What 2020 gave me

It's been a full year since I wrote a blog post.  The last one I wrote because I wanted to remember what an incredible full year of racing bikes and running races was in 2019, and how much fun it is, even at 50+, #thisis50  Little did I know what was coming in 2020.  So here I am writing another summary of a year again. This time,  to remember a year that has been unlike any other.  

Everyone has had their own unique version of 2020 full of so many disappointments, cancellations, and negativity. I certainly had my share of canceled events, canceled trips, and haven't seen my mom in over a year,  but what makes me sadder is Jack's senior, the year we have been working toward has left us with hybrid schooling, continuation of no sports, no school events. Now into the 2nd semester, IL still is not having sports, and basically, winter sports are canceled so he won't' have a senior year of wrestling. 

But, 2020 did teach me and give me some positives that I can't ignore and this post is about the positives I gained during a year that is indescribable.

what's next? , theme of 2020

Pre covid 2020 started with Jacks's amazing wrestling season that finished with him recovering from a horrible flu and several days later digging deeper than I have ever seen.  On a weak post-flu mission, he wrestled his heart out on the mat finished  4th at regionals. He had tested positive in mid-Feb for influenza B, but looking back we wonder if there was Covid too.

this is digging deep

 On my birthday weekend in early March, I actually raced! The 1 and only of 2020.  For a second year, I made the trip to southern Illinois for the  Dirty South Gravel race.   I love this race:  the hills,  gravel, big loose gravel climbs, and early season race. It's so well organized and worth the drive south.  I finished 2nd OAfemale in the 36 mile.  On the long drive south, we were just starting to hear of cancellations of big events around the country. The first I read about was the Sea Otter Classic being postponed, then gradually everything throughout the year especially here in Illinois was canceled.  

the 1 race of 2020

Covid and Lockdown: What I gained through all that was taken away: 

The week after my birthday at work we were suddenly canceling all patients at the clinic and lockdown was happening to flatten the curve which we thought would be 2 weeks.  And so began the "unprecedented times" a term I have grown to completely dislike.  Our outpatient orthopedic closed. Only 1 therapist worked solo onsite treating patients who were considered crucial, as in.... permanent, harm if they didn't continue therapy. The rest of us were on furlough, with full pay and on-call for a duration.  I complain a lot about working for a big corporate healthcare organization it doesn't always offer much freedom, it's intense and draining, however, it does have its benefits, and through it all, to this very day, they have treated us so well.    It is said when in a crisis look to what's around you and see how you're treated, what is left standing. I will try to never complain about work again. In these early pandemic days, I learned how to evaluate and treat patients virtually,  ( a new skill that looking forward seems valuable), sat in a room behind a laptop evaluating and treating patients on a computer.  We eventually started screening patients at the front door until our clinic fully reopened. Now we are fully activated and it is masks and safety goggles all day, it's hard and not fresh, the patients coming in are unloading their version of 2020 on us. It's so heavy, a weight like I can't explain.  I leave drained with a shriveled mask face, but  I am grateful for my job and to help people. Because coming to PT is sometimes the only time these people leave the house.  I have gotten better at how to leave it behind as I walk out pulling my mask, and making more time for myself. 

mask life

Even though last year was full of so much racing, (mainly cyclocross,) I don't race anything like I used to back in the day. But it has always been fun to have 1-2 big run races and 1-2 big bike races out there to keep me motivated.... distracted,  and moving.  During early covid days, I kept hope that in late summer and fall/winter we would have Chequamegon fat tire (Sept ) or CX nationals, Dec (which was supposed to be local at Cantigny ).  As event after event kept being canceled,  I found I still had the motivation to get out and train, mostly because I still just love it and was finding I had the time to challenge myself in different ways. I found I don't need big races to keep it going.  Do I love to race?  yes, but don't need it. I didn't do 1 virtual race. I don't see the thrill in that.  Throughout the spring-summer and fall,  I had the time to learn how to improve my Mtn bike skills and had time to travel and explore new places.  There were many trips to Wisconsin (Alpine and Kettle), M2 trips to Brown County IN, 1 trip to Michigan, and 1 to southern IL for mtn bike adventures on some amazing trails.   Through the summer and fall, I got better and mastered the tight turns, tricky rocks, or weird drops, and descents I wasn't able to do last year or early spring.  2020 gave me many fun adventures with this fun human who likes to go do stuff and with so much patience helped me master so many skills.  

brown county 

camping in a treehouse

 

Park City adventure for the 4th:  was an amazing vacation away with friends. We all met in this beautiful town and hiked and biked and had great food sun and fun. What a beautiful place and it was a fun trip with no pressure to train, because of some race out in the distance. It was purely a much-needed vacation from Covid, masks filled with so much fun and outdoors.

9000 ft up

 

with friends in Park City

SUP:  I  finally bought a SUP board which I have wanted for quite a while but always said another time, when there is more time, or when I don't live in IL (soon). But I finally had some time found a perfect board and had so much fun with these beauties on after-work paddle and float happy hours. This is how to leave stress behind. 

 

SUP for happy hr!

Makeshift College visit to Colorado with Jack: Because of no sports, and with remote learning,  Jack and I took a fall trip to Colorado to visit some colleges and he was able to talk to some rugby coaches and have a mini college tour, masks, and socially distant of course. Truly how can these kids find their way like this? I am lucky to have one who is on a mission to keep going. hmmm sounds familiar). Of course, for me, I loved finding trails to run and hike on as he was remote learning between college tours 

Colorado visit

Wisconsin snowboard trip Without a winter wrestling season, we discovered we had available time to go snowboard. Initially, I thought it would be in Oregon at Mt Hood during Christmas break, but my trip home was canceled as my mom became sick with Covid. I am not afraid of travel, nor do I discount the severity of it, but I have worked nearly every day through 2020. Finding myself with a week off in Illinois, Jack and I re-arranged plans found ourselves on a Wisconsin snowboard trip with his new snowboard. I am best in the outdoors and woods planning to just hike and run, but  I ended up deciding skiing looked fun and why not. I went from I'll ski a few runs to going all day.

I forgot how much fun skiing is 

And so I take what I gained from 2020 into this new year which is needed because it's already off to a rocky start.  I'm trying to be optimistic but it seems very scary. 2020 taught me there are positives out there if you seek to find it.