I jog the neighborhood, following the route I’ve previously mapped as being 5K. The wellness center, with its pool that I use for half of my aerobic exercise, hasn’t yet closed, but Theresa has requested that I not go there, for fear of covid-19 infection. I have a routine there that includes warm-up, stretching, a few strength exercises, treadmill walk uphill and then jog, and finally a 15-minute swim. Now it’s jogging for warm-up, stretching at the park, more jogging, more stretching afterwards.
I pass a man walking whom I recognize from the wellness center. He uses only the treadmill, a particular one with good lighting on which he reads typed pages from a file folder or notebook. Another wellness center user tells me that he’s a minister, reading through sermons. He’s walking on the other side of the street, but crosses over to my side as I approach, going faster than him. He notices me and lets me go ahead, saying hello, but showing no sign of recognition. A little ways ahead is a woman walking 2 small dogs on leashes, one of several dog walkers that are ubiquitous in our neighborhood just about any time the weather’s not too bad. I ease off the sidewalk and onto the street to give her space, then back onto the sidewalk. I try to find as level ground as I can, because my left ankle has a slight joint problem that hurts when I run on a surface that is slanted. I loop around a few extra blocks, gaining time and distance to today’s effort. I am recording it on a smartphone app, and I like to get as close to 5 km in as I can, so that it can be compared with previous efforts. As I round the corner at the main through street, a teen-aged girl is standing in a driveway, staring at a cell phone. She notices me and awkwardly says hello as I smile and wave. I imagine she is trying to maintain a social life during this time of social distancing. No cars coming, so I get to cross the street without stopping, not always the case. Around I go on another extra out-of-the-way few blocks, to get the distance right, and then make the turn towards home. I pass the quirky front yard of our friends the Goodmans, and feel sad that Mr. Goodman has recently passed away -- in the nursing home, after a sad period of decline from Alzheimers. He will be mourned by his family and friends, although everyone recognizes that his body was no longer serving him and that we had actually lost him a long time ago. His wife, children, and grandchildren have been fortunate to have had him as their patriarch for so long and to have such wonderful memories and legacy to carry with them. There will be no memorial service until after this corona virus quarantine is over, which may be months away.
There is a slight uphill rise as I get closer to our house, and I push my legs to keep springing rather than the plodding that they want to do. I turn the corner, pass our house, and go just far enough to get in the 5K. The time was not a fast one, but that was not what I was trying to do anyway. It will be hard, but I’m going to try to establish a new routine of making this run every day. I’ve already failed at it, due to rainy weather. I’m not so committed that I’ll run in the rain. And today it’s gotten cold again. Maybe this afternoon it will be nice out.
