I didn’t have that great running week number 35, partly due to the long weekend. Dusting off the disappointment, the goal for the week is to finish 659.6 miles of running by the end of this week, let us find out whether I achieved it or not.
Day 1 – Sunday, September 06, 2020 – Quarantine Day 174
I am *still* on the long weekend mode and in no mood to return to work on Tuesday. It will certainly be a weird feeling when I will open my laptop on Tuesday and try to remember what I had missed for the last few days. Anyway, I don’t want to think too much into it, so let’s get started with the day’s run.
The Sunday morning started in the way I like – waking up earlier than the Sun and in the dark. I was up by almost 5AM and was glad to start my day by driving to NHS and finishing a quick 5K. Before heading to the NHS, I took care of some stuff and ended up leaving my place at around 7AM if I remember it correctly. The run was pretty normal. It was a special feeling as there was no one on the track except me. Neither did I expect anyone to show up since it was a Sunday of the long weekend.
Honestly, I could have gone fore some more distance, but wanted to get home just in time for breakfast. It was a wonderful run, followed by some delicious breakfast.
Day 2 – Monday, September 07, 2020 – Quarantine Day 175
Monday is the last day of the long weekend and I wanted to use it really well before starting work tomorrow.
The morning started with my favorite ritual. In the last few days, one of my friends have inspired me again to wake up early and own my mornings – inspired by the book “5 AM Club”, so I have started waking up early at around 4.30-5AM.
It was a refreshing feeling to go outside early in the morning and finish a quick run. It was a 4 mile run this time and I couldn’t be happier with my attempt. I was glad to be back in time for the breakfast.
After the breakfast and talking to my parents, I did take care of some work emails, before heading out for a long bike ride. It was an awesome feeling to finally go out for biking at one of my favorite metroparks – Kensington Metropark. I think this was the first time Jinx was visiting Kensington, so it was a special ride. We ended up finishing 20 miles. The highlight of this bike ride was the bike path that connects Kensington to Island Lake State Recreational Area. It was a nice discovery and a good path with less traffic, which gave me opportunity to unwind Jinx’s full pace and I took upon it. It was so effortless to accelerate with Jinx, like talking to the wind through my pipes (pun intended, if you get it)
Day 3 – Tuesday, September 08, 2020 – Quarantine Day 176
Today was my first day back at work and the kids’ first day at school too. In my wildest dreams, I didn’t imagine it would be this rush.
More than my work and countless emails, I had to pay attention to what Mr. Arnav’s teacher was telling him, to make sure we don’t miss any assignments or homework or instructions. This was the first time I was actually taking care of his school stuff, so I was a little nervous. Fortunately, I didn’t have any meetings during his class times, so I could pay more attention to what his teacher was saying.
The one positive was that the school was entirely virtual to not risk or expose students to the COVID19 outbreak and I would like to thank the Northville Schools Management to understand the importance of kids’ safety.
I didn’t even realize when the day ended.
Tomorrow is a special day – It is Mr. Arnav’s 7th birthday. Before going to the bed, we blew up some balloons and decorated with the Happy Birthday sign just to see kids’ smiles and excitement.
Day 4 – Wednesday, September 09, 2020– Quarantine Day 177
Happy Birthday, Arnav!
Today was the second day of online school for the kids and I have started to get used to new lifestyle. This day was a lot smoother than the first, having able to successfully balance both my work and kids’ school.
We were eagerly waiting for the evening for birthday celebrations. The most amazing thing for the birthday boy was that we had enough gifts for both of them to give them every couple of hours, to keep the excitement and momentum going. I loved how their face lit up when they saw the Ford Bronco that we gifted them. Along with the replica for the Ford Bronco, we gave them some books and some legos too.
The cakes were delicious, tiramisu being my favorite. Seeing kids smile made my day and loved every single moment of it.
Check out the pictures.
Day 5 – Thursday, September 10, 2020– Quarantine Day 178
What a day!
I really needed to get rid of the calories that I consumed from the two cakes and some delicious fritters and chole bhature that we made yesterday.
The first run of the run came during the lunch time. I didn’t have a meeting during the lunch time and the kids were having lunch break, so I took the opportunity and went out for a quick 25 minute run. I could complete a quick 5K in under 30 minutes. The feeling was so good, partly because of the awesome Michigan weather. One of the most underrated things about Michigan is its weather and I am a sucker of it.
The second run of the day came when I was done for the work and we were going out for run. While waiting for everyone to get ready, I decided to run randomly in the neighborhood, competing with kids and letting them win against me. I could finish 1 mile before we actually headed out to run at Northville High School.
The third and last run of the day was a trail run. NHS was having a soccer game and we didn’t want to disturb the crowd and the soccer game, so decided to head to Hines Drive and enjoy some trail running. It was a feeling like no other. I explored so many hidden gems of the Hines Drive and fell in love with it again. It was an awesome feeling to share the track with the cross country runners who outnumbered us comfortably.
The awesome day ended with some awesome home-cooked food! 6 more miles to go for the week.
Day 6 – Friday, September 11, 2020– Quarantine Day 179
Awesome day!
What a wonderful way to accomplish the weekly running goal. When I woke up in the morning, I knew I would be able to finish the weekly goal today itself. The work was really fast paced during the first part of the day and I got a little breather after 3PM. I was desperately waiting to go out for a run as the Sun was out and we had some cool breeze going around – a perfect weather to run outside – mix of both cool and hot.
I could finally step outside at around 4.30PM and started my long run. The only downside at the earlier stage of the run was that I had a piece of Tiramisu cake that we had on Arnav’s birthday. I shouldn’t have done that. As I had just a few minutes before the run, the first three miles were really difficult and I really wanted to quit and return home. But, having been through grinder so many times has taught me not to give up and I continued on. As soon as I finished 4 miles, I realized my body got rid of all the sugar from the Tiramisu and I could run freely without feeling anything.
That’s when I got the good rhythm and continued on. I had a plan of finishing a half marathon but I couldn’t finish as I had to take kids to soccer practice. I could finish 9.3 miles in just under 2 hours. I wasn’t happy with the pace, but the positive was that I accomplished the weekly running goal.
The evening was spent at the park near my workplace and with some Thai food. Loved the food & company. I ended up meeting my colleague and had a good chat. It was a lovely day with an awesome Michigan weather. Check out the pictures of my workplace.
Day 7 – Saturday, September 12, 2020– Quarantine Day 180
It was an amazing Saturday and a perfect way to end the week.
Keeping Saturday tradition alive – we hiked and this time, we explored Seven Lake State Park. If you remember, when I talked about Holly Recreational Area, I rated that as the numero uno hiking spot so far; well, that just changed after this hike! When we were on our way to the location, we were not happy with an hour-long drive to this place just for hiking, but all that disappointment was wiped away with the countless scenic places that this state park had to offer. We went ahead with the open mind and we were simple blown away by the beauty of it. We should give some credit to the Michigan weather as well, which was one of the best throughout the weekend.
The best part about hiking at this park is in the name itself – Seven Lakes. You are surrounded by lakes throughout the hike and you can’t help but appreciate the cleanliness of the water and the beautiful scenery surrounding almost all the lakes. We saw people hiking, walking, running, kayaking, and canoeing. Man, I was envy of people kayaking. I really want to do it and hopefully, I will be able to next summer. 🤞🏽
When our hike was about to end, we came across this awesome spot known as the Dickinson Lake Scenic Overlook. This spot was entirely covered in green and rich grass. There were only 5 of us on that grass with the lakes on both the sides. It felt like a piece of poetry taking shape in the physical world. The green grass, the blue water of the lake, the broccoli shaped thick trees, and the clean blue sky with white clouds – everything that could go right this day went right and we couldn’t be happier with the circumstances. It was a well deserved relaxing hike for all of us.
Check out the pictures from the hike.
After the hike was over, we had our usual Pizza at the Downtown Fenton (if I am not wrong) and headed home. I had to go out for a couple errands and once I was back I really wanted to go out for a quick 5K. My legs were tired after the hike but my heart wasn’t. So, I grabbed my running shoes and checked the weather and headed out for a 30-minute run.
It was an awesome run, again, thanks to the beautiful weather. With this run, I am way ahead of my running plan and on the course to finish 1,000 miles by the end of 2020.
As I mentioned at the start of this post, I had a target of completing 659.6 miles of running by the end of this week and I currently stand at 665.5, roughly 6 miles ahead. Hope, I will be able to keep the spirits alive like this for the remaining 15+ weeks and see myself cross the 4-digits. 🤞🏽😍
& before you go, please check the weekly highlight.
See you next week. Week #37, here I come!
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