With Covid-19 disrupting everything, I am home for a while and need to catch up on my blog posts starting with Christmas in San Francisco. I thought I would start out of order and share that I got back from my last travel adventure in early March and just like all of you, all of my activities have been cancelled.

One of the things I learned was the phrase “too much husband and not enough income” describing the now retired husband. I am now at home and my wife is working part time outside of the home. It is a balancing act. One each has to make adjustments for and with each other.  My habits changed as full time employment ended at the office and part time travel and teaching began. I was fortunate to have a coach work with me on this transition, more on that at another time.

Many of us are now faced with no travel and life socially distanced even from their neighbors. I am looking forward to getting back into my routine and meeting in person with my friends.

Here are the things I had to start doing to keep going when I stopped going into the office daily:

• Walking daily for at least a mile with my wife. This habit, which we enjoy even in the winter, keeps us together and active.
• Intentionally calling, emailing and setting up meetings with friends and family.
  • We started a group we call First Friday Friends. We have traveled with this group, and the consistent monthly interactions have been great.
  • A life lesson I heard about and then experienced was that my work friends said, as I did when others left, that they would keep in touch. The reality is they are busy and the demands or bonds that previously brought us together are not present any longer.
  • I needed reach out to maintain friendships and connections and you will as well.
• Find a routine: Prior to the staying at home notices we now are all under, I had a set routine on when to go to bed, get up and what I was planning to do daily. I went so far as to schedule out a day, week and month so I knew what was coming and had events to look forward to each day. All plans change as events happen. I was fortunate to have a plan to change. My lesson learned was having a plan to change was better than no plan to begin with.
• I chose to get up and go out most days—playing racquetball with friends, teaching indoor biking, working out and swimming at my local gym, now closed until at least the first of April, 2020. The consistency of a group I was accountable to and for kept me active and engaged in life. It was the same thing until a week ago with my running group.
• Challenge yourself and live your values. One of the coaching benefits was the exploration of values and how to live those out. My frequent visits to family, friends and travels are a part of me living my values of family and friendship. I have also taken on some new challenges, starting running at the age of 60 and participating in running races for the first time in my life.

Here is an example: I joined a running group in January (first run on January 2) and enjoyed running with the group from Tri-State Running Company, a local shoe store in Kentucky. My inspiration for joining this group came from reading the book by Peter Sagal, “The Incomplete Book of Running” where he advises readers to not run alone. I also want to improve my weakest link in the triathlon, running, in hopes to compete in the event again with my son this July. Last year, I walked much more than I ran, so I thought I should keep up the running, at least until July.

So, I joined the running group and have enjoyed the comradery. In fact, the group is so large, I could join the 11:15 pace group for the half marathon.

Saturday gathering prior to our run. About 200 runners. We are on the 1/2 marathon side and the wall we are looking at has the full marathon runners.

Part of the 11:15 pace group getting ready to run accross the street

If you do not know (and I did not a year ago) this is a slow pace, and we have more than a dozen dedicated runners who are self-selecting to train at this pace. I picked the half marathon because they did not offer a 10K training program. Now I have done several runs more than a 10k so I think it was the right call.

I just completed, as a virtual run, the Heart Mini Marathon Cincinnati. I did the 15k run that was scheduled for this weekend and was cancelled.  It was fun as I had the support from my wife while I ran the 2.25 mile loop in the neighborhood. The 15k I found out is 9.321 miles.

Part of my support. It was chalk your sidewalk day after all!

The Garmin view of the run

Walking back home after completing the run

Keep safe and healthy. I will have more coming soon on my recent travel adventures. Happy to assist with tips on working from home or places to visit. My only bike riding has been at the gym or in my basement. Warmer weather soon and I will be out riding again.