Well, here we are. It’s the first weekend in May and, at least in Virginia, we are still staying at home. But we also are starting to look ahead. We may not know when restrictions will be lifted just yet, but state and local governments and businesses are trying to figure out how to re-open safely and what life will look like in the weeks and months to come. Personally, I’m grateful to be watching from the sidelines for now, and bracing for a new reality.
Image Credit: NAIAD-RML
Bracing For A New Reality
At work, my colleagues are busy keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of federal, state, and local executive orders, policies, guidelines, and regulations governing who can do what, when, and how. While a number of law firms have implemented salary cuts and furloughs, so far my firm has managed to hold steady by trimming budgets and limiting overtime. With my trip to Europe canceled (I was supposed to arrive in Copenhagen today), I’ve done my part by not spending that chunk of my marketing budget.
But the sad side of the pandemic has started to hit close to home. My son’s fiancee is at risk of being furloughed, and they are trying to figure out what that would mean for her health insurance. Would coverage last until the end of the month? Would she qualify for Medicaid? Could she COBRA her current plan? Should they get married now so she can be on his plan? Is it even possible to get married now with the state under a shutdown order? These are big, complicated questions for a young couple to have to figure out.
Yesterday I learned that my favorite Orangetheory coach has been furloughed. We rode past his house on our bike ride, and when I saw him outside, I stopped to say “hi” and thank him for coaching the Orangetheory At Home workouts on Zoom. That’s when he broke the news. He was matter-of-fact about it, but I am crushed. I will miss him. I will worry about him and his family. I will wrestle with holding it against Orangetheory, knowing my local studio is a small business franchise with its own struggles but wondering if they could have handled things differently.
I know this is the tip of the iceberg of business that won’t be opening as usual–or it all–even when they are allowed to. It was a smack in the face with the reality that some people I know and love will be unemployed when the rest of us can go back to work.
Weekly Run Down
Now that you know what is weighing on my mind, here’s a run down of what I’ve done to try to burn off the stress–or least forget about it for a while. I’m so glad to have such a strong virtual social network for support and encouragement.
Monday: 30 min Peloton treadmill workout + 50 min OTF At Home workout
I wanted to support the 6:30 am Zoom workout offered my OTF studio but also wanted to get some running in, so I started a 30 minute Peloton treadmill workout at 6:00 am and then logged into to Zoom, missing the first few minutes of the warm-up, which I clearly didn’t need.
I should have known OTF’s “greatest HIITs” workout would include last week’s block with box jumps and plank jacks. Phew!
Tuesday: 5.5 Scooby Miles + OTF At Home workout
I started the day with 5.5 Scooby miles, and had to stop for a picture of this beautiful azalea.
I’m so glad I also made time for what turned out to be Brandon’s last Orangetheory At Home workout. This one had cardio and strength moves in each block, until the last block which combined the previous cardio moves. To avoid overdoing it, I did those on my mini trampoline instead of my hard basement floor.
Wednesday: 45 min Peloton Bootcamp workout
After hearing great things about the Peloton bootcamp workouts from Kim, I finally remember to try one. I opted for 45 minute bootcamp workout with two treadmill blocks and two strength blocks that covered all the bases.
Yep, it passed the sweat test,
even with the door open to let in cooler air!
Thursday: Strength workout mash-up
I was time for a low-intensity day, so I tried two Peloton strength workouts and another round of Day 1 of the Quick Strength For Runners program.
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Friday: 6.5 Scooby Miles
I hit snooze for an hour, but with no morning conference calls on my work schedule I still took Scooby out for a run. If we had gotten an earlier start or I hadn’t decided to go a bit longer, we would have escaped the rain, but at least it held to a drizzle.
Saturday: 25 mile bike ride
With rain forecast for Sunday, we made Saturday our day for cycling–and what a day it was. It was sunny and in the upper 60s when we were out, and temperatures hit the 70s in the afternoon.
We ventured to the bike path to see how crowded it was and bailed right after taking pictures here, which is right where we got to the path. Maybe we had bad timing, but in one minute we were too close to about 10 others running and biking on the path.
Sunday: 8.6 Scooby Miles
Scooby and I managed to beat the rain and this silly fairy garden in a neighbor’s yard brightened my mood.
I hope they don’t mind that I straightened
a few of the figurines that had fallen over.
Thanks to Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down link up. It’s always great for motivation and encouragement, but now it’s especially important for distance socializing. We may be physically apart, but we are in this together!
Is your town getting back to “normal”?
What will your new reality look like?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
Nice workout week!
That’s a tough one for your son and his fiancée. I hope they’ll find a good solution. Also sorry for the OTF instructor, Brandon. It’s frightening when you see the effects so close to home.
Nice job on the bike! I should get my road bike out, too. 😄
Thanks. I’m sure it will work out. It’s just stressful until it does. It’s definitely great cycling weather now!
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for your son’s fiancé that she will not be furloughed. I can’t imagine how stressful this must be for both of them. And do sorry to hear that your favorite OTF coach has been furloughed. My studio has been pretty quiet about of that so I don’t really know what is going on there. All of my coaches are still doing ZOOm and IG Live workouts so I guess they are all still employed?
Nice job with your workouts this week and glad that you had great weather to enjoy longer bike rides.
If they are still doing the Zoom workouts, they probably are still employed. Our studio was one of the busiest, which also means they had a large number of coaches on their payroll. 🙁
Thanks for the good thoughts for my son — we’ll take all we can get.
That’s too bad about your OTF instructor. I think it’s going to be a long time for group exercise classes to come back. So sad. My CrossFit box is hurting.
I agree, and this will weigh heavily in my decision when/if to go back.
Amazing week of workouts! I am very inspired by your variety, especially from home!
So sorry to hear about your OTF instructor. Ugh and your son’s fiancee..It really is so sad. And its not going to end soon. Some of my favorite restaurants in Minneapolis have totally closed as takeout just wasn’t working. They’ve closed for good. And of course, having family members who caught covid-19 makes it all the more real too, but what a challenging time we are in. Thanks for keeping up the positivity here and way to go with your dedication to fitness.
Yeah, I wonder if any of the baristas at my office Starbucks will be back. Hopefully at least the manager will be back so I can ask about the others ….
I really am a glass-half-full person, but sometimes you have to acknowledge that empty half. 😉
Those bootcamp classes really are tough in a good way. Way to get in a solid week of workouts. I really miss my bike but I am just not comfortable with the crowds out there. Thanks for linking up and have a great week
The trails are still crazy. My mom’s neighborhood has quiet streets and decent stretches without stop signs, so we can get a good ride in.
So many uncertainties right now. My heart breaks for everyone losing jobs. The Caveman took a 50% paycut 6 weeks ago and it’s been stressful to say the least. What makes me crazy is watching private equity people still pulling mgmt fees and paying board members while workers are getting furloughed. I couldn’t do it. So sorry about your OTF instructor. I fear gyms are really taking a beating.
Scooby is so handsome in that azalea pic!
Oh, wow on his paycut. That sure is stressful. I am sure my salary will be cut eventually, and just hope we don’t have to cut staff. Corporate pay structures are baffling and infuriating, but they feel so entitled.
Scooby is always a bright spot in my day!
My sister & her daughter are both furloughed, have been for a while. My sister is actually making more on unemployment (she worked in retail), but her daughter is in here late 20s, no BF, living at home, they went to NYC to clean out her apartment last week because she had to give it up. She loved that apartment.
My other niece is a teacher, went back home to CA & is teaching remotely. She was supposed to start at a new school next year. Another niece is back at home living with her mom — and her boyfriend (the niece’s, not the mom).
So much sadness.
I try my best to concentrate on the silver linings though! Not always easy, but they are there.
So much hardship, and more to come as this drags on — even in states that are reopening the virus hasn’t disappeared. 😛
I both understand and don’t understand all the states that want to reopen despite the lack of a downturn.
It’s easy for me to think it’s crazy, I suppose, because we don’t have to worry about having enough. Still it effects everyone, whether they realize that or not.
The job losses and the overnight damage to the economy are just staggering. Tip of the iceberg for sure. I hope your future daughter in law can figure something out.
It’s going to be a strange new normal (when we eventually get there). I love the variety of workouts you get done each week, most of which are done in the early morning 😉
These at-home workouts are breaking me out of my routine, but I still need to do something in the morning!
So good to see you yesterday. I clearly had not read this before asking about your needing a smile FB post. HUGS.
The insurance uncertainties are so hard – even moreso than a normal recession – because of it being a health crisis. I was so glad our CEO made a commitment to keeping health insurance for those furloughed as one thing they wouldn’t need to think about.
I feel you re: not spending budget. My conference refunds make me feel like I’m doing my own little part to help the company
Help the company but not the economy …. My April NYC conference was rescheduled to August, but I’m not sure I’ll be ready …..
I am glad we are taking things slow. Although I am concerned that some people are jumping back into things already. It worries me that things will get worse again before we even have a chance to try to reopen. Its terrible to see the financial impact that all of this is having.
Great job with your workouts this week!
It’s a really tough decision, but I’m distressed when leaders seem cavalier when lives are on the line.
Much as I wish things could stay closed longer, you touch on some very real and scary layers – these businesses and employees just can’t sustain this forever. I know here, our unemployment system is hideously broken (literally, people can’t even log in to the site), and they are scared and broke. It’s just one facet of this that has to be considered too. I hate that these decisions are so hard and overwhelming and there are zero guarantees either way.
Exactly. And we’ll probably never know if we did the right thing, whatever that is.
I’m so sorry to hear about your son’s fiancee – the ripple effect of this is getting bigger and bigger and I really feel for all of the people losing their jobs 🙁 The situation with your OTF coach makes me wonder how things will fare at my studio. I think a lot of studios and gyms will be in for a tough road ahead. It’s all so stressful!
You had a great mix of workouts this week – I need to try one of the bootcamp classes.
Yeah, I think it will be weird when everything is open but everything isn’t still there. You’d like the bootcamp classes!
I get what you are thinking and worrying about. i have friends who literally could go under because of what’s going on. My friend Kim is a hairdresser, she has her own salon and has worked really hard to build it up. Now she’s on week 8 of no work and we have no idea when that will change. The lady I work for at e-body (for massage), she’s also built up her business from scratch but now has had no work for 8 weeks. My stepdaughter last year started her own photography business, but has not been able to really do anything the last 8 weeks after finally gaining some momentum. We don’t have the same health insurance concerns as you guys have, but in many ways we are in the same boat all across the world 🙁
good week for you – glad you could also get out on the bike! too bad you had to bail on the trail though. We just don’t know how “busy” it’s going to be, do we? And how the definitely of “busy” has changed!!
Yeah, my hair stylist has her own salon and is old enough to be at risk on that basis alone, so I don’t know what she will be doing. We knew our health insurance/health care system is a mess, and this will shine a big spotlight on it, as well as the vast number of people who don’t have sick leave. Argh!
I’m sorry to hear about the furloughs for your son’s fiancee and your OTF teacher 🙁 A large part of my office is furloughed too. I’m lucky enough to still have 3 days of work per week. I struggle with wanting to get back to normal due to infection numbers still rising in this area, but I know it’s taking an economic toll as well. There don’t seem to be any easy answers.
I’m very anxious about what will happen next. ~sigh~
Oh bummer about your son’s fiancee and your OTF instructor. Everything going on is just terrible. I still think I am in a movie and anyday I am going to wake up.
I hope your son and his fiancee find a good solution. Our town is starting to open things back up, like medical offices and hair salons soon. I know everyone is excited to get their haircut and styled! I did hear that our county has the highest rate of Covid 19 in the state, which really surprised me.