April Runfessions


I'm stepping into the Runfessional this week with my friend Marcia (Marciashealthyslice.com).

The first thing I must Runfess is that
it has been a month and 10 days since I've stopped physically going in to work and somehow I thought I would have so much more time on my hands to ramp up my running and fitness routine.  That did not happen.

We work from home!
Since I have been working from home, I've probably logged more hours than I would have if I were to go to work every day. I think this is in part  to feeling like I have to check e-mails at all hours of the day (and night).  One might think that working from home would provide more of a work - life balance, but I assure you it does not.  Of course it could be that I'm just doing it all wrong. I need to learn to "shut it off" at a certain time.

I Runfess that since we've had the stay at home orders, I've felt guilty driving to my favorite trail to run so I've just been running a loop near my home which is basically all hills. I'm hoping this will eventually work to my advantage (and NOT wreak havoc with my IT band).

I'd also Runfess that I have not participated in one Medal Monday this year, not one!  By the time March rolled around I figured I had the entire year ahead of me to pick and choose some races I wanted to run. Turns out, that might not be the case. I'm kind of wondering if I will even earn a medal in 2020!   For this reason, I  Runfess I may do an Instagram story this week on Medals and show some of my collection from years past ( just for old times sake...lol) so tune in!

And lastly, I have to respectfully Runfess that it makes me a little displeased, I guess you could say, that people on social media are expressing their displeasure about not being able to go to Disney (or insert other vacation, but I follow a lot of Disney people so it's been mostly Disney), or a certain race, or concert, etc. The post usually starts out with something like "I should be at Disney this week......."

I get it, we all get it. No one is happy that their vacation  or race or event got cancelled, but I would feel mighty uncomfortable broadcasting my displeasure over something like that that is not essential when there are people out there that can't even afford to go on vacation or sign up for a race because they've lost their job or worst yet lost a family member.
 While some people are saying  I should have been at Disney this week. Other people are saying My mom should have been alive this week. 

Is this too heavy for for a running blog post?  Did it get my point across?
Are you working at home? If so, how are you finding that balance?  -M






30 comments:

  1. I'm still reporting to "the office" every day, so my work routine hasn't been affected much. The bulk of our office staff are working form home, though, so I'm covering for a lot of people. With all the COVID restrictions, all the factory deliveries are coming to the front desk now (my station LOL) instead of to the delivery ramps, so that's also been fun. But, I am thankful to have a job to go to everyday and am able to get a lot more done with less personnel on-site. Also, our factory has been aiding in the PPE demand and making face shields and desk shields, in addition to our regular stuff. It feels great to know we are supporting the front-line medical workers during this tough time ;-)

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    1. That is awesome that your company is helping out like that!

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  2. Since I did work from home for a long time (before this, now i get to do what I love from home, sort of), I can tell you it can definitely be a difficult transition & you have to set boundaries for yourself.

    I feel the same way about not driving somewhere to run, although I'm getting to the breaking point -- my long runs have to be hilly unless I want to loop multiple times around my neighborhood, which I do not.

    Nope, no medals for me, either. :(

    I do get what you're saying about vacations, and while you are absolutely correct, still, someone once said to me that while your problems may not seem as bad as someone else's problems, they are YOURS. I think you can be empathetic & sympathetic to everyone who is trying to figure out how to feed their family or have lost loved ones, and still be bummed about your own problems.

    I have to admit, I long for a vacation. Because it's almost 15 months since I had one, with pretty much unrelenting stress the entire time -- but of course it's not going to happen any time soon. OTOH, yes, I am incredibly grateful that so far my friends & family are well.

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  3. Preach, sister! I'm going to miss a trip to visit Holly next weekend and you know how sad that makes me. We're all making sacrifices in the name of keeping everyone healthy. I could write a whole post about how I feel about this whole pandemic and the mismanagement of the response, but I'd probably alienate people! For now, we all can just do our part, right? Stay healthy, my friend! Love on those pups too!

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    1. I'm glad you have the right outlook on canceling your trip even though it makes you sad to do so.

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  4. I get it. I’m guilty and I would be going to Florida next week.

    I’m wfh. It’s a big change. Those who don’t work have no idea.

    I do drive to run. I don’t feel guilty. I feel safe. But that’s me.

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    1. I will probably drive to my favorite trail soon. I don't know why it makes me feel guilty.

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  5. Even though before all this I would work from home at my kitchen counter, I set up my long-term work from home station in our basement. I work from 8-6 and rarely go back downstairs after dinner. I also leave my laptop downstairs, hooked up to my monitors. I still check email once in a while, but less than when I was going into the office.

    I understand your reaction to the posts complaining about canceled vacations, but try to be understanding. I will be sad for my son and his fiancee if his wedding can't happen this July, even if with the need to postpone is clear.

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    1. Oh goodness, I think I wedding is a whole other story! I have a relative also getting married this summer and I do hope the wedding goes on!

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  6. I work from home normally so the change for me is having the distraction of everyone else home too. My mornings are productive but the afternoons are a crap shoot. OMG such a cute pic of your pup! I agree canceled trips and races are the very least of my concerns right now. Some don't have that perspective. Thanks for linking!

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    1. Thanks for having the same perspective. I was leary on even mentioning it.

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  7. I have been running from home as well which like yours, is all hills. Trying to embrace them. Figure it has to be good training

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  8. I do get it! Thanks for the good reminder to count our blessings every day and appreciate all the wonderful things we have. Everyone should read your post! :) My hubby and I have been driving to the local trails. For one thing, they are much less crowded than the streets in town, and for another, I just have been in a trail-running mood. Not every day, but once or twice a week. Have fun training on the hills!

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  9. I've been working more, too, but because I have more time and less travel (and less other stuff to do.)

    I understand that people are disappointed about races being cancelled. I am, too. That said, I think races can be run in the future but people who get really sick will never be the same and so many have perished. Running here has been tough because the park and lakefront are closed. I have to play frogger with other people on the streets and side walks, but I've found some OK routes and times to go. Hang in there!

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    1. Are those areas closed because they are normally crowded?

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  10. Yeah, I agree about the working at home thing. I've found that I really need to give myself a shut down time and that's it. That's the only way to keep balance when work and home are the same place.

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    1. Hopefully I'll find a little more balance this week!

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  11. Point well taken, and I wish more people would get it. We were supposed to be at Universal Studios in a week, and yes I'm sad that our vacation with the kadults got canceled. But at no time have I been upset that the parks are closed - they are doing the right thing, which is necessary because too many people are not.

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    1. I know how much you look forward to your vacation with your family. I think it's perfectly fine to be sad about it, but it's another to broadcast it to others.

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  12. I wrote something similar in my post today about working way more hours over the past few weeks. Like you, I'm just checking my email constantly and then that leads to responding to emails which leads to more work - well you get it, lol!

    I 100% agree with your point about people constantly mentioning about their races being canceled, etc. I understand that it sucks so when I saw posts about it during the first week or two of the pandemic that was fine, but the fact that people are still posting and complaining really irritates me. Maybe I'm a little extra sensitive because I live so close to NYC, but people really need to stop and put things in perspective.

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    1. I think during the first week or two the cancellations almost came as a shock to everyone ( at least it did to me), but now we see the severity of what is happening and we know it is for good reason! Stay safe up there!

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  13. I've done OK with keeping work to normal office hours. I'd like to take some time off but I haven't managed it yet. Agree, not being able to go to Disney < losing a loved one.

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    1. Yup! I think it's okay to be sad but just not broadcast it to everyone else.

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  14. Working from home can be really hard. And I agree. None of us are happy about this. Even introvert homebodies aren't happy about this. It's terrible, but there is so much entitlement coming from all sides that it's hard to watch. Really, really hard.

    Your pup is doing a great job logging hours. Well done, pupper.

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  15. I've been working full-time at home on my blog for a few years now so much has changed in that department for me. I think it's been harder just adjusting to having my son home for school but we're finally getting in a rhythm! PS I love your assistant.

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  16. I've been working from home too, and the good thing about my job is that we literally have to clock in and out, so I don't struggle with signing off. But my husband has had the same issue as you at times.

    Oh yeah, the Disney vacation thing...it all seems so silly to complain about when people are literally dying. Honestly, this situation makes me realize that all these extravagant things people like to do are often so unnecessary, like big birthday bashes and the like. I'm really appreciating the little things right now.

    I hope that extra hill work does your body good!

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  17. Strangely enough, my physical office closed in January, so I've been working from home since then--perfect timing, since I obviously would be working from home full time now during the pandemic! I find it harder to just switch off at the end of the day, though I do try to stick to eight hours as best I can. I think it also helps that my job isn't particularly urgent... like no one is going to die if I don't get back to them right away. And it's a very small staff working in different time zones, so delays are common as one person is, you know, sleeping, haha. So it is probably easier for me to fully "log off" than most people. One very helpful thing has been shutting down my work computer at the end of the day as a transition back into my normal life--that does help to discourage me from getting back on for just a quick sec.

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