.

Tomorrow I get to go on the subway for the first time in over a week as I head to my parents' to ride this out (I was gonna have to be there in a few weeks anyway, and now felt like a good time), so that'll be interesting.

What do you all think about meeting friends to run? I ran with a few friends Friday morning, and tried to keep several feet away from them but running with them was a huge mental boost.
(PS I live in a suburb of Atlanta with just 3 confirmed cases in my county)

I did this last week. We social distanced as best as we could (not super easy in Central Park) and didn't touch each other at all, and it mostly worked out well. The worst part of it was that I was undertrained for what we were trying to do. But it was definitely a boost and I might do it again. I think it's okay if you're safe about it.

 

[Krandor]

It has been good for me. Being stuck at home has made it easier to get the motivate to get out and run since it is my main chance to get out of the house these days.

The ways I was most consistent in running where those where I worked from home 100% of the time. I would either run at noon or walk out the door right at 5pm. Not havig a commute just adds so much extra time But right now when at 5pm the option of going out to eat or to a bar isn't an option then go outside and run it is.

 

[Kerry1957]

What do you all think about meeting friends to run?

There is absolutely no way I would risk it. Sure, if you are both healthy then it is no problem, but since you can be contagious days before symptoms appear, how do you really know you are healthy. And all it could take is one cough or sneeze and both of you can now be ill. Then you go home and give it to the rest of your family. Yes, the chances of that occurring are still very small, but ignoring common sense thinking is how epidemics begin and spread.

We are under "house arrest" here in Illinois (my term), and I was still able (legally and healthwise) to enjoy my run today out in the forest preserve trails. Alone.

My firm was hired by the Saudi Ministry of Health during the MERS epidemic to review conditions in their hospital central sterile reprocessing areas. I led teams that visited over 250 hospitals in the Kingdom, and I saw first hand the horrors MERS. That's made me a bit reluctant to leave my health, and my family's health, to chance.

 

[Kerry1957]

We social distanced as best as we could (not super easy in Central Park) and didn't touch each other at all, and it mostly worked out well. The worst part of it was that I was undertrained for what we were trying to do. But it was definitely a boost and I might do it again. I think it's okay if you're safe about it.

You think it's okay, and now you are heading to your (elderly?) parents house via the subway? In the epicenter of the epidemic? You are a braver person than I am. Please at least read up on what you should do before you leave, during the ride, and when you arrive to ensure your parents remain safe.

I'm not trying to be an alarmist jerk, even if it sorta sounds that way. I just want everyone to stay safe and healthy.

 

[SarahDisney]

You think it's okay, and now you are heading to your (elderly?) parents house via the subway? In the epicenter of the epidemic? You are a braver person than I am. Please at least read up on what you should do before you leave, during the ride, and when you arrive to ensure your parents remain safe.

I'm not trying to be an alarmist jerk, even if it sorta sounds that way. I just want everyone to stay safe and healthy.

I'm following the guidelines from my office (which were written by people who are following this closely and have experience with public health issues and infectious disease), so I know what I'm doing.

Although yeah, it did sound like you were being an alarmist jerk.

 

[Neon Cactus]

So far, so good for me. I usually work from home, so it hasn't been too much of a change for me. I was stocked up on groceries so I haven't had to deal with stores yet. I've been out running on the weekends on our city trail and it's been pretty crowded, but nothing like normal. One of the restaurants near me reopened today for to-go orders so I walked over and got food from them. I'd won a gift card from them recently, but I told them I'd use it when things are more normal and just paid today, which they appreciated.

 

[MommaBerd]

This last week was the same, different, and very tough. I already homeschool my boys, so that wasn’t an adjustment. However, they take many of their classes with other homeschoolers once a week from teachers. Those teachers all had to make the quick adjustment to digital learning just like traditional schools, at which I think they did a great job! (Several of them are homeschool parents themselves.) Our music lessons even moved to Zoom lessons! Along those same lines, we usually are on the go to those various classes and music lessons, so staying at home ALL the time IS very different. However, I now have lots of extra time, too, so I was easily able to get in my runs and Pilates, and my DH and I went on a long walk yesterday.

And that is where the tough part comes in. My DH and his father started a business selling trade show displays almost 25 years ago. They built it into a hugely successful business. My DH’s motivation and reward for his work was building a great place for people to work. The employees weren’t just employees, they were all a family. They are long-time friends, and some attend the same church as us (or each other).

A couple of years ago, my FIL was ready to retire, so they sold a majority interest in the business to an investment group, but my DH has remained integral in the day-to-day operations. As you can guess, this has destroyed their business - really the entire trade show industry. There is nothing. So he and he management team had the devastating job of laying off 60/84 employees. Those that remain have had to take a major cut in pay. He, the CEO, and CIO are taking no salary, all in the hopes the business can possibly survive this virus. He said it’s as if the business burnt to the ground. Those who were let go didn’t harbor any resentment; they know this is a situation that is out of anyone’s control.

I did feel a bit guilty as I ran/exercised that I was enjoying what I was doing while he was facing such difficult days. But, I knew that I needed to be emotionally healthy and strong to help him and my boys (with whom we we have very open and frank discussions) weather the storm. It’s no good for both of us to be emotionally exhausted.

The highlight of the week has been how creative our church has been with using technology. Thursday night they had online youth group, including a scavenger hunt! It was so funny to see my guys running through the house trying to find all kinds of random things! They had a blast!

So - a lot longer post than anticipated - thanks for listening!

 

[The Expert]

I already work from home, no kids (just the furry kind), and my husband is still taking the walking-distance commute to his office (he's the CEO and everybody else is gone). Our biggest adjustment has been eating, since we typically go out several times a week. We're stocked up but mostly ordering from local restaurants to support them and their staff.

I was dealing pretty well until we had a 5.7 earthquake on Tuesday morning! We're on the 11th floor of a 12-story condo building in downtown Salt Lake. Thankfully the building is newer and built for this, but that means it moves, and BOY DID IT MOVE! I had just come off the elevator from walking the dog, got into my unit and there was a huge BOOM, power went out and then the rocking and rolling went on for a full minute! My poor husband was in the shower and thought he was passing out. He came out frantically looking for me during the shaking.

Thankfully we only had some doll shelves topple and lost some wine glasses. My cats hid for a day or so, and I had to take my 16-year-old dog up and down 11 flights of stairs. Power was back on in a few hours, no building damage and nobody hurt, so we were thankful for that. But we've had more than 200 aftershocks since! My nerves were pretty rattled, but after the first 24 hours or so they were small enough to mostly go unnoticed.

My gym closed this week and I haven't been great about running. I work in animal welfare so my job has been crazy busy with us trying to help shelters get animals adopted and into foster before they have to close to the public. Please, if you're stuck at home, contact your local shelter and foster an animal! Most shelters provide all the supplies you need. They're often operating on an appointment basis right now, so check their website and/or social media pages.

So, yeah, it's been a fun week. Yesterday my husband and I decided to take the hour-long road trip to see the Bonneville Salt Flats. We've lived here more than 25 years and had never bothered to go out there. Well worth the trip! And there were a few others, but you can see we had plenty of space to keep our distance.

 

[Kerry1957]

I'm following the guidelines from my office (which were written by people who are following this closely and have experience with public health issues and infectious disease), so I know what I'm doing.

Although yeah, it did sound like you were being an alarmist jerk.

I'm glad to hear you are being smart about it. It's almost tragic funny (but really just tragic) how what seemed just 7-10 days ago to be over-reacting, alarmist, and just plain silly (Close the schools!, Close the restaurants!, Close all non-essential businesses!, Shelter at home!, Don't leave the house if you can avoid it!) are now pretty established doctrines in most of the country and in large parts of the world.

Sermon over, back to running......

 

[flav]

One happy thought: This is a great occasion to wear leggings and race/running shirts every day! I might be able to wear each one of them (I counted 27 shirts).

 

[sky13]

I work in healthcare (not in the USA) and over the last couple of months I've had to spend a lot of time at work, so I'd taken to running in the gym at work... which is now understandably closed. So went out for a run around my workplace yesterday, which is not great (many roads, lots of construction) but better than nothing.

Grateful I can still go out for a run though, I seem to recall reading that there are some places around the world where lockdown means no running outdoors... Not sure if this will happen where I am (might be just a matter of time).

Unfortunately I still need to commute to work! And I cannot work from home...

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

My DH and his father started a business selling trade show displays almost 25 years ago.

"It's a small world..."

I'm 99 percent sure my brother worked at the company you're talking about until about 6 months ago. Big toys on the walls in one of the conference rooms? I hope they can hang in there.

 

[MommaBerd]

"It's a small world..."

I'm 99 percent sure my brother worked at the company you're talking about until about 6 months ago. Big toys on the walls in one of the conference rooms? I hope they can hang in there.

Yep - that’s the one. Crazy! Is your brother John?

 

[camaker]

In my non-professional opinion, I would say minimal risk as long as you air hug/elbow bump. I played disc golf with a buddy on Thursday and wasn't worried. We were down at Little Mulberry Park, which was fairly crowded.

Once things are back to normal we’ll have to get together for a combo race and disc golf weekend! I don’t know how the courses are down there in GA, but we’ve got some pretty nice ones here in N.C. and they’re working on putting several higher end courses in near me, in addition. My work even set up a 5-hole course that I play at lunch when we’re on site.

 

[baxter24]

It’s going ok here. Adjusting to the kids being home, finding things for them to do for school, helping out around the house, etc. The kids teachers have started to post stuff online for them to do so I’m hoping this week goes smoother. My husband starting working from home on Monday. We turned the office into a playroom when we moved into our house years ago so he is using that space so we have the rest of the house. Making time to run and workout. Just waking up early and running and then I’ve instituted quiet time so I can do my Liift 4 workouts. Thankful we have a backyard for them to play in and so many places live-streaming cool things to help entertain them.