Running During the Pandemic Part Two

You may remember my blog post about how hard it is to run with a mask and how I felt after having spent the spring in the countryside of New Jersey during the early times of the Pandemic. This is what I wrote, “I hadn’t understood how lucky I was until we came back to NYC in June and I started to run my regular route again while wearing a mask. It’s HARD. So hard. More or less impossible without stopping, pulling your mask down and gulping for air every so often.”

*Months with this. Easier than a mask, but still so hard.*

Yeah, you remember now right?
I wish I had read that part to remind myself, because a few months into this, I got used to running with a face covering and I was starting to wonder if I was just imagining it after all. Maybe it wasn’t that hard. Maybe I was just suddenly becoming a bad runner. Maybe I was out of shape. Maybe due to getting older, I’m 52. Maybe because of menopause. Either way, running always seem hard. As if the whole run is that first warm up mile. The whole run a struggle.
Well, I can now tell you with certainty that it’s not my age, my fitness, or that I suddenly have become a bad runner. It’s like I said in my very own post, it’s the face covering.

*The crowds are constant on my regular NYC running path. Bikers and runners share this path.*

I can tell because I’m back in the countryside and it’s much easier to run without it. It's quite a huge difference. I truly wasn't exaggerating back in June.
It’s glorious to run here. Really. I feel like a runner again.

*Empty and blissful to run here. No need for a mask or a buff*

So what I want to say with all this, is that if you’re a city dweller like me who is struggling with your runs these days, be kind to yourself. It is hard. It’s ok to skip runs or walk instead. When you do run, cut yourself some slack, you are a good runner even if it’s harder now, even if you take a lot of walk breaks.

*Note the bike lane, it's not the same as the bike/running path along the river*

I have found one trick that makes running in the city a little easier. A lot of NYC streets are very empty and it’s possible to run against traffic in the bike lanes which means that you can run at least mostly mask free. Be cautious though. Keep an eye out for bikes coming at you, and keep in mind that you have to stop for lights. Most importantly, be aware that pedestrians aren’t looking in your direction when they cross the street, and as all New Yorkers know, we don’t wait for the lights to change to cross either. Not only that, we cross in the middle of the street too, and again, will only look in the direction we expect traffic to come from. A bad habit I know, bicyclists are also known for going against traffic. Do look both ways no matter where you cross and do be hyper alert if you run in the bike lanes.
And count your blessings, we’re fortunate that be able to run and it’s ok to slow down. Over 300 000 Americans have lost their lives now. It's hard to comprehend such an impossibly high number. All that loss. May their memories be blessings.