Running in the time of quarantine

So it has been a full two weeks that we have been "social distancing" in this time of Covid-19. Our kids are participating in school from home, I'm doing my best to work from home, we are not going out anywhere (only for necessities), but I am so thankful to still have running!
It is a good time to be a long-distance runner. A sport that is known for its solitude, running allows for exercise and distance from others in this time of virus. I'm really glad to be a runner rather than, say, a rugby player right now. Scrums would constitute a gathering larger than 5 and thus would not be allowed. All team sports, in fact, are over the limit of group size that is possible at the moment. It has just recently been announced, too, that the 2020 Summer Olympics that were to be held in Tokyo have been postponed until the summer of 2021 at the latest. These are unbelievable times. 
It is difficult staying in the house so much, but getting out for a run or walk each day has been a saving grace. Some fresh air, movement, breathing and freedom have been essential. It is very difficult to sit in front of a computer screen all day, every day. I make sure to take breaks throughout the day and force my kids to do the same. I know we will all be relieved to get back to school when this virus finally dies down. I just hope we see the inside of the school building again this academic year. 
I also firmly believe that keeping up with workouts will help to keep the body strong and more likely to ward off this horrible sickness. At least that's what I keep telling myself. One other nice side benefit of running in the time of quarantine is that there is less traffic on the roads which makes for less wait time and danger when having to cross the street. Silver lining.
It is also nice to pass others who are out walking or running (with at least a 6 foot distance). People are eager to exchange hellos and words of encouragement. Perhaps this pandemic will bring us together in the end. Until then, I'm going to keep on getting out on the run promptly followed by going straight back home. Stay healthy, everyone!

Final day in NC and life beyond...

I planned to meet the Solomons for breakfast on Sunday morning before I went to the airport, but after I woke up and read the news, I was worried about my travel plans. Apparently over night a new policy had gone into effect that people coming in to the US were to undergo mandatory Coronavirus testing and it was absolutely causing havoc at airports. To make sure I had enough time, I contacted Lynn to let her know I thought it best to just head to the airport. We met briefly at my hotel to say our goodbyes, and I was on my way. 
Luckily, the airport at Raleigh-Durham is a fairly small, regional airport, and it was spared the craziness that other, larger airport were reporting. I made it there in plenty of time to return my rental car and get to my gate. I am also so very lucky that neither of my flights home were impacted with delays or cancellations. I made it home by about 7:00 pm, and my family was waiting for me with a nice welcome home dinner. 

North Carolina block print.

I told everyone all about my travels and my solo race. It really had been a wonderful trip! I loved seeing my friends and experiencing their new city. The race was in a lovely area, and I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to run (super score!). But all in all, I was really happy to be home with my loved ones to wait out the storm of this virus. 
The next couple of days brought us work and school from home, which actually went really well. I touched base with some family and friends to make sure everyone was doing well, and I started to clean the house beyond the regular routine. St. Patrick's Day came and went without much fanfare, which was fine given all the weirdness of the world. 
Wednesday (3/18) was a gorgeous day, and I decided to get out for a run. It made me realize that at least I have control over that part of my life in this crazy time. It was a sunny and pretty warm day, and the 6 mile run felt great. I even managed to break a 10 minute mile for the whole distance (a miracle these days with the injured glute I've been dealing with).
I also found out today that the race I was planning to run in New Mexico in April has been postponed until November. That's fine with me. Now to just adjust flights and hotels. No big deal. Better to be safe than sorry.
Right now, I'm just grateful for my health and for the health of my family and for the privilege of being with my family at home. These are strange days, indeed, and hopefully they pass without great hardship and disaster. Stay safe, dear friends and family. 

State #47, Tobacco Road Half Marathon, Cary, NC, 3/15/20, Part 2

I slept in until 7:30 am which was like a marathon dream! I was able to have breakfast at the hotel and relax for a bit before heading out to the next block where I was to begin my run. Lynn helped me map out a run around the East Campus loop of Duke and then out to the main campus (near the gardens we had visited the day before). I stretched and got ready and we met around 9:30 am. 

Starting line selfie with Lynn.

The first part of the run was a loop and a half around the perimeter of the Duke East Campus. This loop was a bona fide gravel/crushed gravel running loop, and many walkers and runners were out enjoying the perfect mid-50 degree slightly overcast weather. I started off fine, but realized early on that it was hard to run on the uneven gravel. I did the best I could, but I knew my pace was pretty slow. Also, the loop had quite a few ups and downs in terrain. What I thought would be pretty easy was actually quite tough. 

Lynn met me at the graffiti bridge which was along this loop, and I ran under the bridge and along Campus Dr. out toward the main Duke campus. Our plan was that I’d meet her near the Duke Chapel, and that I’d run some loops all around the campus. I ran ahead of her as she walked. I found the road into the campus and followed along Flowers Drive which ran alongside the beautiful Duke Gardens we had visited the day before. The gardens were now officially closed due to the virus precautions, but I could still see some of the beautiful plants and trees through the fence as I ran along this part. I followed this road and turned onto another road that I thought would bring me up to the part of campus where the chapel was. Instead, I soon found myself running straight into the Duke Medical Center area. This was an unintended detour, but it actually turned out ok, as I was able to get more mileage in before heading into the main campus.

I asked a guy who worked in the medical center if he could tell me in which direction the chapel was located, but he wasn’t really sure. I figured I’d find it eventually and ran myself through the medical center and onto Erwin Road. I followed Erwin which seemed like it was the border between the Duke campus and the regular city. I took my first left which was Research Dr. and headed back into the campus. I ran along and asked a young couple where the chapel was, and lo and behold, it was just up ahead! I snaked my way through some footpaths between buildings and came upon the the chapel from the back side of it. I saw Lynn sitting there in the quad and let her know I was doing well. I was at about 5.5 miles now, and my plan was to get to about 9 miles here at the main campus before heading back toward East Campus where I’d finish up whatever mileage I still had left. She was cool with that and so patiently waited there for me while I ran other loops around the chapel quad, student union area, out to Towerview Road and Science Drive. I ran by a statue of a camel, the Duke Law School building, and up to Whitford Drive which led to Jack Coombs field where the baseball team plays. I ran past the track and did a quick turnaround in the parking lot of this area.

Jack Coombs baseball field.

I ran back the way I came and up to the chapel quad again. The buildings in this area of Duke reminded me so much of Hogwarts! Everything looks quite gothic, and in fact, even some of the building facades featured little logos that reminded me of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw. So cool! 

Hogwarts-esque door.

Chapel doors.

Chapel on Duke campus.

I ran a loop around this area and out along Campus Drive then back in for another loop before I was ready to start heading back toward East Campus. I was feeling pretty good despite my injury. I knew my pace was much slower than other races (10-11ish min/mile), but I wasn’t worried about time. This race was first and foremost about just finishing. I thought I’d be sidelined due to either injury or pandemic, so hitting mile 9 on this beautiful day in this beautiful location was nothing short of a miracle in itself!

Me at approximately mile 9 in front of the Duke  Chapel.

I stopped to let Lynn know I was ready to begin the return trip, filled my water (as she was also my aid station volunteer) and off I went back out Campus Drive back toward the graffiti bridge. I loved running along this road. It was a straight, relatively flat, wooded road that connected the two campuses. Traffic was quiet, since classes had all been canceled due to the virus. It was a perfect running route!

Graffiti bridge on return trip. Notice guy on left setting up his paint, ladder, etc.

As I approached the graffiti bridge on my return bridge, I spied a fellow getting ready to do some artwork. He had all his spray paint, paint cans, ladder and other assorted materials. Fun! Wish I could’ve watched him at his craft. Once through the bridge tunnel, I was back at the gravel loop around East Campus. I decided to run in the opposite direction than I had in the first part of my run. I had about 3 miles to go, which meant two loops around the perimeter. At this late point in the run, running on the gravel and uneven surface felt like torture. After a loop, I decided to take a detour and run around in the quad area of this campus. It was smaller than the main campus, but I looped through a couple of times and ran along some footpaths and looped some parking areas. 

Lilly Library on Duke's east campus. This is the quad I looped around in the final miles.

This did the trick. I left the quad area with about 1/2 mile left to go. I exited near the music building back on to the gravel path. I ran the last quarter or so of the loop to the “finish line” of the race where Lynn was waiting for me….the same place we had started approximately 2 1/2 hours earlier. I had done it! She snapped some finish line photos for me, and I stopped my tracking apps with a distance of 13.3 and time of 2:36, much slower than my normal finish time, but I felt pretty good about it considering I had been fighting injury, stopped to ask directions a couple of times, stopped to talk to my friend, and stopped to take a few snapshots along the way. 

Finish line photo. 13.3 done!

I really enjoyed this beautiful virtual run. In such an unprecedented time of crisis, I applaud the race director for his creativity and for giving runners the opportunity to still achieve the distance for which they trained. I thank my friends Douglas and Lynn for not shrinking at the challenge of hosting a friend in this time of panic with a full and grateful heart. I am thrilled to have finished my 47th state half marathon on that state’s soil when really, I could’ve easily crumbled due to the canceled event. 

Although this was to be the Tobacco Road Half Marathon in Cary, NC, I am renaming it for my official race result purposes to the Tobacco Road/Duke University/Pandemic Half Marath-non (sic intended). But my triumphant day was far from over when I finished running just after noontime. 

Lynn and I went our separate ways so I could stretch, shower and rest for a bit. I met back up with her in the late afternoon, and we went to a cool little gift shop she works at part-time called Morgan Imports. After a bit of shopping, we ducked in to the Clouds Brewery right next to her apartment for a pint and appetizer. We had some lovely girl time then went to get sushi take out for dinner. Her oldest daughter, Brooke, was flying in from Los Angeles, and we were ready for a grand family dinner. 

It was fabulous to “meet” Brooke, as I hadn’t seen her since she was a wee child. She is now an accomplished filmmaker and celluloid expert. It was so much fun to hang out with the entire Solomon family unit. Priceless. Genuine. Precious. Radioactive. 

After dinner, Douglas proposed a night cap at the local pub across the street, the James Joyce. Why not? Lynn, Douglas and I hopped over there and waxed over fond memories, friendship and times to come. I sincerely hope they can squeeze us in during their summer plan to hit the New England area for a visit. They are truly lovely, genuine, food-for-the-soul friends. Our evening ended with warm goodbyes and promises of breakfast together the next morning. 

True confessions…I stopped in to the hotel bar before hitting my bed that night, and I only write about this because of the delightful bartender, Nicki, who I chatted with during this wild time of Coronavirus. She was a sweet, sweet lady who couldn’t believe I’d even set foot in 47 of the 50 states, let alone run half marathons in each of them. We had such a down to earth, heartfelt chat about work, life, goal setting, health/exercise, etc. She is a gem. If you are in Durham, seek her out at the Residence Inn bar on West Main St. I was happy to give her (one beer) business in such a surreal, slow time. The night attendant at the main check in desk joined us for a bit,  and we talked books after I told them I’m a librarian. It was wonderful, thoughtful discussion of strangers digging a bit deeper. I love those kind of moments. 

I left after one beer more than ready for bed. What a full, triumphant, beautiful, and heart-filling day it had been. I think I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

State #47, Tobacco Road Half Marathon, Cary, NC, 3/15/20, Part 1

I was a bit worried going in to this race due to a really sore right glute muscle I’d been nursing for a few weeks. I think I overtrained the past couple of months and it manifested itself in my butt. I guess there’s worse injuries I could’ve incurred, but it really has been a royal pain in the you-know-what! After a much needed visit to the massage therapist things improved, but I still erred on the side of caution and did a hard taper the two weeks before the race. I mostly worked on getting some outdoor walks in along with the Dynamix routine on the P90X3 DVD workout series. Those measures, along with becoming BFFs with my foam roller, helped very much. I still had some achieness back there, but not nearly as painful as the previous weeks had been. 

So the butt pain ended up being the least of my worries for this trip. I was set to fly to Raleigh-Durham (NC) for the Tobacco Road Half Marathon to be held in Cary, NC. I planned to get together with old friends of ours, Douglas and Lynn Solomon, who recently moved to Durham. I was so looking forward to seeing them and having a look around their new city. My flight was on Friday, March 13th, but then on Thursday the 12th, I received a message from the race director saying the race was canceled due to Coronavirus concerns. I was certainly disappointed, but completely understood, considering the growing spread of this strange new virus. After some back and forth with Lynn, I decided to still travel to NC for the weekend just to have some fun. 

Email from race director announcing  cancellation of race.

After settling on still going to NC, the race director sent a follow up message saying that they were encouraging runners to run a virtual half or marathon and to upload their results. We could still get our medals and shirts (in a manner to be determined still as of this writing), so for me, this sounded as close to an official race as possible given the crazy circumstance. 

Virtual race option email from race director.

Frida Kahlo mural in Durham.

Flower, butterfly mural in Durham.

Off I went on Friday. It was great to see Lynn. She and her youngest daughter, Rette, showed me all around Durham that day. We had a blast walking through their neighborhood (Brightleaf Square) out to the downtown area and to the site where they were going to be moving in the next couple of years as their townhome development takes shape (under construction). We ate lunch at a yummy Middle Eastern place and saw the famous bull statue in the main square. We stopped into a hotel that also had an art gallery in it called 21C, which was very cool. 

Bull statue in the Bull City center.

Later in the afternoon we walked out to the Duke Gardens on the Duke University campus. The gardens were incredibly gorgeous, and I loved feeling the springlike weather and seeing all the beautiful plants and flowers. It was such a nice escape from all the craziness of the world at the moment. 

Asian garden view.

Wooded, water feature in garden.

Flowering tree.

Flowers and herbs in planter. 

White garden.

Cherry blossoms. 

Fountain with cherry blossoms.

Raised vegetable beds.

Wand tree. 

Stepped tulip garden.

After all that walking, I headed back to the hotel to relax and change before heading to the Solomon’s place for dinner. Lynn made a yummy pizza dinner and we shared some cocktails and good cheer before heading out to the movies. Lynn and I intended to see the old Bowie film Labyrinth, but when we arrived, it was sold out — due to cutting back on the number of people who were allowed to be in the theater due to the virus. We ended up joining Douglas and Rette for the movie Emma instead. The theater was nearly empty, which was fine with us. It was a fun night out. 

After that I headed back to the hotel and ended up staying up much later than I should have reading the news online and checking various stories on Facebook and other outlets. I had to run the next morning, but the nice thing about this virtual run was that for once, I could sleep in and not have to rush to an obscenely early starting time. Yay for me!

State #46, Jazz Half Marathon, New Orleans, LA, 10/26/19, Part 2

I woke up on Saturday morning just a few minutes before my alarm, and I have to say, I had a pretty good night of sleep. Although much to my horror, I woke up to the start of my period. on race morning.  just fantastic. But, I came to New Orleans to run, and run I had to. 

I stopped down to the breakfast area at the hotel to get some coffee and then went back up to the room to finish getting all my gear in order and to prepare mentally. Craig got up and got ready and we stopped back to the lounge area so I could get some hot water for my oatmeal packet. While we were down there, we bumped into two other runners who were from New York, Frank and Sarah. Frank was running the half and Sarah was doing the 5K. This was to be Frank’s 10th year running the Jazz Half Marathon. He has friends in the area and comes every year to run and get together with them. What a great excuse to visit! We chatted with them a bit and they told us that they saw Slash from Guns & Roses at the hotel the night before. I guess he was hanging out in the lounge. How funny! Anyway, we wished each other well and were on our way. 

The weather had cleared somewhat from the day before. It was no longer downpouring, but the wind had picked up overnight and it was quite blustery. The temperature was not bad, in the mid 60’s, and there was a bit of a mist in the air. Craig walked me to Lafayette Square where the starting line (and finish) were located, and then he was on his way. 

Lafayette Square in the early morning...getting ready.

Starting line up.

I walked around the square a little and got my bearings, used the porta-potties a couple of times and then got in the starting line up. The race start ended up being delayed 30 minutes due to the heavy winds overnight. Apparently the race organizers couldn’t set up all their equipment in the wind and needed to wait for it to subside a little. Luckily it was only a short delay.

After a very nice version of the National Anthem, we were off. We started on Camp Street and headed up Poydras toward the Superdome. Along this stretch were some of the tall buildings of the downtown area that then led to long stretches of highway bridges. We ran past the football stadium to a turnaround at Broad Street. Not much was up in this area, so there isn’t much to report, but as we made the turn to run back toward the stadium, we caught a cool view of the city which at this point was covered with a gray cloud of mist. It was a little eerie in the morning light. 

We headed back in toward the city and then out on toward a traffic circle and on St. Charles Street. This street reminded me so much of Comm Ave in Boston. The first part we ran was similar to the commercial stretch of Comm Ave near Kenmore Square and points on out toward B.U. Not super pretty, but lots of businesses along the way. As we continued out along this 5 mile or so stretch, the street became more tree covered with gorgeous old trees and the houses became bigger and more grand. The New Orleans street car tracks run in the middle of the road along a green space (similar to the green line T on Comm. Ave.), although due to the race, the streetcars were not running. This street runs through the Garden District of New Orleans, and it is so incredibly lovely. Definitely the section I’d want to live in if I lived there. We ran out to the Loyola University campus (with Tulane’s campus right next door), and turned into the beautiful Audubon Park. 

Trees in Audubon Park. 

Fountain in Audubon Park. 

Tree lined street in front of park on St. Charles.

We ran a lovely perimeter around the park through its gorgeous canopy of old trees and along a water feature. There was also a small golf course in the middle of the park. 

Street view of the Loyola Campus.

I forgot to mention that there were some musical groups playing along the way, most notably at mile 5 on St. Charles were a traditional brass/jazz New Orleans style band kept us moving and again at mile 6 where a gospel choir with drums and keyboard accompaniment were cheering us on. Both of these groups were revisited at miles 10 and 11 on the return trip back along St. Charles. The other thing that was nice about this stretch was admiring all the gorgeous southern style mansions as we neared the park. They were absolutely stunning. 

Blue Lady mansion.

Blue Lady historical marker.

One of my favorites was the Blue Lady, which is right near the park, and it actually for sale! Another favorite was a house that clearly loves Halloween. Their whole entire lawn was filled with skeletons adorned with punny signs and costumes. Craig and I walked back to this area after the race and I snapped a bunch of photos. They really were fun to look at. 

Skeleton display on St. Charles St. 

Really funny puns on all the skeletons. 

Luke "Skull-walker" 

The first part of the race, I felt pretty good and managed to keep ahead of the two hour pace group until mile 5. At about mile 6 (just like in Missoula) my stomach started to feel a bit uneasy, and so I stopped at the sorta-potty at the mile 7 water stop as a precaution. Unfortunately, I lost a few precious minutes there, but I just figured I’d enjoy the view from this point until the finish. One nice thing was that by the time we exited Audubon and made the turn to head back toward the city via St. Charles, we were already well into mile 9. Mentally that really helps it feel quicker than having the turn around point be at the halfway or pre-halfway mile mark.

I felt pretty good for most of this stretch back along St. Charles and about a quarter of a mile from the finish, I found myself running along next to and chatting with some younger guys as we neared the end. They were in good spirits and it was a fun distraction to help with the last stretch. I was doing well until about the last 100 yards or so up to the finish, and they my stomach just started to cramp up. I’m not sure if it was due to my period or if I was dehydrated or if it was something else, but as I crossed the finish line, I was in pain. At least I finished and it was done. I had to walk it out a little in Lafayette Square after I finished. Craig met me and we walked slowly back to the hotel. 

I didn’t bother stretching right away because I really needed a hot shower. So I took care of that first, then I stretched. After that, I sat in bed relaxing for a little while until some Aleve kicked in. Once I had some time to relax, I was ready to head back out, and we started our walk out to the Garden District (basically the bulk of the route I had just finished). 

Movement steps for the day! Yowza!

New Orleans streetcar.

We had a nice day walking along Magazine Street and out to Loyola and Audubon Park. We took the streetcar back, thank goodness! Looking up my official finish time, I was pleased to see that I was only at 2:05:33 which was definitely better than I thought considering I was behind the 2:15 pacer at one point in the race. 

View of cemetery along our walk toward Magazine Street.

Shirt, bib and piano shaped finisher's medal.

We celebrated with a nice dinner at Arnaud’s in the French Quarter that night, complete with live jazz trio in the restaurant and tap dancing street performers outside the restaurant. Since it was the weekend before Halloween, Bourbon Street was alive with many costumed revelers and a festive feel. We didn’t stay out, but rather ended up back at the hotel lounge for a night cap and some beignets. YUM! Not a bad treat after so much exercise. 

Cover of Arnaud's Restaurant menu. 

Beignets back at the hotel. YUM!!!

New Orleans was fun, and we’d very much like to come back to tour around more and learn more about the historical sites and other aspects that we missed. It was a great place to visit and to run through. Thanks to the Crescent City for warm hospitality and a great time. 

State #46, Jazz Half Marathon, New Orleans, LA, 10/26/19, Part 1

My husband and I flew down to New Orleans Thursday afternoon after work. We decided to make this race a little getaway trip for the two of us, so the grandmas tag teamed back in CT to take care of the kiddos. Neither of us had ever been to New Orleans before, so it was a trip we really were both excited to have.
Our first morning in the city brought us tons of rain. In fact, the whole weekend was looking bleak weather-wise, but no matter; we took to the streets to see the French Quarter. We decided to splurge and stay at the Ritz-Carlton on Canal St. What a treat! It was a luxurious hotel with every amenity available.
We stepped out in the morning after a nice bite of breakfast and headed for a walk along Bourbon Street. It definitely had the feel of a party haven kind of place, with bars on every corner (many of them adult themed) and the air of last night's partying still being washed off the sidewalks. We enjoyed walking along looking at the southern architecture and ornate iron balconies.

View along Bourbon St.

French Quarter street view. 

Historic architecture in French Quarter. 

Balconies in the pouring rain!

We made our way down to the Mississippi River waterfront area where we saw Cafe DuMonde, the Steamboat Natchez and ended up in a pretty cool artists co-op where we picked up a couple of souvenirs. We also caught a great glimpse of the St. Louis Cathedral from this vantage point.

Joan of Arc statue.

View of St. Louis Cathedral from waterfront area.

We walked around the waterfront area for a bit before deciding to head toward the hotel area where I was to pick up my bib number. So we started to head away from the river and ended up at the Cathedral where we stopped in to take a peek. It was so calm and beautiful in there. Gregorian chant music was playing, and we sat for a few minutes. I snapped a couple of pictures there of the beautiful works of art adorning the ceiling and walls.

Cathedral interior.

St. Joan of Arc statue in cathedral.

We meandered along Chartres Street, stopping at a couple of shops along the way. I managed to find a cool silver charm for my charm bracelet in a jewelry store, and we saw many restaurants and novelty shops along the way.

Marathon expo and number pick up. Not much to see there but this sign.

We finally reached the Renaissance Hotel where I easily picked up my bib number. We decided to have lunch at the adjoining restaurant, the Legacy Kitchen, where we both got a crab and corn bisque and split a caesar salad. It was good food, although I had to hold myself back on ordering any serious cajun inspired food until after the race. (Don't want to end up with stomach problems in the middle of tomorrow's race.)
With the rain still holding on, we decided to just head back to our hotel for a bit to relax, and ended up booking dinner at the hotel as well, just to keep things simple. 

Relaxing the afternoon away in the hotel with wine and snacks.

An interesting item of note, our hotel was only about four doors down from the fated Hard Rock Hotel that collapsed last week. Just outside our hotel property, at the corner of the road, a barricade stretches across Canal Street blocking vehicular traffic and pedestrians from passing in front of the collapse. Pretty scary stuff.
I'm sure we will have a fantastic dinner tonight and then hopefully I'll get a good night of sleep.

Marathon t-shirt and bib number.