November 3, THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION!
And the following days of anxiety until the results were officially declared. As has happened every four years since the Constitution was written, including the 12 presidential elections in which I've voted, someone has won and someone has lost. Now we move forward.
I'm including the link below from Maria Shriver's on-line Sunday Paper. It's a short article written by Maria's brother Timothy Shriver. It's a very insightful take on some impacts that this election had that are worth thinking about. You'll like the twist.
https://mariashriver.com/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/
Here's how I'm moving forward with my Winter Season with some not-so-fun and plenty-of-fun stuff:
NOT-SO-FUN: COVID-19
With the election off the top of my worry list, I now have plenty of room for Covid-19 worry. At the moment, I'm comparing Thanksgiving Day with Election Day. In a couple of weeks we'll see the start of the results of Thanksgiving Day on Covid-19. It's predicted we won't know the full results, including deaths, until after the first of the year. BUT: what we as individuals can do hasn't changed and won't change until vaccines are well in place: mask, wash hands, social distance, choose to stay away from indoor environments with strangers when choice is possible. That means what I can do.....won't change! The upside is the brilliant news about not one, not two, but THREE vaccines that are ready for FDA investigation and probable emergency approval. We've found a couple of different keys to unlock Covid-19. This is what science is about! My two personal predictions are: 1) It will take at least all of 2021 to get vaccinations rolled out and any meaningful portion of the population vaccinated. 2) vaccinations will be in place before we can effect society-wide acceptance of our personal responsibility in helping slow the spread of this virus.
That said, here's how I plan to integrate Covid-19 into my Winter Schedule.
1. Continue the recommended behaviors.
2. Manage intake of Covid-19 news. What I already know: It's really bad, and will be really bad for a long time. The daily newspaper regularly reports local Covid-19 conditions and statistics. It will also keep me up to date on vaccination information. Ron is a newshound, and usually mentions national conditions in the mornings. I might check the Coconino County Dashboard once a week, though it's often quite out of date. I'll continue to read Time and other magazines we get for a larger Covid-19 picture nationally and internationally. Enough? I think so. It will take some discipline, though.
3. Continue regular monetary donations to local organizations coordinating assistance with food/shelter/rent/etc.for people and animals in need.
PLENTY-OF-FUN: FITNESS
Bike riding: Bike riding is a second-tier activity for me. I enjoy it, but I enjoy other activities more. After my One-Woman Biathlon on April 30, I decided a weekly bike ride would be good for the summer, and put it on my schedule for Sunday. One ride per week through October would have given me 26 rides. Well...this and that, whining, I don't wanna, I'm too tired, it'll make me too tired, etc. etc, resulted in just 14 rides. Usually bike riding is over November 1 at my seasonal schedule change. With swimming out of the picture and the weather so mild, I decided to keep riding until weather forced a stop. Then on a recent ride, I decided another little challenge was necessary. Does this sound familiar??? The challenge: starting with my November rides, I'll "make up" those 14 rides I missed over the summer. I've upped my riding to two days a week, and will stay with that schedule until 1) I accomplish the challenge, which would be on December 20 or 2) I'm shut down by cold or snow or both. I'm taking it ride by ride; the next two are looking good!
Running: I have a couple of winter goals for running. First is to get my base mileage back up to 3 miles per run; mentioned in an earlier post. I'll focus on that after the bike challenge is completed. Second is to MAYBE work on my speed. I mentioned "pickups" in an earlier post; those are going well. But I'm a REALLY slow runner. I'm not sure I care. This is as far as the plan has gone: Time one of my runs now to see how slow I am (and tell NO ONE!). After that, sometimes, I'll run faster. Pickups on more than one run is what it will probably boil down to. I'll see how that goes. I'll time myself at my next seasonal change. That will be plenty enough of that.
Strength workouts: 3x a week. As a longer-term project, I want to put together some different workouts, as it's said that the body accustoms to the same workout. Probably next year. My priority is just to do three workouts a week.
Here's my current Fitness Schedule, with biking. Last time I shared a fitness schedule, it was good for one, maybe two days! I'll call it a flexible guideline instead.
Sunday: Bike 10 miles
Monday: Run 2.5 miles; strength workout
Tuesday: Online Yoga School
Wednesday: Run 2.5 miles; strength workout
Thursday: Bike 10 miles
Friday: Online Yoga School
Saturday: Run 2.5 miles; strength workout.
PLENTY-OF-FUN TBC!
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