2020, the year we all stayed home and did nothing. Wait, nothing? There’s plenty to do at home: eat, drink, complete puzzles, watch tv…get fat. Even though the gyms are closed, there are a lot of online options for workouts. For some reason, I don’t find those very motivating most days, even the live zoom ones. And I miss running. Of course, here in California—with our current wildfire situation—running outside is not ideal due to the unhealthy air quality.

I’m fortunate enough to have a treadmill, so I’ve been taking advantage recently. I didn’t run at all in 2018 or 2019, due to various injuries. Now, I’m taking it slow and building up a solid running base before attempting longer and faster runs.

I will probably always be a slow runner, and that’s fine. What’s important to me now is staying healthy and avoiding injuries. With the quarantine, I’m no longer going to the office, and thus no standing desk. Sitting all the time has been proven to be bad for your health, so this is one way I’m attempting to compensate.

My most immediate goal is to run 5k and then 10k. Hopefully, by the end of the year. Does anyone want to join me in training for a 10k?

I used to run a lot. I ran 8 1/2 marathons in 6 years. And then I started having chronic pain. First it was my hip, and I kept running. Then it was my feet, and I kept running. And then it got worse, and it was really painful to run the SF Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon, so I finally stopped training for races after that, and barely ran at all.

My first 1/2 marathon was in 2012, and my last was 2017. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to do 1/2 marathons again, and honestly, I’m not sure I want to. For awhile, I considered trying to train for a full marathon. Since then, I’ve realized that I love run running, but I do NOT love running super long distances.

Chronic pain is no joke. It’s not fun, and it’s often invisible to others. I lost count of how many times people asked me what race I was training for or how running was going, and were surprised by my answer. “Oh, you look fine, what’s wrong with you? Are you SURE?”

I tried to start running again last year, as my feet were starting to feel better. It was really hard to get back into a routine and keep at it, and I was constantly worried the pain would flare back up.

Now that we’re all basically stuck at home 24/7, it seemed like a good time to try again. Particularly since my feet have felt great during this time.

Quite to my surprise, it’s been going really well. I’ve already run more this year than I did in 2018 and 2019 combined. And that’s almost exclusively from the last 2 months.

Normally, I would pick a race to train for, but it’s super unclear when actual races will be allowed again.

So instead, I’m going to have to go with virtual races and hold myself accountable to the dates.

I haven’t picked a date yet for a 5k. Once I do, I will post it here on the blog! I’m thinking probably around Labor Day. For the 10k (if I find that my feet can tolerate that distance), will be for a Turkey Trot, since that’s my family tradition, even though I’m the only one in my family that actually does it. Maybe I can talk my mom into doing a virtual 5k.