On February 28, I ran my marathon. What have I been up to since then?
I want to start off by saying that I am EXTREMELY lucky. Lior and I live together, so I have a social distance buddy. I am in an economically stable position. Heck, we’re doing most of our own cooking these days, so we’re also being relatively thrifty. Also, we have no kids who need to be educated/entertained all day.
Health
Lior and I are both relatively healthy people. But of course, spring is allergy season. I’ve had some good days and some bad. In mid-March, I had a very bad bout of allergies (LOTS of snot and a low fever). That Friday I messaged my doctor through my health insurance’s app, asking for allergy meds. On Sunday I received a prescription. Doctors are very responsive through the healthcare apps, and since I didn’t want any in-person appointments, for me this is business as usual.
Hobbies
I started embroidering, and it’s very enjoyable! I started and discarded many projects, but here are some of my finished creations:
Job Hunting
Thankfully this is over! I started interviewing with a company on March 9, when coronavirus was a very real concern, but before social distancing measures were implemented. If I hadn’t been hired at that particular company, I would probably have remain unemployed until the economy reopens.
Now that I’m waking up at normal human times and mentally engaged for 8-9 hours per day, my giant swaths of free time have disappeared, and “just” chilling at home in the evening has become much more exciting and relaxing.
Apartment
Lior and I were already living together, but our roommate moved out at the beginning of March. We’ve started to redecorate the apartment–we moved into the other bedroom, after repainting. We unpacked all of the boxes that were in storage at Lior’s parents’ place. We filled a few garbage bags with junk, and a big box with clothes and things to donate. I even ordered some medal hangers, to properly display all of my hardware!
We still need to make the spare room our living room, but for now it’s Lior’s coronavirus office. We’ll finish redecorating once the pandemic is over. For now I’m satisfied, and everything has a place.
Puppy
Lior and I adopted a dog, but unfortunately we had to return him to the shelter organization after a few days. My allergies were through the roof. I was surprised, because while I am definitely allergic to cats (and rabbits, and guinea pigs…), I had a German Shepherd growing up, and his fur didn’t bother me.
This means that we need a hypoallergenic dog, which means we will likely need to buy one, since they are almost impossible to adopt. This is fine, I just really wanted to adopt a dog and give a deserving dog a better life. Anyway, now that I have a new job, this isn’t really the time. For now, I’m going to start researching which types of hypoallergenic breeds are most available in Israel, as well as the pricing. For example, I know there are Coton de Tulears, but they cost 7000 shekels ($1950) each…a worthwhile investment, but still, not cheap.
Running
After my marathon, it took me almost a month to start running again…and I ran my first run the day before the 100m rule was instated. And I don’t feel bad about it! I wanted to take at least a full week off from running…and then social distancing became the law of the land. I could still run, but I had zero motivation to do so. And honestly, it’s okay! My left knee, which hates running marathons, started hurting again, after I completed 5K, so I walked the remaining 5K home. I’m frustrated because I thought my leg was better…but at least I have plenty more time to recover.
I’ve taken a few yoga classes via zoom, which were pretty good. My work also offers weekly yoga classes (and during work from home, also pilates), so I’m going to try and take advantage of those. Outdoor exercise is allowed again, up to 500m from our homes. I’m not sure how well this is being enforced, but I now have the motivation to run again, so I plan to take advantage of this! The main change will be that I’ll run with a buff (a tubular piece of fabric) covering my nose and mouth, and that I won’t be running along the beach boardwalk. Circles around my neighborhood will be a bit less exciting, but better than nothing!
I’m a person who is motivated by races. They keep me running regularly and help a lot with my motivation. Therefore, to help facilitate my return to running, I decided to register for a virtual race series! Ultra X, a UK-based organization hosting ultramarathons around the world, is hosting a virtual race series, where runners complete a predetermined distance once every two weeks. The first race is Saturday, May 2 and is “just” 8km (5 miles), which I feel very comfortable completing. Plus, once I finish the races (either just the one or multiple), I’ll eventually receive a new medal to add to my medal holders!
Life in Israel
Israel is, in my opinion, a much better place to be living right now than the US. For starters, we haven’t had to deal with a toilet paper shortage. Lior and I are the proud owners of three 32-packs of toilet paper–that we haven’t even needed to open yet! And we didn’t have to hoard to get them.
I am eagerly waiting for the global pandemic to resolve. Lior and I want to be able to travel again! He hasn’t been on vacation since late August/early September, and he is LONG overdue. I’m also excited to be able to go into work and have a semi-regular social life again. For now, social distancing is giving me the opportunity to focus on work and adjust to learning a LOT of new content, as well as getting back on a schedule, minus the work commute.
But in the meantime, Lior and I are lucky to have our health, our home, our jobs, and each other, and for now that is enough.