IRONMAN LOUISVILLE 2020 TRAINING

WEEK 6 – APRIL 20 > APRIL 26, 2020

IRONMAN TRAINING IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC – PART VI

Keeping in step with my new motto from last week, I gave myself a day to think about what to write today.  My personal desire was to have a somewhat angry counterpoint to a few articles in the Chicago Tribune this past week or two shaming runners for their behavior during the coronavirus outbreak.  (If you want to read them, I posted some links at the bottom of this post.)  But I have decided to address them and then move on.

In essence, the beef with runners is that we are not following the social distancing rules in the minds of those that have swarmed to the places we run to take up space where we had plenty of room to exercise before.  When the stay-at-home mandate took effect, we were told that we could go outside and exercise but only if we maintained social distancing.  So what did non-exercisers do?  They came in droves to the trails with their families and pets.  The almost immediate effect of all those people now joining the regulars on the bike and running paths resulted in the complete shutdown of some of those places.  Thanks to the non-regulars, we regular users of the paths were forced off.

I read another article about rats starting to move away from their normal hangouts behind restaurants and groceries where dumpsters normally overflow with tossed food scraps in search of food that is no longer being tossed.  Funny how animal behavior changes when they are fighting to survive.  And just like the rats, runners had to find other places to run since the non-runners ruined our ability to exercise away from the busy streets and sidewalks.  And now they don’t like us anywhere.

When did we runners become villains?  For the most part, we are some of the most healthy people on the planet.  We run for charities, raising millions of dollars for worthy causes.  We support new runners attempting to reach their running goals.  Many of the running and cycling clothing companies have switched their focus to making masks for healthcare workers and frontline personnel.  Some runners and cyclists even do their activity as a way to commute to and from work, helping reduce the impact of driving on the environment.  For the most part, we are good, upstanding citizens.

Maybe it’s envy.  I get that from time to time.  Because I enjoy running or biking mile after mile and they don’t, they want to make sure that they think it is a dumb endeavor.  “That’s crazy.”  “I wouldn’t even want to drive that far.”  “What’s wrong with you?”  “Run, Forrest, run!”  (That’s a put-down, not a cheer most of the time.)

Who knows really why there’s a division being drawn?  I certainly don’t know.  I think people just like to bitch about stuff.  What I do know is that I’m not going to let some non-regulars keep me from doing my activity.

Anyway…  here’s a picture of our new family dog!  He’s a good boy!  And he takes my mind off of the stuff that gets me riled.

TOTALS FOR WEEK 6:

• Swim:  0 / 0 yards
• Bike:  4 rides  /  70.2 miles
• Run:  4 runs  /  22 miles

Here’s the links to the articles.  What are your thoughts?

• Mary Schmich:  To nag or not to nag those social distance violators? – Chicago Tribune, April 15, 2020 
• Elyssa Churney: Pedestrians complain runners are passing too close on Chicago sidewalks during the pandemic. How risky is that, and should they wear face masks? – Chicago Tribune, April 22, 2020