Quarantine – Month 3 (May 17 – June 16)

If you are interested, please check out the first and second edition too! Much thanks!

So, when we started with all this (craziness), I didn’t imagine, it will go like this. It feels like forever and an eternity ago that we started the quarantine phase and there doesn’t seem to be the end of it!

The first month of quarantine was difficult to process. Everything was new and there wasn’t a plan in place to spend time or take care of yourself.
By the second month started, I came to a realization that it might go on for quite some time, so, I should better get used to it.
Now that I have completed the third month of quarantine, I have emotions which are filled with gratitude, privilege, and thankfulness for the quality of life that I have been bestowed upon by friends and family. If I wouldn’t have spent this time with Monika and family, I don’t know what I would have done for this long a time and I feel for people (like my youngest sister, Dikshu Tai, back in India) who are spending this time alone, away from family and close friends.

I must say I am both fortunate and blessed to have gone through this time with people I love by my side and one thing that I have learnt over last three months is to never take anything for granted.

I will stop being all philosophical and dive into discussing the third month of me being quarantined.

COVID19 POSITIVE CASES IN MICHIGAN
What a turnaround by the state of Michigan!

I have been tracking the COVID19 positive cases quite consistently now. Being a Data Professional helps a lot when you are dealing with numbers and when the stakes are this high! Our Governor Gretchen Whitmer, led us from the front to make sure we slow down the growth of the virus in our state and bring life to normalcy once the numbers reach a satisfactory level.

Due to these relentless efforts by the HealthCare workers, nurses, doctors, and all the volunteers, it was amazing to see the count drop below 100 for the first time. It was a big thing to witness that and it happened after 3 months of strict social distancing implementation and closure of public places. It was a necessary and important step and the results of that are quite evident to us today.

The number of COVID19 positive cases on June 17th was 204. Exactly a month ago, this number was almost 400 and exactly a month before that, this number was ~1,000. It is safe to say that we have come a long way and hopefully, keeping the social distancing in mind, we will be able to pull this number a little bit down.

Fingers crossed!

RUNNING
Running has been by my side for a few months now and I have been running quite religiously for the last three months due to quarantine.

The first month saw me running 50 miles, which didn’t include any long run. The first month had a 10K as my longest run.
In the second month, I could run a Half Marathon and completing a total of 67 miles.

I sure surprised myself during the third month of quarantine. Not only, I ran a Half Marathon, but, I could run the First Full Marathon of my on the Memorial Day. It was a huge accomplishment for me, as I felt it was almost impossible to cross such a long distance on foot. I was both glad and proud that I could finish this distance and had Anupam for the company, who finished his first Marathon as well.

Talking about the numbers, 50 miles in the first month were beaten by the 67 miles during the second month. Due to more running, the third month saw me finishing 85 miles of running, an increase of 27% 📈 from the previous month and an increase of 70% 📈compared to the first month. I am so happy with this result and excited for the future ahead.

BIKING
The third month of quarantine was a blessing for my biking activities.

If you checked out the first month, you would know I rode 80 miles. This number ballooned to 201 miles during the second month of quarantine. And, the third month was even better. This month, my biking activities saw a growth of almost 8% 📈, which doesn’t seem like much, but I think it was impressive that I could complete 217 miles of biking. I never imagined that I would be able to cross the last milestone of 200 miles, and really proud of myself that I could do that!

HIKING
This third month was no different for hiking, per se.
Every Saturday has been a hiking day for us and we all have enjoyed different state parks in the state of Michigan. The one trip that stood was to the Hartwick Pines State Park. Though, we didn’t have a great time hiking this state park, but, it felt better to be on the road for more than 3 hours and feeling like summer that we used to. If you are or have been to US, you would know how cool it feels to go on a road trip here in the US. Summer is my favorite season and US has played a great part in that.
Talking about numbers, we finished 46 miles of hiking, a 40% 📈increase if you compare it with the second month and almost 60% 📈increase in comparison with the first month. These numbers are encouraging, and I am not sure whether they’ll increase further or not. In either case, I am one happy man!

CORE EXERCISES
Unfortunately, I couldn’t focus on my core exercises. I am hopeful that I would get back to these, but, would like to enjoy the summer before that!

GRATEFUL
I will reiterate what I mentioned in the beginning of this post. I am both humbled and grateful for all the lovely people that are around me. Lucky is a small word about what I feel and this lockdown has taught me to not take anything for granted and treasure the beautiful relationship.

Fear and Hope
I miss the busy streets
I miss the busy beach
Oh I miss the work
And life with little perk
But there’s one thing
I don’t miss at all
(that’s CHANGE!)
Because Change trumps
above all!

Fear and Hope are two sides of same coin
I welcome everyone to join
& leave you with this one thought
which side to pick once you toss!