School’s out for summer. It’s pandemic week 10. Twenty one weeks of 2020 gone. How many times can I say this is so surreal? The hours, days, and weeks are all blended together. There are days when I breathe easier, and then days when I feel crushing anxiety. With most of Florida two weeks into its reopening, we are starting to venture out a bit.
Sunday – 3.15 miles, walking
Sundays are typically for my slowest, shortest walk. It’s kind of become a reward for completing another week of Couch To 5K, and gives me a little breather before the next week.
I also always seem to feel my most worn out on Sundays, so II took it e say until later in the afternoon, when we had a virtual surprise shower for my friend M. She is getting married in a few weeks and I am so glad we were able to celebrate, even if it was over Zoom. We all shipped her gifts to her house, and one of the hostess mailed and delivered custom cookies to the guests.
Toss in a can of rosé, and we had a lovely afternoon!
Monday – 3.59 miles, walking
Another Monday. Monday doesn’t even seem to mean anything anymore. All the days are so much the same.
Tuesday – Couch To 5K Week 5 Day 1 (total of 4.09 miles)
I went into this week of Couch to 5K feeling nervous. I had three segments of five-minute runs, split up by three-minute walk intervals. To be honest, it went well, although exhausting, and I thought it would be no problem to continuer the rest of the week in the same vein.
We had a day of meetings and appointments. I attended our final PTSO General Meeting of the year, via Zoom. I wasn’t planning to return to my board position, but due to lack of volunteers, it looks like I’m going to come back.
Little man had clarinet, Scouts, and karate, and we also got to participate in a birthday parade for my running buddy and friend. We haven’t run together in ages for obvious reasons, but I was glad to celebrate her!
Wednesday – 3.58 miles, walking
I felt super off kilter on Wednesday, and it took a solid walk to get myself back in line. To test that, I went ahead with a balance check after my walk, and was pleased to see I have so much more strength in my right leg. I can even see some of my muscles returning, which is so incredible.
Little man wanted to check to see if he had any live conferences left (some teachers canceled outright, while others hadn’t said), and then we drove to the school for the 6th grade pickup/dropoff. My heart. We checked in with the dean and deputy at the start of the parking lot and then drove through the appropriate stations. First, little man had to turn in the textbook and library book we still had, then a teacher brought out a paper grocery bag with the contents of his locker and his yearbook, and we passed the hotspot/laptop return on our way back out.
And so, how’s that for a “school’s out” farewell?
Thursday – Couch to 5K Week 5 Day 2 (total miles
Guys, I got quite a shock on Thursday’s Couch to 5K. I was totally fine with the three five-minute runs, but when I got going this time, it seemed I had a seven minute run and an eight minute run instead. I’m sorry, what? It was probably better I didn’t realize this in advance. I might not have been quite so positive in my review of the first half of the program.
I also went for another balance check. Nailed it.
Again, little man checked in for any final conferences, as well as any last minute assignments. It seemed like he was good to go, but it was all very anticlimactic.
We had a bit of a date night as well, which was nice. Little man did a great job taking care of Luna so we could get some time together at an appropriate social distance.
Friday – 4 miles, walking
I took a nice walk, as usual.
And then I took a quick drive to the outdoor mall to pick up a curbside order. I haven’t really shopped much, but little man was in need of a few things, and this seemed the best way to handle it.
The rest of the day was dedicated to puppy care. Luna is a delight, but also a handful, and needs so much attention. I love it, but man, she wears me out.
Saturday – Couch to 5K Week 5 Day 3 (total of 4.01 miles)
And finally, the big day: the last day of Couch to 5K for the week. On the schedule? Twenty minutes running straight through. Gah. I dressed in all my patriotic clothing for the Team Sparkle Virtual Run and got out there. There was one pause at an intersection, but other than that, I proved up to the challenge! Not going to lie: I was pretty proud.
My parents came over for an early lunch in the driveway, and we did some tie dye crafts.
It’s been hard finding fun and creative things to do, especially for the tween set, but he really had fun, and his shirt came out awesome! We will be doing more on Monday with another batch of colors.
Goal-getting
I confess to being incredibly proud of myself. In a million years, I never expected I would ever run an extended period of time like that again, and it happened. Crazy! This week is going to be even more challenging, and I hope I am up to the task.
In honor of my progress, I will be joining up with the Best Damn Race Florida 1000K and 300K Challenge. It’s virtual, of course, but it sounds like tons of fun, with swag and bling and everything that makes Best Damn Race great. I’ve been looking for just the right virtual challenge, and I think this is the one.
Luna is doing great. She has pretty much learned how to sit, and we realize she is scary smart. I want to get her a puzzle toy or two to help keep her stimulated. I am just so happy to have her in our family, and I adore our snuggles.
And for little man, school’s out, though not officially. The last real day is this Wednesday, but he doesn’t have to check in or do anything else. It’s just so… weird. It doesn’t feel like summer, and I’m not sure what we are going to do with our days from here on out. Mr PugRunner is back in his office (alone), and someone needs to be with the puppy so most trips that are longer than two hours are off the table. My brain just isn’t in “fun director” mode quite yet, and I need to get on that.
I am linking up with the Weekly Rundown, with Confessions of A Mother Runner and Running on the Fly! Check them out!
How was your week in training?
What are you thinking about doing with your time if school’s out by you?
Congrats on completing the C25K! It does ramp up quickly at the end! And congrats to your son – and to you for getting him through the end of this crazy school year.
Luna is so adorable!
So happy that you had such a nice Mother’s Day! Also, you’ve been rocking the C25K program over the past few weeks!
Wow, schools already out there? Our schools go until about the 2nd or 3rd week os June. There’s talk of schools during virtual graduations so I hope that happens for all the graduates. I know it’s not the same, but it’s something!
High 5 on your 20! I remember that those longer intervals really snuck up on me when I did C25K. The boys finished school at midnight on Friday (!) and now they are over the moon about school being over for the year. We went around the table at dinner to ask what everyone’s plans for the summer were, and my husband and I were both like “we going to do x,y, and z at work and then we’re going to work on a,b, and c personal goals” and the boys were just like “we’re going to play Minecraft”, so that’s where we’re starting the summer;-)
Congrats to your son for completing the craziest school year ever! It has to be tough on these kids. And congrats to you for the C25K program. Your progress is amazing! Loved the photo of you in crow pose. That’s actually one of my favorite yoga poses – it’s one of the only ones I am kind of “good” at! 🙂
20 minutes of straight running is awesome! I hate that part of C25K personally, it’s a really big jump for beginners (which obviously you are not).
Puppies are HARD. I seriously didn’t want a puppy when we first went looking for a dog. So of course in the end we had 2 puppies in the space of a year. 🙂 At least (or unfortunately) it doesn’t last long.
I’m more cautious than many of my friends, for a variety of reasons, so I don’t know what the summer looks like. At least we’ve finally had great weather & I’ve been able to spend a lot of time outdoors!
As well you should be proud! That balance is amazing too.
Interesting you mention the laptop/hotspot drop off. There’s been a lot of discussion here about remote summer learning (whether summer school or other formats) and the lack of internet access has been a major topic.
I know I say this 87 times a week on FB, but Luna is so cute. Thank you for virtually sharing her with us
Another busy week for you! Love that dress looks great on your. Congrats on completing your program with flying colors. You’ve made a great comeback. Perfect time for it too. Thanks for linking
I remember feeling SO AFRAID of that 20 minute run! So I totally get that proud feeling you have. Awesome job!
Congrats on a great week! Lots of busy-ness 😉 I just heard of a similar “race across Iowa” virtual event. I guess every state has one these days, huh!
20 minutes of non-stop running! YAY to you! Well done.
That seems like a very anti-climactic end of the school year for your son. Shame, it really seems like this pandemic is “stealing” some memorable events from the kids.
You’ll see, your fun-director mode will switch on very soon!
Have a great Memorial Day!
I did my first birthday drive by yesterday! One of my friends and the mom of one of Tom’s friends celebrated a birthday. She was totally surprised and it was an amazing experience!
Nice week for you–we have a similar Illinois challenge. Since like Florida we have a very long state, I’m doing the east to west challenge, lol!
Puppies are a lot of work–when we got Cocoa, it was a good reminder!
That’s so awesome that you were able to run for 20 minutes straight! Congrats! We have a few more weeks of school here. I am a 12 month employee and usually summer is my busiest time because I coordinate lots of trainings. Those will look much different this year so I am not sure how it will affect my schedule.
Congrats on completing the program! I remember you being so nervous when you were about to start it. That looks like a great challenge! I am doing the IL one and it has helped me get out the door and do my runs.
What do you mean by live conferences? I love how the school did the drop off for the kids’ materials. We still do not know how and when we are going to do ours. I also have no idea when I will go in to pack up my room. I’ll just have to wait and see.
Huge congrats on completing C25K! That has to feel SO sweet to rebound in such an incredible way. My 8th grader’s last official day of school was last Thursday. This week will be all Zoom Awards, graduation, trunk diploma, car parade and I think that’s it. SO freaking weird, and like you, I’m not sure what/how to plan anything for summer as we’re not even open at all yet. Ugh.
Omg Luna is the cutest!
Well, I still have three weeks left, but week 5 was pretty scary.
Our camps were just given the go-ahead to re-open. I have no idea what that will look like, but we are taking a pass, I believe. We might go in for some day trips or a surf lesson for little man, but that’s about it.
Way to go on running 20 mins straight! You’ve done an awesome job with the C25K!
You’re so right that it just doesn’t feel like summer. I’m a little stressed not having a solid plan for my kids, especially my youngest son. We’re just venturing into Phase 1 here so it could be a very long summer!
It was rough but I am so happy to have done it!
Yeah, I need to figure something out stat.
Congrats on the training plan!! I agree – I’m starting to wonder what we used to do for fun around here. I lot of our days were spent at the amusement park, but there is not a date yet of when it will be open. School ending sure has been anticlimactic here too. They did a good celebration for the senior class though, so hopefully my daughter will have a relatively “normal” year next year for her senior year. Fingers crossed!
Yeah, the theme parks are opening the first weekend of June and I’m not going anywhere near them, thanks. It’s going to be insane, and I want no part of it.
We will figure something out. We always do.
Congrats on your C25K progress! You’re doing great! Just curious, is that a real duck or a duck figurine in the picture with your watch on Monday? It’s a pretty duck, what kind is it? We have mallards here.
What an anti-climatic end of the school year for LM. 🙁
No, that’s a real duck. It’s a Muscovy, and they are monsters. They’re an invasive species and they RUN the neighborhood – at full height, they come up to my knee. We have a few mallards, too, but all bow to the power of the Muscovy.