Sunday, March 22, 2020

Running Away

“As this epidemic has progressed, we have had to make some hard decisions. To avoid the loss of potentially tens of thousands of lives, we must enact an immediate stay at home order for the state of Illinois, so that is the action that I’m announcing today.” ~ Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, 3/20/20
Most of us were already prepared for this. We've been staying home as much as possible, save for going to the grocery store and work. We've been running and working out, either solo or in very small groups. Those of us who can, and that includes me! are working from home. While many are complaining about the restrictions and inconveniences, most of us are grateful for the ability to continue our lives via technology.

These are challenging times but personally I've been impressed by the ability of so many businesses and people to adapt to the restrictions. Life hasn't stopped! Although on my walk this morning, it sure felt like it. There was no one out in my neighborhood. It was a little eerie!

Wednesday's St Patrick's day run

Weekly Rundown:
Monday: virtual CrossFit
Tuesday: 6 miles on the bike path
Wednesday: virtual CrossFit
Thursday: virtual CrossFit
Friday: rest
Saturday: COVID 19 Mile Social Distancing Challenge (virtual race)
Sunday: 2 mile walk with Cocoa, Yoga with Adriene

Running
Even though I came home early from Florida,  I was still on vacation all week. I took advantage of some good weather to run 6 miles on Tuesday. The luck of the Irish was with me on this run. Even though everyone was 'social distancing', I got to pet some very friendly dogs. The library along the bike path, which has been closed for the virus, was open for voting and I snuck in to use the bathroom and get some water. On my way home, I passed a dad and his kids who were on a scavenger hunt, looking for some shamrocks. Glad I wore my Shamrock Shuffle hat!

Last week, I signed up for the COVID 19 Mile Social Distance Challenge. What was I thinking? I'll tell you what I was thinking about--that DNS in Florida. Not only was I upset about missing my race, I had all this training under my belt and I didn't get to use it. Plus, there was novelty in running 19 miles! On Saturday morning, I headed out to run 19 miles. It's been 4 years since I've run anything farther than a half marathon, but I figured I should try. With 24 hours to complete the distance, I could split it up and finish the next morning. I hoped not to have to do that.

For insurance, I wore my InkNBurn Run or Die shirt--I mean really, what else would do? My plan was to run it ultra-marathon style, with four 4.5 mile loops around my neighborhood. I stopped at home after each loop for fuel and the bathroom, but didn't linger. This was a great plan! My route was not pretty--it took me along 3 major thoroughfares and along the highway, but it worked for what I needed and I had my music to distract me.

19 miles-DONE!!!!
I was surprised at how great my legs felt--naturally I was tired at the end, but my pace was pretty consistent. Indulge me please--I never post my splits, but looking at this just made me so happy!


I am SO GLAD I did this. What a wonderful feeling to know that I still have endurance left in these old legs. And kudos to my strength coach, Sammy Jo, for the amazing strength training she's been doing with me. All that hard work is paying off on the road and the trails. I can't wait to get back in the gym to work with her!

CrossFit
The CrossFit box is closed but the workouts didn't stop! The 4 coaches took turns posting virutal workouts. On Monday, it was raining and snowing so I did the workout inside. There was running, which I did on the treadmill, along with burpees and atomic situps. The strength portion had plank walkouts and Bulgarian split squats.

Yes, it was snowing. 
I took Wednesday's and Thursday's classes outside. On Wednesday, we did a Tabata Triathlon: flutter kicks, bicycles, and shuttle runs. The strength component was 'Linda-ish'; a 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 of sumo deadlift high pulls, floor presses, and modified KB swings. On Thursday, we did a tough 28 minute workout with a running clock. There were 3 AMRAPs which included double unders (I did singles) among other fun things.

Yoga
I woke up Sunday morning pretty sore from the previous day's long run. Personally, I don't believe in running the day after a long run--I like to give my legs a break. I took Cocoa for a walk and then I came home to stretch it all out on the mat with Adriene. I chose a 40 minute flow which hit all the hot spots. I felt great when I was done and really, isn't that the whole objective?

She encouraged us to play with our arm positions during this boat pose variation.



ROAD iD review and a GIVEAWAY!

As a long time solo, social distancing runner, I've had the opportunity to use ROAD iD since the product was first introduced. Initially, the ID band was large and a big clunky. I used to take the ID badge off the band and slide it onto my wristwatch band. Fast forward to the present and ROAD iD has completely revamped its product lines. In addition to the original wrist ID, there are shoe IDs and pet IDs! As an ambassador for ROAD iD, I've had the opportunity to try several of the products, including the sidekick ID, which slides onto a watchband and the pin-tuck 13mm ID, which is a slim silicone band that I wear alongside my Garmin. This is my favorite and it comes in a variety of colors. This week ROAD iD is sharing 2 gift cards with me to giveaway to my followers! The giveaway is on my Instagram and is open until Tuesday, 3/24/20. US residents only. 


GIVEAWAY!
Are you staying home? Working from home? Running outside? What virtual workouts have you been doing? Do you have a ROADid?

I'm linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Rundown.





47 comments :

  1. I did the COVID 19 mile social distance run as well!!! That is amazing that you did it in one run, congratulations! I was a bit of a wuss and did it in two runs within 24 hours. I'll talk about it in my post on Tuesday.
    Also, well done on doing the virtual Crossfit workouts. Have a great week!

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    1. I'm glad you did it too! Looking forward to hearing about it.

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  2. I saw that 19 miler on Strava, but was too brain dead to figure out why you ran 19 miles! I'm definitely still running outside, not owning a treadmill might have something to do with that ;)

    Not long after I left my comment on your Friday post, we decided to fly home. Les' boss encouraged it and we thought it would be better to be in our own home. We hurriedly booked a flight for 3 p.m. yesterday and learned on the way to the airport that the flight was canceled. We were 2 hours early and were able to switch to another airline and still get home. The flight was only about 2/3 full. It wasn't without a LOT of stress and hassle, but we slept in our own bed last night and now I'm not concerned if flights get canceled. We can drive to our family if was have to now.

    I have the ROADiD sidekick and Les has one that clips to his cycling shoe. It's a great company!

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    1. My parents are still planning on coming home this week. I hope their plane is as empty as yours!

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  3. Dang, 19 miles is huge! I like the idea of breaking it up, which is what you would have done for the trail race anyway. Congrats on finishing it!

    I love my Road iD and need it more than ever now that I have medical info on it.

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    1. That was my thought; stop at home on each loop for no more than 5 minutes to take care of business. So glad I got it all done in one outing!

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  4. Thanks for the heads-up on the COVID-10 run, that was a great "little" distraction in the midst of this crazy era. Too bad it's not under better circumstances, but hopefully this will be but a surreal memory before long...

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  5. My head spins when I think about how much has changed since just last week. I don't think I've ever been as grateful for my workouts as I am now.

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    1. You and me both. Who would ever have thought that I'd be able to work from home? I think this is going to change a lot of the way we do things for good.

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  6. It's so ironic that COVID-19 brought an early end to treadmill season for me. WFH = no commute which = enough daylight to run in before work starts. Those runs mean more than ever now. Shelter in place isn't mandatory for us yet but frankly it will be soon and it's just common sense. I'm very thankful that hubs and I can WFH and the kids are just delighted at not having to go to school.

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    1. I'm grateful that I can work from home too! It's great that you can run outside now. We're going to need that fresh air more than ever.

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  7. Congrats on going 19 miles! Sounds like you're taking things (cough) in stride. ;)

    Things haven't really changed too much for me. Yet.

    I forgot to mention the signs on the highway as I drove to the bike path:

    Stay home, stop the spread
    Stay home, save lives

    Crazy times.

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    1. My life has pretty much turned upside down, but yep, taking it all in stride! :p

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  8. Look at that great big long run - well done you!

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    1. That was such a surprise--being able to do the whole thing, but I definitely was trained to go the distance. Glad my fitness held up.

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  9. Congrats on the 19 miles! That's a huge accomplishment. I'll have to try yoga with Adriene. I definitely have a lot of kinks to work out. I'm glad that I still have all my home gym equipment even though I've become a studio class junkie.

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    1. I felt so much better after my yoga sesh! I was pretty sore after my run yesterday. The stretching did me good.

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  10. Congrats on your 19 miler! You sure do have some endurance left lots of it. Way to keep up all of your cross fit. Maybe we will all be in better shape after this whole thing. Thanks for linking up and have a great week ahead

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    1. I'm worried about losing strength--I don't see how I can maintain what I've gotten with SJ without the heavy lifting. I'll do what I can!

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  11. Congrats on that 19 miler! Amazing!

    I love that your Crossfit is still offering solid virtual workouts. So fun!

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    1. I was so happy about that long run! Nice to know it's still in me.

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  12. Just so you know, I'm thinking about signing up for the COVID 19 miler - peer pressure! I don't think I could go out and do 19 miles like you did (rockstar!) but because it can be done in a 24 hour period, I think I can do it! I'll have to see how my legs and knee feel on Friday - hopefully I can do it.

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    1. Do it!!! I'm excited for you. And you can break it up as much as you need. No shame at all.

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  13. Congrats on that 19 miler! I swore off long runs for awhile, but of course I had to sign up for that challenge as soon as I saw everyone posting about it (doh!!). Maybe I would do better to split it up, or maybe I'll be feeling less sore next weekend... Thanks for the FOMO. LOL!!

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    1. Ha! I was planning on splitting it up into 2 runs but the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to do that. I had the fitness...I just needed the confidence!

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  14. So sorry your Florida race was a DNS! that Covid-19 challenge sounds awesome. I did 13 miles today in a virtual half. Maybe I could do 6 tomorrow and complete the challenge. I am hoping our rec center some virtual classes. In the meantime, I have been running more than ever. Stay safe out there!

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  15. Fantastic job on that 19-miler! I think if my mileage were up higher I would give that challenge a shot.

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  16. working from home...a lot more walking and running so not to go crazy. The weather was great last week but this week- snow?? I don't own a tm...oh well.

    Congrats on that 19 miler. I considered it...for a second lol

    I'm continuing to train and do my races virtually...what the hell.

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    1. Looks like there aren't going to be any 'real' races for quite a while.

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  17. While I am sorry that your trip got cut short, what a week of workouts you got in.

    I am sending good thoughts to you through this time. Our medical and health worker community is more vital than ever, and you are so appreciated. <3

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    1. Thank you so much Jenn! Grateful that I have the ability to work from home right now.

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  18. Those are some seriously amazing ultra running paces. Way to go lady! This week has been another roller coaster that I wish I could get off. I'm still working but every day is a big question mark if we'll be back the next. We are looking into a telehealth option but there's a ton of red tape. I may find myself unemployed soon. Super sad but at least it'll be temporary and Ron is still working. Crazy times.

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    1. Really sad about the whole thing--but grateful that my husband is still able to work too. He's currently working on a municipal job and those have not been shut down yet.

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  19. CONGRATS on the 19, that's awesome.
    And you're absolutely right about technology and adapting, we're lucky to be living at a time when we can have some portable jobs. Awesome on your coaches for doing virtual workouts -- and I love your puppy coach in the pic. Stay safe

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    1. Back at you! I've got more Coach Cocoa photos coming up tomorrow.

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  20. Congrats on your 19 mile run! Thats so great that your coaches are posting workouts online. Ive been working from home but my husband works at a healthcare facility (in a management role) and has had to go in. Thats great that you have been able to work from home! Are you seeing patients via telehealth?

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    1. That's exactly what I'm doing! So far it's been via phone. I'm nervous to do video visits, but I know that is coming up. I think this is really going to change things down the road for a lot of us.

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  21. That's great that you were able to do the cross fit workouts virtually! And good job with that virtual race :) 19 miles is an interesting distance.

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  22. Great job with the 19 miles! And glad you are able to work from home, I'm sure that's a relief.

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    1. I'm so relieved to be at home right now. Seriously scary times.

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  23. Congrats on your 19-miler, Wendy! That's awesome and your splits are quite impressive. :-)

    I've had a shoe Road ID since the early days when you had to mail in an order to the address you found in the back pages of Runner's World. I think I got my first one in 1998 or 99.

    For the last week and a half I have completely suspended my personal training business. I plan to start virtual training a few clients via FaceTime and FB Live later this week. I decided to give myself some grace and allow myself to feel better before I started pushing it.

    It's great that you're able to work from home. Are you seeing patients via Telehealth?

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  24. I did not read the instructions correctly and thought the virtual race had to be done by the end of the month and not in 24 hours. Great job on yours!!! You did very well. I also have a Road ID and love it. I wear it all of the time and never take if off. I've been home for over a week and miss my routine. But I am an introvert and like being at home. :-)

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