In a time where we are being officially told (not advised - TOLD) to stay at home to help reduce the spread of Coronavirus, people are taking the absolute piss when it comes to their allowed "daily exercise". Suddenly there are more cyclists, joggers and dog-walkers than ever before, seemingly using Government guidelines as a loophole to be out of the house.
TRUTH BOMB : THERE IS NO LOOPHOLE
Of course, the length of time for daily exercise is totally ambiguous because every single person has a different level of fitness and desire to actually be active. Also, many of us are now working from home or have been furloughed until it is safe or economically effective to return to work, but we're are all in the same boat. We all have lots of additional time on our continuously washed hands.
Every day I read updates from my running peers complaining about how they've had to run into the road to be the correct distance away from someone else on the path or how their usually deserted off-road route is now populated with families taking their daily constitutional. But then I see that many of them have been out running for huge lengths of time. Two and three hours, running half and full marathon distances, sometimes even driving to start points because they feel they need variety. For every update like this I read I want to bash my head on a wall and reword the quote from It's A Wonderful Life to "For every single runners' high, someone with coronavirus will die."
Even before Michael Gove made the suggestion of "up to an hour" as an appropriate length of time to be exercising daily, I had presumed that 60 minutes would be an advisory length of time. I can run/walk a much shorter distance that someone fitter and faster than me but it feels enough. Any extra can be done at home using exercise such as yoga, HIIT classes on YouTube or utilising the fitness equipment that many of us have collecting dust in the garage or the spare room.
It's not difficult to understand that the less time you are out means that you have less chance of interaction with others, which helps to subdue the spread of Coronavirus, WHICH IS THE WHOLE BLOODY POINT OF LOCKDOWN! In fact, we're fucking lucky to be encouraged to go out at all but I think that's going to change very soon, especially with Easter on the horizon. Maybe we are more acutely aware of people who are out and about, but if we ourselves weren't out and about then we wouldn't be feeling this way.
At the onset of lockdown, I personally thought that this would be a great opportunity for me to get out a couple of times a week and rediscover my running mojo incorporated into a dog jog as there are plenty of 3-mile routes from my doorstep. But there's so many safety measures to consider and it has been making me feel very anxious, taking away much of the desire to want to be outside. As I mentioned to someone earlier today, I feel like I'm failing myself whilst trying to save myself.
These are unusual and worrying times but it's not forever.
But it might be if we don't heed advice.
Just in case you are reading this in a time where "coronavirus" is no longer a pandemic situation, at the time of writing, the UK - and most of the rest of the world - is in "lockdown" to help fight the spread of Covid-19, a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. Current official advice from official health advisors and the Government is to STAY AT HOME unless for essential work, essential shopping or exercise/dog walking.