The day to day of 2020

July 7, 2020 Kelly Zorn

Unsurprisingly, life caught up with me once again, and the blog fell by the wayside.

Over the last 6 weeks, I feel like there has not been too much forward motion in day to day life. I have fallen into a routine, some days going into the office and others working from home.

I’m still running, still riding, and even made it through the first 6 weeks of peloton marathon training – only to find out that the NYC marathon was cancelled during week six. As much as I expected the race to be cancelled, it was still disappointing to get the official declaration. It also makes me feel like my other races are doomed for cancellation, even though as of the writing of this post both the Chicago marathon and the Run Disney wine and dine weekend are both still on the calendar. So, as is the case with most of 2020, only time will tell.

I am finally settling into the humidity that summer brings in NY, and even managing to drag my butt out of bed early to get in some morning runs again. Last week I even pushed myself to up my mileage a bit, breaking 30 miles for the first time in over a month.

While some weekends I have swapped my runs out for long spin sessions, last Sunday I headed out and got in 10 miles of loops around the neighborhood – I am a little sick of the loops, since I usually get some of my runs done elsewhere with friends, but as a precaution with Covid, I have been avoiding the public paths that are bound to be crowded with people. The cases have dropped in NY, but I am still skeptical about putting myself out there more than I have to.

I am curious to see how the coming months unfold, and what the rest of 2020 will hold. But for right now I will just keep chugging along with my at home workouts, and seeing where my mileage lands each week. I do actually have one goal this month – to break 100 miles total! The last two months I have fallen a little short, so I am hoping to get more into my usual running groove.

The Year Races Went Virtual: The 2020 Run for the Zoo

June 7, 2020 Kelly Zorn

Disclaimer: I received an entry to the Virtual Lincoln Park Run for the Zoo as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Well, after a great amount of consideration, I decided that my favorite thing about virtual races is that I can wake up at whatever time I want to, and get out to run! It is going to be a bit of a shell shock to my system when I have to start rolling out of bed in the wee hours of the morning again to get my miles in. Of course, I also like that I can still help to support organizations like the Lincoln Park Zoo from home - the virtual Run for the Zoo supported them in Chicago, and even though I ran in New York, my miles helped to support them and the animals that they take care of.

I completed my virtual race on July 7, the date that the Race for the Zoo would have taken place, had it not gone virtual. If I had been able to attend the race in Chicago, I would have gotten to see some animals along the way, so in the spirit of that, I decided to bring Riley along for the beginning of my run, to have a bit of puppy companionship.

The temps were going to climb into the 80s in NY on “race day",” so I decided to head out in the morning before things got too heated. I geared up with my BibRave tank and Hat, plus some sunscreen and a pair of Knockarounds to keep the sun out of my eyes. I pulled on some headphones and queued up a podcast, and once Riley had his running leash on we headed out for some humid miles.

We kept things local, doing loops of the blocks around our house. Riley alerted me any time he spotted another animal, from other doggos also out on walks, to birds and the occasional bunny – each time he spotted one he pulled me forward, begging to run faster than I was planning to. As we approached mile 2 he started slowing down, tongue out as we trotted along. I returned him to the house so his fluffy self would not overheat, and he headed right to his water bowl as I headed back out to finish my 10k.

It was a bit of a struggle for me, but I kept shuffling along, one foot in front of the other. The sun was rising higher into the sky, and I was checking in with my watch to see how many miles I had ahead of me still as I continued onward. I eventually was able to settle into my pace again, and keep making my way towards my “finish line.”

I got close to home around mile 5, and re-directed my route so I could get to 6.2 without having to loop back and fourth too much, and somehow the last mile seemed to slip away, even though I had been struggling leading up to it – my breathing had just not been cooperating, and I was glad when my watch finally ticked over to 6 miles, and then I counted the houses as I finally got to 6.2, and my personal race finish.

The miles may not have come easy this time, but I still got them done, and earned my “Run for the Zoo” race shirt, which features and ostrich!

If the Chicago marathon goes on as planned this year, I am hoping to make a trip to the Lincoln park zoo, so that I can check it out in person!

What Virtual races are you planning to complete this summer? The next one for me? The DC wonder woman virtual 10k!

Running isn't cancelled: Virtual races still have a real impact!

May 20, 2020 Kelly Zorn

I shared in a previous blog post that I am looking forward to running the first ever virtual Run for the Zoo - an event that usually takes place in Chicago each year, but this year was forced to become a virtual race as a result of the impact of Covid-19.

This race helps Lincolin park remain open and free to the public, while taking care of many animals - the proceeds that the race brings in help to fund animal care, and now that it is virtual, its reach can extend beyond Chicago! Now that I am following Lincoln park on instagram, the animal photos that they share always bring a smile to my face- so today I want to share some of the cute animals that this run benefits.

If these adorable faces have inspired you to want to help the place that cares for them, make sure to use code BIBRAVE10 when you register for the virtual run for the zoo here.

You can even have your own “Race Day” Fun at home - I ordered up some sidewalk chalk and am looking forward to drawing some animals around my chalk finish line! In times like these, it is the little things that you can still do that I find joy in.

Let me know if you’ll be joining me, and running for the animals!

Running Isn't Cancelled: Staying Motivated Without Races

April 23, 2020 Kelly Zorn

The short story: a virtual community is keeping me accountable and motivated during this time of social distancing.

So, at the beginning of the year, I had a packed spring race schedule - the NYC half, the Delaware half, the Long Island Half, and the Brooklyn half, among a assortment of shorter races. But one by one, my races got cancelled (understandably) as a result of the impact that Covid-19 has had on the world, and more specifically, on the tri state area. As a runner that usually jumps from race training plan to race training plan, it was weird to suddenly have no race goal - I felt almost like there was nothing to work for, and was unsure of what I should be doing. It seemed silly to continue following the training plan that I originally had in place, and burden my body with race specific workouts when there was no race at the end of the plan.

I took inventory - what did I want to be doing? How many miles did I want to be running? It was a strange question to ask myself. But I found that when I took the obligation of a training regiment off of myself, I was finding more time for strength training. For yoga. For the things that I want to do, but was too wiped out after a speed workout or a long run to get around to.

Knowing that I still (hopefully) have fall marathons on the horizon, I knew that I wanted to keep a solid running base. So I decided on a goal of 28 miles a week. Why 28? Because for the last two years I have tried to hit 1500 miles for the year, but was kept from it in 2018 by a wicked cold that lasted for most of December, and by a knee injury that lingered from August until the end of the year in 2019. So, to hit this goal in 2020, I need to run an average of 28 miles a week. So that was my starting point. For the most part, I have been keeping to runs that average around five miles, and trying to hit a double digit run every other weekend - usually 10 miles.

Mike and I started challenging each other on solo runs, since group runs are ill advised at the moment - we would run at the same time, and make up a scavenger hunt list for us each to find, from chalk drawings to holiday decorations. Once Mike downloaded the Peloton app, we started “meeting” on our treadmills, towns away, and taking the same classes, commiserating via texts and taking photos “together,” often coordinating outfits from the many races we have run together.

I knew that strength training usually falls by the wayside for me, but with all this extra time at home, it was something I suddenly had consistent time for. I am thankful that my job has allowed me to work from home for the last month, but now that I am not commuting, I have extra time on my hands. I don’t have a huge gym setup at home, but I have some dummbells and resistance bands, so I started taking classes through the Peloton app (which is currently free for 90 days). When one of the instructors started hosting a “21 day core challenge” through his instagram, I started taking daily 10 minute core classes. Though short in length, they are certainly challenging at times!

Eventually, the Merrick Bicycle Tri-Team came up with an idea - the REQ challenge. In this case REQ stands for the “Race to Escape Quarantine,” and the concept is simple: Different strength moves are worth points, and the goal is to earn a total of 12,300 points in a 30 day period. Of course, it is all for a good cause - the proceeds from the challenge’s $25 registration fee would be donated to local long island charities, to help families who are in need as a result of this pandemic. I hesitated about signing up at first, because I questioned my ability to complete the challenge. But I love the sense of community that the Tri team brings to everything they do, and the opportunity to help my community - so on the last day of registration, I closed my eyes and hit the register button - what had I gotten myself into!? Like the planner that I am, I sat down and wrote out 30 days of workouts, that would get me to my point goal, that way it would be thought free when it was time to pick my workout each day - I would just need to pick an envlope.

Now, I won’t lie to you and say that keeping moving has resolved all of my quarantine woes - I am beyond thankful that Dennis and I are able to stay safe at home, but I miss my parents. I miss my friends. I miss my people. But I know that we are all safer this way, and we are keeping people like my brother, who is a NYPD officer, safer by staying at home. But, having a sense of community, virtually at least, has helped to carry me through this pandemic. Knowing that the other members of the tri tream are working to hit the same numbers that I am. Knowing that Mike is shouting at the peloton app just like I am as we hold planks and sprint on our treadmills. It is not normal, but slowly it is settling into a weird, new normal, for now at least.

I hope that you all are staying safe, and have found some way to keep moving forward, one day at a time, through all of this craziness. And if you can, stay home to stay safe. We will all be able to return to a more standard day to day, one day.

Spring 2020: The Season of the Virtual Race

April 7, 2020 Kelly Zorn

I assume that you all had a march that was similar to mine - the month started with business as usual (heck, I went to Tijuana for my job, and then to California for the Napa valley half marathon at the beginning of the month), and then over the coming weeks, the world became a really weird place. Covid-19 started as something that we heard about happening in other countries, but that quickly spread to the United States, and then in what felt like a blink of an eye I transitioned from being in an office everyday to working from home, and staying put as much as possible. While I am so thankful that I have the ability to work from home, I would be lying if I said I was not bummed when suddenly all of my spring races started to get cancelled - first the NYC half, then the Long Island half, and finally the Delaware half - not to mention the shorter races that I had on the calendar.

When the NYC half was cancelled, I headed out locally with Mike and Michal to get in our 13.1 miles, bummed that it wasn’t through the city, but glad I was still able to get out with friends… but shortly after that, even running with friends was cancelled, as recommendations to social distance grew stronger, to help flatten the curve, so that hospitals would not become overloaded with patients as Covid-19 continued to spread.

So, whats a runner to do when her spring races get cancelled? Well, first I scaled back my training - my knee still isn’t 100%, and with no spring races to worry about, it made sense to scale things back, and focus on strength training a little more. The runs that I did head out on changed too, as my running partners changed from people with two legs, or Dad on his bike, to a four-legged pal - my mother-in-law’s dog, Riley. We even got a great running leash that I can wear around my waist when I head out with him, and I am thankful to get a little companionship at least. My husband and I are living with my in-laws currently, and with everyone home we have a five person, three dog, and two cat house hold - so it can be a little bit of a zoo at times!

Through BibRave, I heard about the Lincoln Park run for the zoo event - the Lincoln Park Zoo is free and open every day of the year, and their annual “Run for the Zoo” helps keep them running! While it was not in the cards for me to travel to the race, like many races this season, it has become virtual - which allows runners near and far to help keep the Zoo going. I am hoping I will even get to take a visit to the zoo when I visit Chicago in September!

This virtual race includes a race packet, that will be mailed to each participant, with a bib and a tech shirt. Plus, if you are someone who is highly motivated by bling, a $25 donation to the zoo adds a medal to your swag! The proceeds from this run help to support the more than 800 animals - including 50 endangered species - that are cared for at the zoo.

After each runner completes their virtual race, they just need to upload their results to the Race for the Zoo website to make it official, and the “winners” with the fastest GPS verified time will win a special plush animal from the zoo’s gift shop. The virtual race runs from June 7-21, and runners and walkers of all levels can participate - so if you are looking for some motivation to get moving, use the coupon code “BIBRAVE10” to save 10% off the cost of registration.

So wether it is your first race or your hundredth, I hope you will consider joining me in the Virtual Run for the Zoo!

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