Quarantine Day 56. Eight weeks have now officially passed since the Bay Area Shelter-In-Place Order started.
Over the past 8 weeks, a lot of things have changed. But I think more things have stayed the same. I say this because when this all started, there were a lot of things I thought I’d “take this opportunity” to do. Things like cleaning up and reorganizing my apartment. Read more books on my bookshelves that I haven’t touched since I bought them. Write more posts on this blog.
I think out of all the things I’ve wanted to do, I’m probably only made the most headway with my running projects. These have included
- Week 1 (3/17 to 3/23, Days 1-6)
- My 1st FKT. Stinson Beach to Mount Tam to Mount Diablo. I recorded 69.1 mi, with 11,614 ft of climbing, over 19:57:35 of total elapsed time. This was my first time summiting Mount Tam, the second time I’ve ever run more than 100K, the second time I’ve ever climb more than 10K feet in a single run, and the longest time I’ve ever spent on foot. This was also my first 100-mile week ever.
- Week 2 (3/24 to 3/30, Days 7-13)
- My first attempt at Volley Up Vollmer, finishing it in 44:23, setting a PR for the “Steep Section” of Stonewall-Panoramic in the process. First time running through the Summit House Trail through Telegraph Canyon section of the UC Berkeley Conservancy.
- My first time running to, and visiting, Middle Shore Park.
- My first time running up Tunnel Road to Sibley. I’d previously ridden up here with Amanda and Aaron, who was showing me the Pinehurst Loop, and I thought, well, I should run this someday. 🙂
- Week 3 (3/31 to 4/6, Days 14-20)
- My first time running through the North Oakland Regional Sports Center. I was curious what lay beyond Lake Temescal and after the bridge back into Berkeley.
- My first time getting a flat on my gravel bike. Fixed it with some help from a stranger.
- Week 4 (4/7 to 4/13, Days 21-27)
- My first drawing of a dog on Strava! I think this is the most intricate piece of Strava art I’ve made.
- My first time running around Lake Merritt at night. Actually, my first time running past midnight through 2:30am, I think!
- Week 5 (4/14 to 4/20, Days 28-34)
- My first time running through the Tilden trails at night. I’ve run on Tilden roads before at night and thought that was freaky enough. This was freakier.
- According to Lucas, “I can’t say I’ve done something until I’ve done it twice.” So round 2 around Lake Merritt twice, again with Lucas.
- My first “1 mile per hour” challenge. Ran 1 hour at the top of every hour, starting with a 5K at 4AM, and ending 23 hours later having completed a full marathon spread over 24 hours!
- Week 6 (4/21 to 4/27, Days 35-41)
- Exploring, 1st Edition. First time running through Siesta Valley on my own (last time was with Jenny). First time running through Orinda. First time running through west Lafayette. First time seeing Shell Ridge and the Diablo Foothills in daylight (as opposed to nighttime during that Stinson-Tam-Diablo FKT).
- Week 7 (4/28 to 5/4, Days 42-48)
- First time running hill repeats on Claremont Canyon.
- Exploring, 2nd Edition. Explored more off-the-beaten paths in Merriewood (the area around the North Oakland Regional Sports Center). First time running through Mulholland Open Space and up Mulholland Hill. First time running through Huckleberry Botanic!
- Week 8 (5/5 to 5/11, Days 49-55)
- Exploring, 3rd Edition. First time running around Codornices Park. I didn’t even know there were proper trails here.
- First time running to Scott’s house in Walnut Creek, from Berkeley.
- Exploring, 4th Edition. First time running down the backstretch of Siesta Recreation (to Cal Shakes). First time
What was the point of listing all this out here? Well, I’ve been told time again to “celebrate my achievements.” As I’m writing this now, I feel that I’ve “wasted” the “opportunity” that all this shelter-in-place situation has given me, in terms of removing things and events that I otherwise would’ve been distracted by. Rather, I’ve really only been spending my time sleeping and working. And running. So at least I’m running.
As for what actually happened today: I woke up, worked, read a bit, watched YouTube videos, then went to sleep. Story of my life.
Those chess videos, though. They’re addicting. Especially of Hikaru Nakamura, and agadmator. I’ve revived my account on lichess, and have started playing again. I suck now, though, so the youtube-watching-to-actual-playing ratio is very skewed (in favor of the former)… watching GMs crush players with stunning ease is oddly satisfying even if I don’t understand what’s going on (kind of like watching sports without knowing any of the tactics and strategies being employed). I kind of wish these existed when I first learned chess in middle school. Technology these days…
