As we move from April into May and more and more people are being vaccinated, there’s no question that change is in the air. In person races are happening, my law firm is making plans to drag us back open up our offices, and I am dreaming of a summer vacation.
Deborah and I will be hosting the May Ultimate Coffee Date this weekend. We’ll open the (link-up) doors Friday May 7th, and keep the coffee brewing.
Change is in the Air
While I am excited at the prospect of returning to my studio classes, I’m not excited about returning to the office. It will be great to see people, but it won’t be great to deal with commuting and traffic. My office hasn’t set a date for when or how it will happen, but they are sending the message—in full color PowerPoint presentations—that it is on the horizon.
The Capitol from the east side,
with the plaza still fenced off.
I’ve noticed a bit of traffic heading to my PT appointments, but it’s still nothing like it was in the before times. When I ran from my office to The Capitol this week, I still didn’t have to wait for a light to cross the roads around the Lincoln Memorial. That would have been unheard at 7 am on a weekday in 2019.
View of the Washington Monument from west side of The Capitol
It definitely feels like change is in the air, but it’s not happening quite yet. It will be a few weeks until my vaccination takes full effect, and I’m hoping it will be a few months before I’m back in the office every day. In the meantime, I will be dipping my toes in the water—dining outdoors with friends, checking out the Corepower and Cyclebar schedules, and, yes, dreaming about that summer vacation.
Weekly Wrap
Another thing I’m ready change is the focus of my PT appointments—from my back to my Achilles. My back probably could benefit from a few more sessions, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to manage twice weekly PT appointments. Between getting there and being there, each appointment takes up about 2 hours of my day. But, I’ll do what it takes to get my running in order.
Monday: Core + 5.2 Scooby Miles + 10 min Strength For Runners
The week started out on the chilly side, but I was determined not to wear the vest I had just washed and put away for the season.
Tuesday: Core + Ride + Upper Body Strength
I’m really struggling to find the mojo for indoor cycling. I’d rather run or just do a longer strength workout. Once I get started, I don’t want to quit, but I do count down the minutes.
Wednesday: Core + 5.2 Scooby Miles + 15 min FB Strength
Back to warm weather—and a lot of humidity
Thursday: Core + 3.7 Scooby Miles + 20 min FB Strength
Fast forward to summer—it was 70F at 6:00 am! After my run and strength workout I did a few short Peloton yoga classes–a 10 min flow focusing on hips and a 5 min chaturanga class.
Friday: Core + 8 miles
I had to run into the office to pick up a new planner and print out some papers, so I decided to do my long run a day early. I ran from my office to the Lincoln Memorial and then around Capitol Hill. My Achilles felt tight most of the way, so I definitely need to get it worked on.
Saturday: Core + Strength for Runners + Upper Body Strength
I was glad not to have a run on tap, because it was crazy windy. I made it a strength day and then had to reckon with how much I’ve neglected my yoga practice when I did a 10 min class focused on side crow. Side crow used to be something I could do without hesitation.
Didn’t realize I was doing my 600th Peloton Strength class!
Sunday: Core + 3.5 Scooby Miles + 28.5 mile Bike Ride
Another swing in the weather, with the day starting in the mid-50s but heading for the mid-80s. It was sunny when I headed it out at 6:30, so I probably could have done without the long sleeves. My Achilles barely made it’s presence known during this short run, which makes me optimistic that it is getting better.
The temperature rose more than 10F during our 1:45 bike ride, from the low 70s to the mid-80s. There also was a warm wind. Still felt good to be outside!
Weekly running miles: 25.6
April running miles: 108
Thanks to Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down link up.
Do you feel like change is in the air?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
I am not ready to head back to core power or a cycle class anywhere yet. Not sure i ever will! I am ready to try an indoor restaurant next weekend but I think I am going to be nervous. My husband is ready to go back to his office. I do feel like change is in the air and things are feeling a little more normal like
My husband is looking forward to biking to work again. His mileage has suffered working from home.
I feel like traffic on my commute is pretty much back to normal. Sadly, lol. My sister and I ate at a restaurant last weekend and we went to the Art Institute. It felt good to do some ‘normal’ things, although we were masked!
I don’t think any of the Smithsonian museums are open yet, but they are making plans to open soon with timed entries.
I can still jaywalk sometimes, but not as frequently as last summer or even this time last year. Always love your DC runs and yay on a better achilles this morning.
Such a weird weather week.
I don’t think I’m ready to go back to the gym, but heavier weights would be nice.
I just realized I need my office gym to open to make my workout-on-the-way-to-work solution to morning traffic work. Maybe that will be my excuse ….
I can’t run to work since there’s no gym location close enough to shower at, so I’ll likely walk to and run home
Traffic here is much heavier than it has been but still not quite what it was pre-COVID. I did just this morning learn of a friend who went to a 12-person gathering at a home recently. All were fully vaccinated except for one and one other only had one dose so far. Both of them came down with COVID. Enjoy your bike ride!
Gosh, that raises a lot of questions. I am heeding the warnings about not being protected until a few weeks after your second dose ….
I feel the same about returning to the office….I just love the flexibility of wfh. It’s going to be a tough transition!
Wow- just read Marcia’s comment above and scary! Ugh, I really hope the vaccine works.
It is going to be a tough transition! There was an article in the Washington Post about vaccinated people getting coivd — most were between doses or exposed before their first dose. Still 90-something percent effective still means some people won’t be protected.
I agree with you that change is in the air. Although I feel better now that I’m fully vaccinated, I don’t think I’ll be going out that often – I’m just still not ready for large crowds of people yet.
My job just recently sent out a return to office memo stating a hybrid option starting in July. I’m a permanent work from home employee since our office closed in October, so I don’t have to worry about the return to office, but if I did I like the hybrid option of working a few days from home and a few days in the office. Do you think that’s what your office will do?
Congrats on your 600th Peloton strength workout – such an awesome accomplishment!
I think our office will have some flexible guidelines, but aren’t willing to say attorneys can work x days a week at home (yet). I think market pressures will make them be more flexible, but it will take time.
We are phasing our staff back to the office, as well. The majority of employees have either been single or double-vaccinated. We’re still encouraging masks when not in your own personal work station, though. Seems like the wind has been annoying a lot of us recently…it’s been crazy in Iowa! I’m doing a lot more walking outside, as opposed to indoor cycling, because the outdoor biking is too tough (most days)…so I totally emphasize on not feeling the indoor cycling thing LOL
I need our Zoom rides to get me back on my bike, I guess! I think most of our employees are in the process of being vaccinated, but since they aren’t requiring it, they may still impose mask wearing for a while, although I’m not sure that’s fair ….
Florida is a weird place. We’ve pretty much been going about business as usual for a while now, just wearing masks everywhere. Now that so many people have been vaccinated there’s lot of speculation, about when the mask mandate will be lifted, when we can relax some of the safety protocols at work… not quite yet! But I’m starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.
Sounds like you had a great week of running. Good luck with the achilles!
Looks like today is your lucky day to stop wearing masks. I hope it goes well!
Even though I’m back to the office 2 days a week its so different. Instead of 20-30 of us there there are only 4-5. And all our meetings are still virtual. Its kind of nice to have a quiet office but I really dont see the point in being there and I do appreciate the days I can work from home. Traffic is back to being pretty bad around here!
You obviously need a Powerpoint presentation to understand why you should be back in the office. 😛 Now that you mentioned it, I think we aren’t supposed to have in-person meetings either — so, we are supposed to go back to our offices to join meetings on Teams.
Things have been open for a while here, but I remember what is was like when no one was on the roads or in the stores. Traffic still isn’t quite as bad, but I do feel like a lot of offices are staying remote for a little while longer, if not permanently. Strange days, man, strange days.
Hi Scooby!
Yes, I heard covid is over in Florida now. Just when I thought I might get my husband to go out to eat, I’m not sure he’ll be willing to eat inside if people aren’t wearing masks, although I know people take them off to eat anyway ….
My brother (also a lawyer) couldn’t wait to get back into his office full time (family woes).
Mr. Judy was commenting on more traffic recently. We’re not in a big city, so quite frankly, for the most part, I never really noticed a huge difference.
I definitely noticed the “ghost town” feel during the start of the shutdown. I’ve even noticed more traffic when I’m out for my neighborhood runs.
There was a little of it, but not that much here. And drivers driving crazy more than made up for it!
I’m happy to be on the vaccination road, but don’t foresee myself returning to studio classes any time soon. I am looking forward to being more social, but I think I’ll still lean towards more outdoor venues. A summer vacation sounds so nice!
Congrats on your 600th strength class!
I think I’ll take it slowly, but I’m willing to give my studios a try ….
I really want to get a Peloton, but I am not crazy about indoor biking workouts, so I am holding out on that. Yes, it seems more and more employers are opening offices back up. It will be interesting because I saw a stat on a study that said 46% of remote workers *(due to COVID) would consider looking for another employment that would allow them to stay at home. It will be interesting for sure.
Congrats on the 600th strength class! That is pretty amazing!! My commute to work is about the same. I like it because I was bored and tired of working from home. However, now I am ready to stay home. I hate teaching with a mask.
I hope your firm gets enough pressure that it relents on having everyone come in. We’ve proved it can be done, right? My husband’s employer Oracle has no plans to folks ever come back in.