On March 1st, I completed a 20 mile race around Oulton Park motor racing circuit - it's possibly my worst ever race experience for a whole host of reasons which now seen inconsequential, but I did it and that was what mattered at the time.
Straight after the race, I took the train up to Manchester to join up with Mr T and meet our friend Sarah. We had cocktails and Caribbean food and then went to celebrate Christmas in March at Tailenders Live. Tailenders is a loosely based cricketing podcast with a Radio 1 DJ (Greg White), a Maccabee (Felix White), England's greatest ever bowler (Jimmy Anderson) and a shoe salesman from Bristol (Matchin Tendulkar). It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever but I love it. I wore my Christmas dress. I did not look out of place. It was ridiculous and made us all laugh out loud. Jimmy Anderson shredded a mango and a mince pie. Standard fare on Tailenders!
After that slightly weird start to the month, everything seemed relatively normal for a while.
- I was enjoying my morning walks to work along the canal, although the geese are obviously nesting along the canal so those walks had the occasional moment of jeopardy.
- I was working my way through some great podcasts and programmes on BBC Sounds - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Agatha Christie's Mrs McGinty's Dead, The Kraken Wakes, a few more interesting guests on Don't Tell Me The Score. I still don't know what happened to the Isdal Woman.
- I was getting into the swing of my training for Race to the Castle with lots of mileage and even a 9-mile run before work.
- I was making plans for a trip to Cardiff to watch rugby, a holiday to the Isle of Wight in April, a couple of concerts in May and a few birthday treats in June.
And now it seems like everything has changed.
On Monday, I had to cancel all organised sessions at my running club on Potters Trotters. No more club nights; a decision I would never have expected to make. For most of us, running is something we do as a community. We run together to stay safe and encourage one other. We can't do that for a while; at least not in person.
On Wednesday, the inevitable decision about a parkrun pause was announced. That hit hard too; parkrun is such a part of our lives; whether at home or on our travels. Hanley parkrun is home but our last parkrun for a while crossed a country border, spanned three counties, crossed two rivers and was run on a bridge!
By that point too, the transition to home working was underway. For the foreseeable future, no walks to work or lunchtime wanders in the park. Lots of technological challenges to overcome. Lots of issues around isolation to manage. Microsoft Teams instead of water cooler conversations.
Thursday was a struggle.
Images of selfishness and intolerance on social media (I'm working on limiting my connected time). News from friends and family members with significant health concerns. Friends with frontline jobs under ridiculous pressure - be kind, everyone. Friends in the hospitality industry with jobs at risk. Friends with children struggling to take in that the exams they've worked so hard for are to be cancelled.
But I was buoyed by a lunchtime conference call with friends. Club mates from Potters Trotters shared ideas for exercise and random things to make us laugh. A teams chat with a colleague. I followed an exercise routine and tried skipping. A new episode of Tailenders - the isolation special - made me laugh despite the difficult message. My new exercise bike arrived (first purchase from Argos in a long time). I surprised myself by being able to put it together with only one minor incident (there's a lost screw somewhere).
In the space of a week, we are all seeking to a find a new normal.
Since Friday, I've been making some changes to start the adjustment process.
Instead of my 25 minute walk to work, I did 25 minutes on my exercise bike. It wasn't quite the same but I do still have a great view. With the door open, I can get fresh air too. That's as good as it gets when my new commute is actually only 5 metres. I know I'm really lucky to be able to make this change so quickly and easily. I followed a recommendation from SportAtStaffs for a lunchtime workout - not a walk around the lake but a great opportunity to move around and get away from the computer screen for a while. And then I did my 25 minute cycle "home again" at the end of my working day. So that's my new weekday routine sorted. I'll put that into action again on Monday.
But for the weekend?
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I didn't get up for parkrun. My Saturday didn't start with a run briefing, a 5k run, a barcode scan and fresh air (although we did join in with the parkrun big quiz). More importantly though, it was the people I missed most - a few friends created our own version of parkrun café - tea, toast and chat in a virtual way - it may have taken us a while, but we are starting to get the hang of Google hangouts. We talked about trivial things and serious things; just as we would if we were all together in one place.
Instead of football or a long run, there was DIY (without disaster); jobs around the house that we should have done ages ago.
I finally hung up my running medals and some favourite race photos are now up on the walls. I sorted out my card-making supplies and might even find the time to get creative again soon.
I did some tidying up. My sister, nieces and I have set ourselves a "throw out / donate" challenge - for every bag of rubbish/recycling/donations, we are putting money into a "party fund" for a celebratory day out when the time is right. We've managed two and half bags on day one. Good progress I think. £12.50 in the party fund.
I sorted and set-up my home office again - putting my 500 page PhD thesis to good use as a computer stand and adding the pig of happiness to my pin board (thanks Emily for the drawing). I think I may need to watch that on a regular basis over the next few weeks; but my work station is all set.
I'm making a menu plan for the week ahead. My recipe books are being dusted off. We are playing "ready, steady, cook" and eating up all the food in our freezer and food cupboards. It follows on from the fruit and vegetable challenges completed in recent months and Sarah and Jenni are joining in again too. The only food shopping we did was to order a vegetable box for delivery on Monday. We don't know exactly what will be included... I'm excited about what we can create.
It's only the beginning and I know there will be challenges for my physical and mental wellbeing. We don't know how long this will last. There are frustrations, like cancelled events and non-refundable hotel bookings. I'm not really sure what to do about Race to the Castle (scheduled for June) and I've taken a break from training this week. But these are trivial concerns compared with the pressures being experienced by those working to tackle the spread of the virus and keeping supplies in the shops or those with existing health concerns. Thanks to everyone playing their part.
So as long as there is a requirement for social distancing, this will be my new normal. It's the least I can do.
If I go out running, it will be on my own or with Mr T.
If I go to the shops, it will be for essentials only, understanding what we need rather than what we want.
We've got books to read and box sets to watch (Hunters on Amazon Prime at the moment). There are lots more jobs around the house but if anyone needs any help with something and we can do it remotely, let us know.
I'll still be in touch with my friends and family; it will just be via Google hangouts, WhatsApp, Facebook or even the old fashioned telephone (hello Mum and Happy Mother's Day). If you need anything, let us know.
If I find something that makes me smile or offers encouragement, I'll share it. I'll send virtual hugs when I can.
It's a quieter, contained stay-at-home normal.
It's what is needed.
For everyone.
Stay home if you can.
Stay safe.
Liz T.
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