ARCHIVE
First month (March 17 – April 16)
Second month (April 17 – May 16)
Third month (May 17 – June 17)
Fourth month (June 18 – July 17)
Fifth month (July 18 – August 17)
One more month & this time, changing it from quarantined to working from home. I am sure there will be more of these coming in future.
Let’s reflect on one more month of staying away from people (at least six feet apart).
This month has been filled with many highs and a couple personal losses. The first COVID19 death in our extended family & the loss of our pet dog - Raja. Its a loss which is hard to digest, but with the time, the life goes on. Losing someone changes your perspective and you appreciate little things in life. The lesson stays the same - NEVER TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED!
Let’s get started with this month, shall we?
MAJOR HAPPENINGS
Personal losses
This month wasn’t all flowery for me. I mourned the loss of one of my extended family members. This was the first COVID19 death in my extended family. Given the conditions in India and the increasing number of cases of COVID19 positive cases, I don’t have any hopes for it to slow down. The only solution is to come up with a vaccine that might take at least a year from now.
As I was mourning the loss of my extended family member, I was throat punched by the fact that we lost our pet dog, Raja. I knew his time was around the corner, but this was sudden and unexpected, to be honest. It was heartbreaking. We watched him grow up from a small puppy to a big dog, who fathered many small puppies. It was a hard fact to come to terms with and I took the time to come back to reality.
First time camping
The joy of camping for the first time was unbounded by the fact that we were camping in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In the last post, I did mention that we hiked at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Well, the camping was followed by a quick hike at the same spot. It was bliss and the weather and the Lake Superior couldn’t treat us any better.
We camped at the AuTrain Lake Campground & had the best time ever. The highlight of the camping trip was the scary stories that kids told us during the night sitting around the campfire. With kids growing up fast, those stories remind me how cute and innocent they are!
Mr. Arnav’s birthday
A sheer joy and excitement seeing their presence. Its a bliss to have kids around, especially during these times.
Mr. Arnav turned 7 years old and we celebrated as a family to avoid unsafe celebrations by inviting someone. He demanded to be gifted a few gifts and was overjoyed to find out his wishes came true. More important part of the celebration was that the kids found balloons more exciting and enjoyable as compared to some of the gifts. It was fun!
Biking Hines Drive in its entirety
Ever since I came to Michigan almost 3 years ago, Hines Drive has been my favorite go-to spot. There is something magical in that place that keeps me wanting more. When I bought Jinx, I had this plan of completing Hines Drive in its entirety and we did that a month ago. This time, the Michigan weather prompted us to repeat this feat & with kids this time. We were not going to let go of this wonderful opportunity.
The only thing we were worried about was whether kids could handle such a long ride. It turned out, we were completely wrong. The kids not only finished the 40 miles distance, they beat every one of us to reach the finish line and were so pumped even after finishing the distance.
It is a long way to go, but, I think, they can accomplish 100 miles of biking goal hopefully next year! 🤞🏽
COVID19 POSITIVE CASES IN MICHIGAN
The COVID19 Positive Cases were on the rise throughout the US and Michigan was no exception.
Though the Governor of Michigan has put strict #MaskUpMichigan policy, a few people never fail to disappoint us by not wearing masks and partaking in social gatherings. The COVID19 positive cases are in 700+ range for the last few days, crossing 1,100 in one instance. With all the measures and precautions in place, the cases seem to rise which only tells you that the Michiganders are not following the correct guidelines. Hopefully, we will turn this boat around and sail through alive. Wear your masks.
RUNNING
Talking about running, two things come to my mind.
The first thing is the number of miles that I ran during this time. I finished 108+ miles during these 30 days and couldn’t be more proud. This just goes on to show that you can accomplish anything if you work on small goals (small runs) which contribute to the one big top-level goal (100 miles distance for a month).
The second highlight was that I ran 3 Half Marathons in this month. It is a feat unimaginable just a few months ago, but, hey, I just did that, right? The more exciting thing was that I scored PR on my last run, finishing the 13.1 miles distance in 2 hours 6 minutes 5 seconds. The last PR was 2 hours 8 minutes 15 seconds.
BIKING
Biking has taken a back seat a little bit, but I am okay with that.
I could manage to bike for like ~75 miles and I am not that happy with that, but hey, it’s okay. I know I will bounce back stronger.
HIKING
We got the new favorite hiking spot and it was Seven Lakes State Park. We loved the hike and state park so much that we are planning for canoeing and kayaking here next year. Let’s see how it goes. I could hike for like ~22 miles during these 30 days and I am okay with that.
CORE EXERCISES
Nada! Nil! Not a bit! Zilch! In short – none!
THE CONCLUSION
Be Humble! Be Gentle! Be Polite! & WEAR A MASK!
& enjoy some pictures from this month.
Till then, take care & stay safe!
stochasticity 