Hello there strangers. I can’t believe the first quarter of 2021 is nearly over. While time during lockdown seems to go slow, these last few months have flown by. Sorry I haven’t been around much. Hopefully, you have been keeping an eye on me over on Instagram and Facebook, which means you have seen that I am aiming to run 20 miles per week towards a Phoenix Running virtual ultra. I have to run 862 miles and so far I have completed 237. The race is Antarctica themed, so I have set myself a goal of finishing the miles by the end of 2021, or if I am sick or injured by the time I leave for my Antarctica cruise in February 2022.
I am getting ahead of myself. Let me give you a brief update month by month of 2021 so far.
January
At my day job, Covid has severely affecting staffing levels. We are lucky enough to be tested weekly but it also means there is a greater chance you will have someone test positive. We were hoping January would offer a reprieve but we were still haunted by high number of cases on the team. For me, it meant working more to cover people and falling behind on admin duties. Covid cannot be helped and we had been navigating this since the summer of 2020. Like many other people, we were hopeful for an end. But we didn’t have much luck.
My virtual training group (VTG) started in January and the group did amazing hitting their goals! We finished at the start of March and the participants requested for the program to run again asap. I am currently putting everything into place. We start again on Monday 6 April. Register here for early bird pricing offer of 63% off through the end of March.
I am proud to say I stuck to my goal of not eating cookie dough or drinking Jack Daniels from 4-31 January. I also hit my running goals of 18 miles/week in January and 20 miles/week for most of February. Sadly, I totally dropped the ball on my physio therapy twice a week goal. Which is ridiculous because all I want to do it run pain-free and faster. You’d think logic would be a good motivator!
My year began with a successful pitch to Stylist magazine Stronger Women online platform. I was commissioned to write an article about the Run Grateful movement and how women find gratitude helps them with their training and in daily life. It was wonderful to hear so many powerful stories. As soon as I hear the article is live, I will let you know.
Also starting in January, I became the (volunteer) president of my professional association. This is really what has taken my time away from blogging. There is so much I want to accomplish for my industry and not enough time in the day. January and February were spent frantically putting together the final pieces of a three day online workshop that my association co-hosted. I had never attended the workshop before, so didn’t know what to expect. My co-organizers were based in California which made check-ins a bit tough. All sides learned a lot but the event (which happened in the last week of February) was very well received, which was a relief.
Finally, I feel very fortunate to have received my Covid vaccination through my employer. They started a vaccine clinic and had spare doses available. I received my second dose two days ago and am looking forward to applying for a vaccine passport if it every becomes a thing in the UK.
Oh, and Maple turned one.
February
As I mentioned, much of the month was coaching my VTG and planning the conference (on top of work and running goals). Because I like to over-commit (it is a lifelong theme), I had also agreed to write a book chapter and perform a systematic review as extra curricular activities to work. I am passionate about the subject but found much of my spare time outside of work was spent on the conference (even my annual leave days). These, sadly, were pushed to the side.
It feels a bit weird to say I turned 42 in February. I keep forgetting how old I am! I don’t ‘feel’ 40 and I hope I don’t look it either. I neve wear make up or style my hair, so maybe I do! Only essential stores (those that sell groceries) were open in the UK so James cooked eggplant parmesan on my request as all restaurants were also shut. Our birthday tradition is that he takes me to the theatre for my birthday but again, none were open. We ended up doing on online Thai cooking class later in the week instead, which was very hard to keep up with, but the end result was delicious!
March
One year since the UK went into lockdown. One year since we adopted Maple. One year since we travelled abroad. I haven’t had my haircut since 20 October 2020 (my next appointment is 5 May 2021). We haven’t been to the pub or out to eat since mid-December. I feel very fortunate that England had a united approach on regulations and appreciate it is easier to do when the country is about the size of Michigan. Seeing how the United States has responded to Covid has been frustrating. I need to remember that everyone is doing the best they can. Please stay safe people.
I welcomed a third personal training client this month who came to me from Duty to Care. This amazing charity offers free wellbeing support to anyone who works for the NHS. Now that we are one year into Covid, more and more people are registering for their services. I don’t know how NHS staff have remained resilient for so long. Please consider making a donation if you can.
Earlier this month, I auditioned for an indoor cycling company that offers online classes. Spinning will always be my first love. It is how I survived the stress of grad school and how I got started in the fitness industry. Due to the pandemic, I haven’t taught indoor cycling in a year and I miss it so much. Nothing makes me happier that moving to fun music. Stay tuned to find out if my application is successful. 🙂
This month, I also ran a virtual half marathon in the hopes of winning free entry to Tokyo Marathon in 2023. It is the longest distance I have done in one go so far this year and it was tough. I was hoping that my weekly miles would mean I would see a performance improvement. But sadly, this isn’t the case yet. My nutrition I am booked to go in October this year, but it looks like there are still too many variables in terms of the pandemic to allow for international travel. Decisions will need to be made closer to the time. Postponing to 2023 isn’t ideal either but I will hopefully be in Antarctica in 2022. #firstworldproblems, I know.
Another volunteer role I have taken on is the Runsome Running Mayor of Wanstead Flats. The Running Mayors Network is an initiative to champion the role of running in our cities & places. Running Mayors inspire more people to run local, everyday journeys. This is running as a form of active travel, as an alternative to jumping in the car, as well as for leisure and sport. I have lots of ideas for this and three boroughs to work with. There are 60 of us all together and everyone is passionate about this project. We have one year to get it all done and I know the results will be huge.
To end March, I have had the last week and a bit off to prevent loosing any annual leave. We put Maple in the kennel for a few days while we sanded and painted the main hallway. It was getting pretty dirty as it the hallway you have to travel in to get anywhere in the flat (this includes dogs, bikes, garden waste, and rubbish all passing through). It looks awesome but was a lot of work. I tend to like everything to be perfect and that is hard to achieve when the walls are not flat, or at 90 degrees to each other and the skirting board is also wonky. We did the best we could. The paint is meant to be easy to clean and we hope that is the case.
I still have a few more days off. The plan is hiring a virtual assistant to help update the blog a bit. I am also working on a few new blog posts about running shoes, merino wool, lockdown dates nights, and stress incontinence. What a sexy mix, eh?
Please leave a comment below and let me know how 2021 has been for you so far.
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