Pandemic doesn’t end run of these two workout pals
Jean and I met 17 years ago in the locker room of the Ohiohealth Grant Health and Fitness Center. We introduced ourselves and began small talk typical of a new acquaintance.
In a short time, we found that we had much in common: We had grown up in neighboring communities, attended high schools in which we had mutual friends, and participated in some of the same activities growing up.
We took joy in talking about the ways in which our paths had crossed so closely and yet it was a chance meeting at the gym that finally brought us together. We quickly became workout buddies, meeting at the gym after work and on Saturdays for strength training and aerobic work on the elliptical machine.
Jean had never been a runner — in fact, she claimed to be a “bona fide couch potato.” I had run off and on through the years and suggested that we take our aerobic workout to the next level. We began alternating laps of walking and running on the indoor track. Eventually we were able to sustain laps of running for 2 miles, and this became a routine part of our workout.
Feeling confident, we decided to take our running regimen outside of the gym to the local streets, enjoying
the sights of our ever-developing Downtown together while exploring nooks and crannies seen only on foot. We bundled up on winter days and shed our layers as the weather warmed. On snowy and rainy days we had the option to stay in the gym, which left us no excuse to miss a run.
Our running routine continued through the years, during which time we discussed the events of our work days, exchanged recipes, recommended books and supported each other through the ups and downs of life. Our retirements in the last few years allowed us the freedom to run on any day of the week, leading to our “Adventure Thursdays,” when each week we chose a different Metro Park in which to run.
Then the pandemic hit. The gym closed indefinitely. We were ordered to stay at home, and Jean and I pondered the demise of a workout routine that had become very important to our wellbeing.
Then Jean came up with an idea. She would run in her Bexley neighborhood while I simultaneously ran in my Merion Village neighborhood and we would talk to each other on our cell phones throughout the entire run. It would be just like we were together!
With earbuds in place and phones in our pockets, Jean and I began our pandemic routine of running three days a week and, since there was nowhere else to be, we added a walk on the other four days of the week. We each have a 3-mile route and, to make sure we are at the same pace, we use an app that tracks our pace and distance intermittently through our run or walk.
On occasion we get adventurous and do our routes in reverse direction or walk outside of our normal route to accomplish an errand such as mailing a letter or picking up a book at the library. Along the way we describe to each other houses being built, trees being cut down, beautiful flowers blooming and other interesting sights along the way, leaving the other to visualize it in their mind. And, of course, we discuss the current events of the world.
To date, with the exception of one torrentially rainy Sunday, Jean and I have not missed a day of either running or walking since we started our pandemic routine seven months ago. We even participated in a community Fourth of July 5k virtual run.
Just when Jean and I thought that our workout routine would be one more restriction placed upon us by the pandemic, we were able to turn lemons into lemonade and create a way to stay both physically challenged and socially connected.
Ellen Maley, 65, lives in Merion Village.