white printer paper on black typewriter

The Year When Anything is Possible

Font Size

Yesterday, something terrible happened.

Garmin went down.

In case you don’t know, Garmin is an activity tracker.  It is how I log my runs, walks, or any cardio activity in general.  I like my Garmin because it also monitors my sleep, and my heart rate.  I follow my resting heart rate like a hawk.  If for some reason my resting heart rate is out of range, I start taking stock of any overall health concerns that may be affecting me physically.

In the running community, the Garmin is a big deal.  On Twitter and on Facebook I am a part of different running groups.  I have never run with these people, it is not like that.  These groups give runners the chance to “brag about their runs.”  Any distance, any time – does not matter.  These groups are out there to 1. Let you talk about your run and not roll their eyes. 2. Lavish you with kind words about your run.

They are a social media “safe place” for run talks.

So, you can imagine, when an activity tracker goes down, social media lights up in a new way.

Like a tree falling in the forest, if Garmin doesn’t log your activity – did it really happen?

I, like many others, have the need to SEE my activity in order for it to count.  Without seeing my numbers, ALL my numbers, I get a little “itchy.”

Right now, I have three unlogged activities that I am waiting to see stats for.  Two gym classes and a run/hike.

This is my gym.

When I arrive, I have to wait outside with my mask on.  One by one we are allowed to enter and directed to a yellow box by the kettle bells, barbell or cardio machine after our temperature is taken.  There is a maximum of nine people allowed to take a class, although the biggest class I have been in was seven.  We do not have to wear a mask while we are working out but do when we move stations every ten minutes.  We wipe down our equipment after we touch it, and with each rotation, the trainer walks around like an exterminator spraying the area with a specially made alcohol spray cleaner made at a local distillery.  When the class is over, we wait to be told we can exit, again, one by one wearing our mask.

If gyms are forced to close it will be sad knowing what lengths my gym has gone to ensure the safety of its members.

After my gym class, I hit the trails for a run/hike.  Even though I set my Garmin to “walk” to monitor my activity, I do not call it that.  I think it is my ego that is standing in the way.  I still want to be known as a runner.  But with steep hills, trails and humidity that kills, some areas are not run.  They are “hiked.” 

See what I did there?  I just framed mental stability.

And really, with such beautiful scenery and wildlife all around, I find myself stopping to take photos that still do not do it justice.

I couldn’t help but think of the game “Whack a Mole” watching this guy keep popping out to see if I had left
Two red wing blackbirds chasing the big guy away from their nest
So hot and humid, but so blue!
The hills that kills

C’mon, Garmin!  Tell me how I did!

It looks like I will be able to keep my early morning routine a little while longer.  Our school district made the announcement that school will be 100% online learning for the first semester, sports and activities also postponed.  I do not need to worry about making sure food is consumed and teeth are brushed before sending a child out to the bus stop (one by one).  I do not need to worry about buying back to school clothes, shoes, or supplies.  No busy schedules to follow.

I’m sure it was a tough decision for the school to make.  Outside of the nagging I have to do in order to get children to get online and do schoolwork, we can make the situation work for us.  The kids were neither sad, nor excited.  The news was almost expected and met with a shrug.

Nothing seems to surprise us anymore.  We chalk everything to, “It’s 2020.  Anything is possible.”

Even Garmin being down.  Que sera, sera.

Clearly, he is not a part of my running groups. C’mon, Garmin!

33 thoughts on “The Year When Anything is Possible

  1. In our house, the question that comes up when someone returns from a run or a bike ride is ‘did anyone see you?’ If you aren’t seen by someone you know, it doesn’t count. This is particularly hard on me, because I usually drive to a remote forest area to run. I’m lucky if *anyone* sees me much less anyone I know. I never got into the whole sharing run data thing, and now I’m so slow I don’t want to. All the coaches on my MTB team use strava, and I’ve heard a couple of times “you gotta get on’ if for no other reason than to share routes. Gettysburg STILL hasn’t publicized it’s plan, which I think is a little annoying. Although it looks like things are going south in PA pretty quickly, so maybe they are waiting until closer to the start date so they don’t need to change something they already announced.

    1. I don’t post my runs anymore. I did for a couple of years on Twitter as a part of this yearly goal thing – I had good numbers then. But it is really time consuming so I stopped. Between the blog and staying up on everyone’s runs was hard. Now, my Twitter feed is just filled with runners, and right now, a lot of Garmin tears. I am glad we know what is happening in the fall. There was so much speculation about what was going to happen and what it was going to look like. I guess it is just too soon, which I agree with, although online learning isn’t my favorite. Although, really, between online learning, in school learning, or homeschooling – NONE of the options gave me good feelings. So, it is what it is and we’ll just go with it.

  2. Lol… I had someone warn me about “getting addicted to the numbers” when I got a fitness tracker. Didn’t happen. Made no difference to me if it said 9,000,000 or 2. It didn’t help when I realized it only counted swinging motion… so my intense strength training wouldn’t register anything but carrying 2 small abandoned weights back to the rack got me a “good job! High intensity!” notice.

    I hope you get your stats back ASAP!

    1. Thank you! I used to be nutso about my daily steps. My gosh, I was on my treadmill morning, noon and night. I had to let go of the steps. I used to set out with a mileage goal in mind. Now, I still collect my miles, but without a goal. Whatever I get, I get. I just want to know what I got! Hopefully soon!

      1. Back in the late 80s, when I was motivated to become a workout fanatic, I used to require that I do at least “1 more” of something every day… 1 more minute on a machine, 1 more rep, whatever. I became obsessed with the stairmaster (different from today’s never ending stairway machine) and was eventually doing 1.5hrs a night at it’s highest intensity, in addition to all my other stuff. My answering machine directed people to call me at the gym. Then I pretty much stopped all of it overnight. Yet it took me 20+ years to realize I had an addiction and was anorexic back then. You’d never know it to look at me now!!

  3. I feel almost robbed when my activity fails to be downloaded. It’s a crazy feeling. How do you find the gym sessions with the new protocols. Your run looks absolutely stunning. So very jealous. Our schools are opening, no prob says the PM, but increasing numbers of head teachers are being told to plan for a shutdown in October.

    1. Me too! There are times I accidentally hit “disregard” on my watch and practically fall to my knees in horror. All that work, lost! The fields and open spaces, watching them transform being cut down – they remind me of the photos you post of the fields right outside your front door. I can totally understand why you and your partner chose that house. Stunning as well! I hope your PM get his head out of his bum. Major planning needs to go into opening – definitely a problem worth focusing on! I think if we opened, the same was bound to happen here. Closed again in October. I think they will take each semester as it comes for us. I kind of like that approach.

    2. Oh! And I love the gym and its new protocols. I do not think I would have returned to in person training (I would have stayed with the Zoom sessions which now follow those of us in the gym) if it weren’t for all the precautions. And it is great to be around people doing the things we enjoy, and getting to talk to other parents about their thoughts of this whole mess! The gym is also a renovated old firehouse. So the old fire truck garage doors are open to allow for more of a natural air flow and no fans.

  4. Oh NO!😱 I’m not a runner, but I can empathize with you. We really lose it when something that is part of our routine gets messed up. It sets off a chain reaction and everything feels off kilter.

    No mad rush of school… no breaks either. We all just keep on, taking each day as it comes and doing the best we can. Thank goodness for friendships and support on the interwebs!

    🤞fingers crossed for your stats to show soon!❤

    1. I keep refreshing the app trying to get my info to reload and nothing is working. It is weird, but it is something I look forward to seeing, so I save it for mid-morning to look at – not to rush anyone of the numbers. I know, it’s weird – but it is the little things, right? The numbers give me something to assess and goals to reevaluate – even sleep hours. It’s all a big picture I like to see. But can’t! (Yet). 🙂
      You are right, no breaks either. I thought about that. I am so thankful this is happening now and not five years ago. I wouldn’t have the same mindset. Things are definitely better than they were then, so I am more open to this change. I also thought I could take kids in that parents have to work – but then I remembered all the work I have to do to keep the house quiet for Bob working in the basement and nixed that idea. I may be wrong in thinking I am free until 8AM – the kids may actually need to “show up” online by then. I have no idea. Everything is so up in the air. I guess I go to my 2020 motto – “We’ll see!” 🙂

  5. I hope your Garmin tracking tool goes back online soon. I can definitely understand and empathize with the nagging frustration!

    Your gym did a Great job of pivoting services and work flows. And again, your running trail is so scenic. I don’t run but if I did, that scenery would certainly inspire me.

    I’m glad you know what the fall semester holds for you. We’re still waiting for confirmation. Enjoy the additional free time and best wishes with the semester. Hope it flies by!

    1. Thank you! That darn Garmin – thank goodness I can always count on someone on social media to help make me smile through an otherwise frustrating event! I am thankful to know what the school year will at least start like. I hope you guys find out soon too!

  6. I use the app on my phone for my workouts. They are also logged on my gym’s app. Love it as it does all the calculations for me.

    Hope yours gets out of jail, and goes back to start.

    1. Me too – is yours working? I still can’t get mine to load. The calculations are the best!
      Thank you!

        1. That’s weird. I wonder how many people weren’t affected? I saw on Forbes today that Garmin was hacked. The article is: “Will Garmin Pay $10m Ransom To End Two-Day Outage?” It still says it is “under maintenance” for me. Hopefully tomorrow as I have a lot of workouts I want to see loaded!

  7. Oh, the horror! I totally understand and empathize!

    While I don’t use a digital tracker or GPS, I’ve been recording my runs (length and/or time) and other daily activities (sometimes even the fact that I mowed the lawn or vacuumed 🙂 ) in training logs since the 1980s. They’re as much a diary as training log. In the early 1990s I started keeping the log in an Excel program. Back then I would try to remember back it up on external drives, then thumb drives, and now it’s kept in the cloud, including those early Excel years, so I no longer worry about backups. But a few years ago when I was transferring stuff from an old desktop to a new one, I realized I was missing an entire year’s training log – 2005. Arrgghhhh! I’ll never get that year back, all those runs…gone, as if they never happened. Very upsetting.

    1. Oh. My. Gosh. A whole year? That would be dreadful! I keep all my logs in my yearly calendar that is separated by months. On each day of the month I write if I went to the gym and the number of miles I did. When I started keeping the logs back in 2013 I would write if my miles were walked, jogged, or ran ( I had a specific mph guideline for each). Now, I do the same as you. I realized if I am out there mowing the lawn I could be actually exerting more force and energy than a well designed workout. All work matters! At least I know I am tired, or feel worked out, after all of it – so it counts. Amen.
      Garmin is still down. It may be time to configure a different way to keep my logs. But I will continue to keep my logs!

  8. I don’t run and if I didn’t have a Fitbit I probably would stay glued to a chair more than I do. I walk early every morning before it gets tooooo hot. Even at 7 am I come home drenched some days with the humidity. But if I forget to put on my tracker, drenched or not, I feel like it didn’t count. Nobody even sees the steps but me.

    1. I know! Sometimes I am out on those trails all alone. Just me and my Garmin. I feel so lost and alone now! (That, of course, is me being dramatic, so have fun with that when you read it – head on forehead, look of despair, etc). Just kidding. I’m okay. 🙂 I just want to see my numbers again!

  9. It’s amazing how fitness centers (and many other businesses) have adapted to continue to provide for their customers. Oh 2020 – I’m counting down the days ’til 12/31!

Leave a Reply