Also stuck at pwd ... 

I was in a conference call during the meet-up too.  We did a dry run-through of our Virtual 3rd Party Inspection.  We have equipment being built for an off-short platform in the Caspian Sea that requires an outside inspector to come and verify the factory acceptance test.  We have had inspectors come from where the project engineers are officed overseas in the past but this time were are setting up a video camera and are going to had the inspection done virtually.  The equipment is working just fine. 

I was surprised to see some of the local races opening up this weekend.  There is a Sprint Duathlon in two weeks and sprint/oly/70.3/kids triathlon at the end of the month.  One of the 5K's that was canceled a month ago is rescheduled for this month in 3 weeks.  I don't know how I feel about racing but will be watching to see how well these are attended.

It is not just Michigan that is crazy.  The whole country is pretty confused.  The trend is for everyone to be unhappy with what the government is doing if they are doing something and to be unhappy for them not doing something if they aren't doing anything. It doesn't matter what they do or don't do someone somewhere is going to hold a protect for any action they do or for not acting if they choose to wait and think before acting.  I have been praying every day for the leaders of our communities.  They have difficult decisions to make and I hope they do the best that they can with the information and resources available to them.  As far as the protestors go, they don't get any of my sympathies. Ya, they should be able to do what they are doing.

So I did a Time Trial this morning.  I still had a 5k and 2.5K left on the USAT Virtual Sprint Duathlon.  I planned to run the 5K first. Since I set the 5K and 2.5 K up to end at the same spot the plan was to do the 5K walk for 5 minutes then do an easy jog back to my starting point.  Well...5 minutes of walking went by after the 5K and I still felt beat so I decided to walk for 10 minutes.  Then I did some slow jogging but realized that I wouldn't have time to do the 2.5K this morning due to a longer than planned warm-up and what was becoming a longer than planned rest interval.  So I just jogged it back to the house.  So....when I got back to the house I was right at about 2.5km.  The cooldown synced with the virtual races and I got a hoot of seeing it list my 5K time as two minutes faster than my 2.5K time.  I will redo the 2.5K.  I am learning all the in's and out's to how these virtual races work.  :-)

The password is all lower case. I'm glad that you made it. I'm sorry that we didn't have better advice on resident cat + temporary dog.

I'm sorry that we missed you today.

That virtual acceptance test sounds... stressful.

I agree, I think that our government is in a no win situation. Here in NC, the governor said IF our trend is good, we will enter Phase 1 reopening on Friday, May 8.  The problem is that if our trend is not good, I'm not sure that there will be enough support to continue the stay-at-home order :-(

This is the interview that I mentioned in the chat today

Will the Ironman World Championship take place next February?

TL;DR

• “We have qualified 3,000 of the 6,000 athletes for Taupo, and 1,000 of the 2,500 athletes for Kona. The qualifying challenges become more acute every passing day that we don’t have a qualifying race.”
• Age groupers and pros alike would be able to qualify for the “2020” Ironman world championship in the fall, with the race actually taking place in 2021. That would be followed by another race in October, 2021.
• The real challenge will come, though, if many regions still don’t permit racing through the fall. I

I kind of liked this "tough love" post.

Quit all the whining already...

There, I said it. And if you are looking for anything other than tough love right now, you should probably stop reading.

If you need to, blame me or someone else- go for it.
But it won’t get you anywhere.

It goes on but end with

It’s gains season, get after it!

My running group coach's weekly email talked about motivation asking whether you were intrinsically motivated (run for your own sake, your own mental and physical well-being) or were you extrinsically motivated (run for races and the bling). Intrinsically motivated runners are probably having less problem with motivation during this no race, can't meet up with running buddies time, while extrinsically motivated runners may be struggling to get out the door without a race to aim for or friends to run with. 

So, which kind of runner (triathlete, cyclist, etc) are you? I think I'm mainly intrinsically motivated with a side of extrinsic!   

I definitely miss my group rides but I haven't really had a problem getting moving. I may have some issues with adding intensity to my runs (partly motivation, partly fear of adding intensity too soon). It's a good way for me to have J-Time, if nothing else!

I definitely can be intrinsically motivated but don't love having to social distance outside. It stresses me out which which takes away from one of the primary reasons i love it. Getting out and just letting it go. I love training for races but other than swimming don't have a group to do the others with at the moment. I do enjoy that too. i am fine with the treadmill i don't love it. I have long felt that i needed to do a strength program but have always had my eye on a race. I think it's okay to change focus for a while. It's not like i am sitting on my butt. And it's not like i am going to quit (last month was my 15 year runniversary - i can trace back to joining a 10k training group at the Running Room) - i have taken some breaks (pregnancy and injury) but always come back to it. But i am not feeling like i need to be running either and i feel happy with my decision. 

Some good news up here. I got an email from the rec center that I swim at. The facility will open May 18, following established guidelines. 

From the email: 

We are pleased to report that we are planning to reopen the Recreation Center on the 18th of May. This is dependent upon local conditions for Covid19 remaining favorable and could be pushed out to June 1, but I am hopeful that we will see you all soon.

 So as long as things are favorable around, I might be able to hit the pool soon! 

Now on to the details for reopening.  In order to accomplish appropriate social distancing measures and limit risk to both staff and patrons alike we are working on detailed plans and will have more information as the date approaches, but here is what I can tell you about what you should expect when we reopen.

• Open Hours—We will be open from 7am-7pm M-F and 8am-5pm on Saturday.  We will be closed on Sundays.  Pools open a half hour later and close a half hour earlier than the rest of the facility.
• Face Coverings in the Facility--All facility users will be required to wear face coverings unless you are swimming.  Please be advised that this can affect your oxygen level and you may not be able to work out as vigorously as your body adapts.  Information about working out while wearing a mask is available on the internet and we encourage you to discuss this with your physician if it causes you concern.  You’ll find some information herehttps://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-safely-exercise-with-a-face-mask-on-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/ that may be useful.
• Temperature Check—We will have a person stationed at the front door to do a quick, no-touch temperature check when you arrive.  If you have a fever above the CDC recommendation of 100.4 degrees you will not be permitted entrance.
• Facility Reservation Required—We are in the process of setting up an online facility reservation process so that you can ensure that the equipment or area of the facility you wish to use will be available to you when you arrive.  You will still be required to utilize social distancing and some equipment and activities will be restricted or not allowed at this time.  More information will be forthcoming.
• Locker Rooms Unavailable—pursuant to the State Health Order only restrooms will be available.  Please come dressed for your activity. 
• Children under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult—We still welcome families and your children, but with additional supervision.  Thank you for your understanding.

As restrictions relax we will modify our restrictions, so please anticipate changing requirements.  Thank you for your understanding as we work through these changing circumstances.

These seem like reasonable expectations for opening up the facility.

Does anyone else have an open facility that is open? Are the safeguards that the city are implementing safe? 

--Tom

I find this discussion to be interesting. It seems like there is a near meltdown level response to cancelled races for some, while others are almost grateful for the cancellations. I guess if I spent big bucks on this stuff, I might be more unhappy, but I haven't done so. I guess I am like Hands, intrinsically motivated with a side of extrinsic.

Right, it would have been fun to get together for a gravel event this year.  As things stand, it looks like there is more time to get gravel ready.

Ditto...

Yep, my training environment is always at altitude! I learned early on the difference 7200 ft makes! 

If I was a runner, that would be my place to get away! 

I took a look at the USAT Safe Return to Multisport stuff.

The info for athletes is more or less a powerpoint.  The meat is in the recommendations to race directors (PDF).

• More signs
• More portable toilets
• More hand washing stations (includes hand sanitizer, wipes, etc.)
• More trash cans
• Even more hand washing stations
• Set up event for physical distancing
• Discourage spectators
• Staggered packet pickup with no giveaways
• Virtual race briefing
• Race morning temperature check
• Health questionnaire
• Space bikes at least 3-4 feet apart with more racks and fewer people per rack
• Sanitize bike racks before and after event
• Time trial start if possible
• Bike: encourage athletes to wear face coverings if possible
• Run: encourage athletes to wear face coverings if possible
• Run: recommended to avoid running directly behind another athlete at a distance less than 13 feet (or at a 45 degree angle)
• fewer aid stations
• self serve aid stations
• self body marking
• Recommend virtual medal ceremony or consider virtual medals that are sent to athletes electronically
• If possible, disposable chips should be considered