Reset search
My Coronavirus DiaryMy Coronavirus Diary
SatelliteEdit route

My Coronavirus Diary

March 2020 - May 2024
An open-ended adventure by Fiona Read more
Currently traveling
  • 46footprints
  • 1countries
  • 1,504days
  • 204photos
  • 4videos
  • 79kilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date descending
  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    2
    Day 62

    Costa Del Seapoint

    May 25, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Went for my second swim of the year today! This time at seapoint. The weather was cracking which unfortunately meant a massive crowd of people also had the same idea as me! 😬
    There are signs up everywhere saying 'swim and go' but loads of people were lounging around sunbathing and stuff!

    Good news today - zero deaths recorded for the first time since before the lockdown began 😊
    And only 50 or so new cases.
    This is all really great news and further shows that we really do have the virus under control.

    We will probably find out this weekend if the restrictions can be eased more quickly. To be honest it is becoming clear that alot of people have stopped following the current restrictions anyway so continuing with the current roadmap seems a bit pointless. Fingers crossed!

    Simon Harris keeps posting messages on Instagram like 'Rein it in' and 'hold firm'. We have been stuck at home for months, not able to see family and friends. What the hell does he want us to rein in?! It just a bit annoying! 😠

    This lovely cheerful cushion arrived today- another essential purchase! 😃    Read more

  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    Day 61

    Crusaders together apart!

    May 24, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Yesterday was meant to be the Crusaders club dinner. So we all sent in a pic of us wearing our club colours and Lisa put together a collage of them all!

    Myself, Olwyn and Mum headed up to Kilbogget on Friday to do our virtual relay legs. Work had given all of us the day off as a 'Happy you day'...there are some good things to come out of this lockdown! So we did a photo shoot in our club gear after the relay!

    I was wrecked for the rest of the day so just binged on Normal People and even watched a few episodes of the Wire which I had given up on previously - Can't be too picky with tv shows these days!

    Made a last minute decision to go fancy for take away and got steak and cocktails in Hartleys - yum! 😋 Then stayed up late playing cards with Mia and Paul.

    Struggling to remember what I did yesterday! Went for a walk with Mia...think that was about it 🤔 it's good not feeling guilty for not doing stuff these days...it's not like you're missing out on anything by sitting on the couch all day!

    Today I was up early for a run. Came across a couple of 'anti runners'. These people have become fairly common recently. They like to roll their eyes in annoyance if you don't dive out in front of a car to avoid coming within 2 meters of them & take no responsibility themselves for social distancing. When I go for a run of walk I accept that I'm going to end up closer than 2 meters to some people- especially if I choose busy places down by the seafront. Other people can choose to walk around their garden if they are that anxious! 🙄 Most people are fine but there is always one on two who put me on edge while out running!

    The WHO have actually advised that the distance should be reduced to 1 meter but our government seem to love faffing around with any decisions relating to this virus so haven't updated their guidance yet.

    Cases have dropped to 57 today. 57 out of the entire country! And we still can't go further than 5km from home. Actually you couldn't make some of this stuff up - scientists in Oxford are working on a vaccine but they are now concerned that cases in the UK are falling so rapidly that they won't have enough people to test the vaccine on, so they want to slow the decrease in cases! Like what?!?

    Anyway i am getting on with life as much as I can. Went for a long run today and picked up some brunch in cinnamon on the way home which was nice for a treat. Mia decided to blow up her giant inflatable unicorn for some reason...and then didn't do anything with it! Itll probably blow away and end up in someone's tree! 🙈

    We did a virtual escape room this evening! It was good fun...some people got a little bit stressed out during it but we got it together in the end haha! 😂

    Back to the grind tomorrow. Luckily it's a US bank holiday so I should have a bit of quiet time to lash through my ever growing email inbox.    Read more

  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    Day 56

    Kilbogget Cru training session!

    May 19, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Me & Mum met up with Olwyn this morning for a 'Cru' training session on the Kilbogget track! It was a really warm, humid morning and I was sweatin' by the end of it! I think Olwyn really appreciated having someone to do a session with as she hasn't done any speed work since lockdown began.

    I brought some of my bakewells for afterwards which went down a treat! 😁

    Loads of packages arrived today- yay! But still no sign of my garden couch- boo! I got a hose head so I can water my plants without crushing them with the force of the water jet! And also got some artificial plants for around the house. Me and the delivery man are like best mates now! 😀

    This poem arrived in the post from Lisa today! Must send her a reply! Mum is still sending her daily postcards to Mia. We must also send some back to her!

    This afternoon Mia and Paul played loads of call of duty while I fell asleep on the egg chair in the sun! Woke up really groggy and dehydrated 😴 & not really in the mood for this evening's Pete session!

    I asked Mum and Lisa if they would still go to La Santa in November if it meant a 2 week quarantine on their return - they both said they would! 😂 I'm not sure to be honest- like 2 whole weeks stuck in my bedroom sounds like absolute torture...I'm not sure even Ia santa is worth that!

    I'm off to play some Sims now during the last few hours of my extra long weekend! 2 day working week coming up! 💪    Read more

  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    Day 55

    Stage 1

    May 18, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today we entered stage 1 of the easing of the lockdown. Nothing really changed except diy and hardware stores reopened and we can officially meet up with people outside our household. (Which I've already done on the sly he he 😏)

    Mia started her summer exams today and in true Mia style she also started studying for them today! I spent half my day off helping her prepare for her Irish exam this afternoon! Here's a pic of her all set up ready to get started!

    This afternoon I did some baking and gardening, because I was too tired for a walk or run so there wasn't really anything else to do! My sunflowers are getting transplanted to a bigger pot tomorrow in the hope that it will help them grow bigger.

    Paul power washed our patio...and our side passage...and the front path and driveway. So now one section of the path is gleaming while the rest is grey!

    Here's a pic of woodies prepared for the big reopening today. Apparently queues were hours long this morning, in the lashing rain. People are mad! Apparently one woman who was interviewed said she just wanted to buy geraniums!! 😂

    I actually ended up going on a couple of work calls today just because I was just faffing around with nothing else to do. Lock down has really highlighted to me how bad I am at just taking the foot off the peddle...definitely something I need to work on! Like when me, Paul and Mia decide to go for a walk and I'm like 'right come on guys we really need to get going', and they're like 'its 10am. We're on lockdown and have nothing else to do all day. Why are you rushing?!' 🙈

    I did a stretching Pilates class this evening while Paul and Mia played call of duty in the room beside me! I'm there trying to be all Zen and relaxed and all I can hear in the background is machine gun rounds and bombs exploding! 😂    Read more

  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    Day 54

    First dip of the year

    May 17, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Only 64 new cases today- we are well and truly flattening the curve! Unfortunately we seem to be the slowest country in the world when it comes to easing the restrictions though...I suspect maybe it's because they aren't prepared enough to do proper contact tracing or something and they're just keeping it on the down low!

    In the mean time Margaret is somehow now in France! 🤨 while all of us eejits pace up and down the West pier, she a off sunning herself in the south of France. Madness!

    I sent a vague text to olwyn yesterday asking when the swimming spots would reopen, and before I knew it I had been roped into meeting up with olwyn for an 8.30am dip at colliemore harbour followed by coffee in Dalkey! 🤣
    It was a GREAT start to the day. We jogged down and Olwyn seemed to be on first name terms with everyone we came across & then was like a minor celeb with all the swimmers! I only let out one small yelp when getting in..much to the amusement of the regulars!
    From Tuesday seapoint will be reopened..I'm going to try and get down a couple of times a week. It's good for the soul and it's good having the time to while I'm working from home.

    After coffee I continued on my long run up to Cabinteely. It was my first time in the park since lockdown. Unfortunately I misjudged how big the loop up to cabo and back through Deansgrange was and ended up running for about 2 hours in total..with a stop for a swim and coffee!

    This afternoon I learned how to draw an eye and a boot on my drawing course. A very exciting afternoon haha! Also fitted in a cheeky hot tub.

    Then I spent half the evening jogging up and down the stairs trying to beat Lisa in this week's step challenge - it's the little victories!

    I found a new feature on my Garmin which gives you predicted race times. 44.09 for 10k - what are the chances?!    Read more

  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    Day 52

    Happy you day!

    May 15, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Work announced that they are giving us next Friday off as a 'happy you day', woohoo! 💃
    I also took Monday and Tuesday off so will have a nice 2 day week next week!

    Time off is funny these days since you can't do anything but nice to be able to take a break from the laptop...although I have 706 emails in my inbox so I'm going to try and tip away at them while I'm off so that I can come back to a fresh slate! 🙈 there are way more emails and meetings these days because of the lack of in person contact so everything has just become less efficient...and my email inbox has become a major casualty!

    Leo announced today that stage 1 will happen on Monday as planned but homeware stores can't open, just hardware and garden shops. I was thinking of going to ikea just for something to do...although now that I think about it it's actually beyond the 5k threshold so I couldn't have gone anyway! You know the situation is dire when Ikea starts looking like a fun family day out! 😂

    The sports awards were today and Mia won most committed player on her team - go Mia! She's been playing on both the d2 and d3 teams and sometimes had a few matches in one week between school and club, and she never missed a match so it's well deserved!

    Mia has been great recently with helping around the house etc. She hasn't been doing much schoolwork though...It's hard to properly supervise when I'm working but I pop my head in during 'class' sometimes and she has a the class screen hidden while she has roblox open on another screen & chats to her friends on her phone! Summer exams are next week and then summer hols so it's not for much longer anyway!

    Here's a pic of the queue I was standing in at Tesco this evening- sure what else would I be doing on a Friday evening! I'm always reluctant to leave the shop in case I remember something I need just after I step outside the door and have to queue for ages again! Wonder when they will stop the limits on people in shops...probably not for many months! ☹

    Did a 10 min ab workout today - they have some pre recorded workouts through work. I'm going to have great abs when we emerge from this..they might be hidden under a layer of fat but they're there I promise haha!

    Garden looking well. Here's a pic of one of my favourite plants. Love the colour - so rich 😍
    Task for the weekend = power wash the patio before my new garden couch arrives.    Read more

  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    Day 50

    Sports day!

    May 13, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Mia had her school sports day today. It started with a quiz and then they had to run 2km and do some other challenges.

    I brought her up to the kilbogget track for her 2km & Mum did her 3km club time trial at the same time. Mia was determined to run a sub 10 min 2km but hasn't really been doing any exercise recently... I tried to lower her expectations but she was having none of it!

    So off we went at 5 min per km pace. Got through lap 1, she started to struggle during lap 2 & had to make an emergency pit stop! Got going again for lap 3. Another break. Lap 4. Break. Final lap, she hung on my shoulder and then gunned it down the home stretch to come through in 9.39! 😂
    She was really disappointed in herself for not being able to do it in one go...I don't know where she gets her competitive streak from! Most of her friends just did a walk/run attempt in about 15 mins!

    Speaking of cheating. We are doing these time trials and relays with crusaders and there is cheating going on left right and centre! People running the distance down a massive hill! It kinda takes some of the fun away seeing people that I should be at a similar level to absolutely leaving me in their dust! I guess they're only fooling themselves 🙄 it will be fun beating them when we're back in the real world! 😁

    Mum smashed her goal of sub 18 for the 3km today- go Mum! 🏃‍♀️    Read more

  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    Day 49

    Well this is crap.

    May 12, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Honestly I am just so sick of this whole dam thing! I hate having a massive queue every time I go to the shop. I hate not having anything to look forward to. I miss holidays, gigs, rosslare, races, pubs, restaurants, the cinema, brunch. I just miss everything & I'm sick and tired of this lockdown! 😠 what I wouldn't give to just hop in the car this Friday and drive somewhere further than 5km for a cheeky holiday!

    We have flattened the curve really well. Our cases are down to about 100 per day. So fingers crossed the easing of restrictions might happen quicker than originally planned 🤞

    I started a drawing course on Udemy today. I've completed part 1 - how to draw a line! 😆

    The garden is looking good. Sunflowers are coming along nicely. It's great to have the garden to tip away at, especially when the weather is so night.

    Work sent out a work from home survey today. If people overwhelmingly want to go back to work then they will try and get us back quicker than planned. I haven't answered it yet because I don't know what I want...i mean I really want to go back but I know when I'm back I'll miss working from home and not having to commute! The grass is always greener!

    The green bins went out today. I have never seen people's bins so full! All sorts of electronics, garden furniture and kids toys!    Read more

  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    Day 47

    Extra long long run

    May 10, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    Ran out past Dalkey for the first time in a while. It's nice being able to run that bit further with the 5km limit...need to be grateful for the little things!

    Went up to Kilbogget this afternoon to pace Anna in her mile relay. Her goal was sub 8 and she ran 7.50! Mia even joined in for a bit..She was in bits afterwards and couldn't move properly when she woke up the next day! 😂

    She does seem to have awoken her competitive desire though. She had been adamant that she wasn't taking part in the virtual sports day 2k this Wednesday but now she's discussing pace and splits and preparation for it! Don't know where she gets it from! 😆

    I REALLY miss the freedom to go on holidays. What I would give to be able to hop on a plane to London or Spain or anywhere. Every now and then I get pangs for the old life & the freedom I had. I can't think about it too much...one day at a time!    Read more

  • TravelerMy Coronavirus Diary
    Day 46

    Bored enough for Monopoly!

    May 9, 2020 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    It was an absolute scorcher today!
    Nearly too hot at times!

    Paul got up for a super early morning walk today so I was able to do the Parkrun quiz from bed without having to worry about waking him. It was really random! Might do it again next week...if I don't get too tempted by a lie in!

    Did a good Emmet tempo session in the morning with Lisa and spent the rest of the day in the garden - hot tubbing, bbqing and even playing monopoly! (Yes we're getting desperate 😂)

    Bought some tulips to brighten up the kitchen...since I'm spending most of my time there these days!

    It's great having the weekly Emmet plan to focus on. At least I'll have improved my running fitness if nothing else when this is over!

    Our next door neighbours had loads of visitors over this evening. And there was some sort of street party a few doors down- loads of adults sitting around and kids out playing. We're not meant to be mixing with anyone outside our household but alot of people seem to have decided not to bother following the restrictions any more! I think there's a sense that we've beaten this thing so people are relaxing. Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite us 😬

    I must say it is really annoying sitting at home doing nothing, listening to these people having the banter while I follow the rules. 😤    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English