As I type this, it’s a gloriously sunny, not-too-warm day, perfect for Bank Holiday running. I hope you’re able to make the most of it! 😊 And if you’re languishing on the IC, here's to a speedy recovery. 👍
No long weekend here though, because in France if a Bank Holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it’s neither a day off, nor carried forward to the next Monday. It just disappears! 🤔
Of course, not getting a couple of days’ extra holiday is minor compared to the last two years of Covid-related restrictions. I'm just coming up to my second runniversary, having started C25K after France’s first lockdown, mid-March to mid-May 2020.
During lockdown you were only allowed to leave your home for specified reasons, such as medical and legal appointments, essential work, and grocery shopping. It was also obligatory – on pain of a hefty fine – to carry ID and a signed, timed and dated official document that stated why you were outside. French bureaucracy is something else!
Happily for runners, one of the valid reasons for being outside was to undertake physical activity. Less happily, that was restricted to a maximum of one hour daily, within 1km radius of home, and either alone or with members of the same household.
By the time lockdown 2 arrived in the autumn I’d already run 10k, so was confronted with the challenge of how to keep running without breaking the law. Essentially that meant heading up and down hills - lots and lots of them - on roads, tracks and fields!
So, subject to the same restrictions in your location, what would you do to get the maximum enjoyment and benefit out of your running? What sort of runs, and where? Remember, you have 1 hour, within 1km radius of home. No going to the gym (it’s closed!) or lunchbreak running, unless you’re working from home of course!
Looking forward to hearing your creative solutions 😍, and wherever you are in the world, whatever your situation – run happy!
The Marathon Team xxx
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Cmoi
Marathon
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Wow! 1k radius is tough. We had only an hour but a 5k radius when we were in lock down in Melbourne for several long months. I found that hard enough. I love running for an hour but 1k wouldn’t get me to the ocean which would make me very sad. We moved house last week & it is a mile to the ocean so I’m very happy that I can now run to my favourite running route without driving.
By later lockdowns things eased off a bit, which made life easier. I think we had a 10km radius limit at one point, then a 30km one. There was one crazy point though where it was illegal for me to go for a lunchtime run as my workplace was outside the prescribed radius from my home. However, if I ran to the boulangerie to buy a loaf, that was legal!
I followed every Covid rule that we were given . Think the most silly thing was running around an oval with not a soul around at 5.30am with a mask on as that was what I officially had to do. We had one community case at that point in Western Australia.
Challenge accepted! Just done an 8 mile this morning and it was a beautiful sunny morning but now its dull and overcast, so definitely went out at the right time. Don't think I have anywhere exciting to run near me, very flat countryside, although if the roe deer and brown hares were out and willing to sit still for the photo, would that count??!!🏃♀️🤣
That sounds awful! I would run back and to from the fridge until prosecco supplies were exhausted, I would run to and from the cupboards stopping only to lift and eat any and all chocolatey snacks, before racing to the couch for a good old stretch! I'd be in a proper bad mood 🤬Luckily we weren't so restricted but I do remember running indoors so I could cycle for my one outdoor exercise session, often in loops from home so I didn't go too far. Please don't let that be necessary again 🙏
Oh I like your solution linda9389 ! I actually didn't go anywhere other than forest and field walks for the whole of the first lockdown. Most of my work was cancelled and the little teaching that I had was done by phone. My husband did all the shopping, though we actually lived for weeks out of what we had in the freezer and cupboards. It was quite scary going beyond the 1km radius once we were let out again!
It's worrying how quickly our horizons can shrink isn't it. I do have a very boring field opposite us and for sure I'd be running over there if we were that restricted. But I'd still be in a proper bad mood 😕
Looking back, if I'd known that there'd be more lockdowns subsequently, I'd have been less of a hermit during that first one. However, it gave me the push I needed to start C25K very soon afterwards!
The frustration really kicked in during the second one, as I'd completed C25K exactly four months earlier. So I couldn't run everyday, and couldn't have coped with the sort of silly hills and trails I'd go for now. And longer runs, which I was just discovering, were out of the question because of the time limit!
I am lucky in that I live 5 minutes walk from forest trails which offer the opportunity to run in ever decreasing circles without straying beyond a 1k radius…..not a lot of fun though! I coped with our 5k radius quite easily. Maybe you don’t have many Paris based joggers in the relevant roles!
I've got fields and forest trails literally on my doorstep Beachcomber66 , which is a blessing. Very few shortcuts though - I was so glad the road through the forest winds a lot as it kept it within the 1km radius. Otherwise I'd have had to run straight up the hill, and with about 90m ascent over the first km, I wasn't up to it at the time!
I actually think a lot of the problem was down to those making the laws being Paris-based! They assumed that people had a whole bunch of shopping, work, health and exercise options within a 1km radius. Nope, rural France is a very far cry from that. I much prefer my rural bliss though!
I could just about get a 5km route within a 1km radius of the house, including allowance for warm up and cool down walks. Challenge on! I might even do one this week.
Excellent stuff nowster ! I've just looked at my Strava and the best I managed during lockdown was 8.2k. That required warming up and cooling down at home, as well as very careful route planning.
I hate to tell you this, but the beach might also be closed!
Suggest you claim the prom stroll is cooling down after the tri, then as long as you're still within 1 km of home, within 1 hour of starting, and have the correct documentation, proof of address and personal ID, you should be golden! 🤣🤣🤣
Hi cmoi thank you for hosting the chat. Congratulations on your upcoming 2nd runniversary too. 🎉 Lockdown was a grim time for lots of people but strangely I quite enjoyed the peace and quiet it brought and made me realise just how noisy us humans are! What a great idea for a chat too. I wondered why you love hills so much and now I realise that you had no choice where you live. Great progress for not even 2 years of running.If I turn left out of my house the hilly cliff run would just be within reach, if I turn right it’s to the town. I tried running on the beach once but it was horrible. There used to be a lovely bar down there too which was much more fun when it was open 🍻
Yes, having no option was the start of the madness: I actually ran little slopes from the start of C25K, then the same applied with bigger ones when I started to run longer distances!
The alternative for C25K would've been to drive about 4k down the road, in order to run on a flat road, speed limit 80kph, with no pavements. Didn't fancy that at all, and once lockdown arrived, I was so glad I hadn't avoided the hills.
It would be incredibly boring for me as we live about 2 miles from my forest runs and the same distance from any decent hill. It’s just country roads to the next villages, very pretty but fairly flat.
But there is a route by the church where I could jump over a few stiles….. and then I could come back to our village via an uphill section. I could also run around our garden and indulge my other passion for gardening by looking at and talking to the flowers. But knowing me, I’d get distracted and end up weeding en route 🙄
But thank goodness we didn't have those restrictions here! And I hope we never do 🤞
Your description of your may-it-never-happen lockdown route sounds pretty appealing to me Irishprincess ! And as long as you're in your own garden, you'll be fine to run round talking to as many flowers as you want, and weeding too.
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