Sunday, March 15, 2020 It looks like I am not only out of running and fitness shape, but gardening shape too. Yesterday I dug up a bunch of Daffodils and potted them up. A dozen or so pots. It requires a lot of squatting and bending. Then I remeasured and marked all the planting beds. Twenty beds. Each bed is two feet wide, with two feet of path between each bed. Some of the perennial beds are a little wider but all require measuring since many of the stakes have been pushed over or dislodged. Each bed has a ribbon across the front so as to note that it is a bed and not a path. I use the same ribbons that the race timing companies use. That’s more squatting and bending. So why was I surprised that my quads and butt were sore? I guess you can’t prepare for gardening – you just do it.
Monday, March 16, 2020 Everything is still sore from more gardening on Sunday. But I was determined to go out and get some miles, or at least some time on the trails. I went north and then south – with our place in between. 2 ½ miles. Over 50 minutes – very slow.
Thursday, March 19, 2020 Pretty good rain today so Zeroed and watched Survivor. Yesterday and the day before I went out both days but did not have good runs. Really awful actually.
Saturday, March 21, 2020 People are getting depressed with the Corona – Covid-19 Social Distance plan. It isn’t changing my life by much but the constant news about new people infected and people dying is depressing. The economy is going downhill fast and many people are being laid off. Governor Murphy tightened the screws today and now hair salons and barbershops are closing. I saw a pretty funning Facebook post, “Now we’ll know what color everyone’s hair really is.”
Today I couldn’t make myself stay on the Zero for longer than 33 minutes and not much I wanted to watch on tv. Yesterday was better. I went down the Chester Trail for a mile and a half so got three miles. I actually kept up a decent pace – not like lately when I would drop into a walk without realizing I was doing it. Maybe I’m finally getting in shape a little bit.
Not that it is going to do me any good. All of the spring races have been cancelled or postponed. I may have until fall to be ready to do a 10K. The Cherry Blossom is just postponed, according to the CompuScore website. It is very sad to see so many of the races just outright cancelled.
Monday, March 23, 2020 I guess I am getting depressed as well. It was cold on Sunday and I stalled around until I never got out to exercise.
I have an unlikely new Role Model. Rocky. Yes, Rocky Balboa. Over the weekend we dvr’d all the Rocky movies that BBC America played in a Rocky marathon. Today I started with Rocky I. Actually, it wasn’t named Rocky I then, since at the time they didn’t know that it was going to spawn five or six Rocky movies.
I know that I have seen Rocky at least once, so I know the story. But that was a long time ago. I looked it up. 1976. It was so strange watching the street scenes. The cars! Long noses and long back ends. It is set in Philly and has that famous scene of Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Here’s why Rocky is my Role Model. Rocky Balboa is a second-rate boxer who also earns a living by shaking down poor souls who owe a loan shark money they can’t pay. Rocky swills down beer and has a cigarette in his mouth most of the time. Well so far, I don’t identify too much with the character, except maybe the beer – gave up cigarettes long ago.
No, here it is – Rocky gets recruited to box against the most dominant prize fighter in the country; Apollo Creed. It’s a marketing ploy by Creed whose real opponent gets injured so he needs someone to fight. Give the local guy a chance at him. Philadelphia’s Italian Stallion fights Apollo Creed! Rocky falls for the lure – money – and he has to start training – giving up his cigarettes and starting to get in shape.
It’s winter and we see him come out-side dressed in his cotton workout clothes like we used to wear before technical stuff came along. Rocky does a little rudimentary warm-up and then starts to slowly jog down the street. The next shot he has picked up his pace and then he gets to those steps. By the time he gets to the top he is as winded as any of us doing hill repeats. That’s my boy! Just like me. I was inspired to do some short HIT’s on the Zero.
I stopped at a commercial break. Tomorrow I’ll see how his training goes. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be a little better, stronger. Me and Rocky.
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