Flattening the Curve for 1,500 Miles

Quarantines, closings, postponements, deferments, cancellations, rescheduling, delays, upside down holidays, no gatherings, shelter-in-place, wear a mask, sanitize your hands, social distance yourself...but keep your head up and virtually smile 2020! 

What a load of crap this running year turned out to be. We did get to squeeze in a handful of races, but if there was ever a time when one needed to dig deep and find some personal motivation to keep putting in the miles - this was the biggest test ever. Area running organizations held challenges to assist in keeping us moving and entertained (which were a big help), but it was ultimately up to you to keep moving. Remember the Seinfeld episode where George was hired and given the Penske file, of which he had no clue what he was supposed to do with it...yeah, it was a lot like that. Unless you put in the effort to try and make sense out of it, you were George....a short, fat, bald man, with no money and no job who lives with his parents. 

Luckily, L and I were able to keep each other motivated enough to keep the legs moving (and unlike many unfortunate folks, employed). Finding a variety of area parks and trails for some new scenery became a fun, near weekly, thing. Being a stats geek, Strava & Garmin Connect keep me personally entertained and chasing numerous running friends from near & far.

Before 2020 vomited on itself, we did get to run the 5th Line 5k in Columbus, February's  Break the Ice 5k in South Haven, Michigan and the Arnold Classic 5k in March. From then on things simply got weird. I did, though, get the chance to take part in The Buck Fifty 150 Mile Team Relay with team Traffic Panthers for a fourth straight year, though it did get postponed from April to late July. 

We even took part in the socially distanced Holland Haven Half Marathon in Holland, Michigan in September where L ran her first half ever (which also required us to bike 18 miles back to the start area to retrieve the car following the 13.1 mile run). Not to mention the socially distanced Delaware Turkey Trot 5k in our own town on Thanksgiving Day. It was nice to run a relatively real race...but we are eager to get back to normal.

Our Columbus Running Company Tuesday Night Track group began, as always, in April - though we only met once before COVID forced us to do the speed workouts on our own time. It was weird not to see those familiar faces on a weekly basis, but we kept tabs on one another utilizing this thing called the "internet"... maybe you have heard of it? 😁

I have continued doing a track work out each Tuesday on my own, it helps to break up the monotony of putting in general miles. Sooner or later, I'm hoping I can put that work into a competitive race with real people....wow, can you imagine?! Working on outrunning people instead of segments is much more my cup of tea, unless you are one of those clowns who collect crowns because you have no other real purpose in life - then have at it.

Despite all of this ridiculousness I topped 1,500 (1,510) miles in my 45th year of existence - by far the most I can ever remember putting in (college was a long time ago and I don't recollect the mileage covered, the mid '90's were a blast) and about 150 more than 2019. 

So the decade began as a giant disappointment for us in most areas, but I'm sure this only means bigger and better things ahead. Try to relax, wear your mask, wash your hands, be kind, relax and patiently await the COVID-free world we are all looking forward to...whether it be in 2021 or soon thereafter...it will all be good....

  Better Than Ezra - Good

Looking around the house

Hidden behind the window and the door

Searching for signs of life but there's nobody home

Well, maybe I'm just too sure

Or maybe I'm just too frightened by the sound of it

Pieces of note fall down, but the letter said 'aha'

It was good, living with you, aha

It was good, ah-wa-aha

It was good, living with you, aha

It was good, aw, good good good good good good

Sitting around the house

Watching the sun trace shadows on the floor

Searching for signs of life, but there's nobody home

Now maybe I'll call, or write you a letter

Now maybe we'll see on the Fourth of July

But I'm not too sure, and I'm not too proud

Well I'm not too sure, and I'm not too proud to say 'aha'

It was good, living with you, aha

It was good, ah-wa-aha

It was good, living with you, aha

It was good, aw

So good

A-aha

It was good, living with you, aha

It was good, ah-wa-aha

It was good, living with you, aha

It was good, ah-ah-ah-ah-wa

Yeah, you were so good.

Yeah, you were so good