Looking Back: March

Well hello! The month of March was one for the record books so I figured why not put some of my thoughts in writing?

Running: Despite many obstacles, I ran 180 miles in March. The month started out great; summer training was starting to ramp up, it was a little rainy, things were still "normal." Week two was a travel week for me, so it was slated for a low mileage week, but then the shit hit the fan. More on that later. The next Monday, the Bay Area went into a shelter in place and since then running has been a bit of a trial. It often looks like the photo below, which, as you can see, is nearly impossible to get 6 feet away from people.

Photo Credit: LA Times

Reading: In March I read 10 books; to be clear, 5 of them were audiobooks. As I am now running by myself and commuting to work and doing a lot of house and yard projects when I am home, all of the above translates to a lot of time going toward audiobooks. Oh and did I mention that the CFA Exam which was supposed to be in June was cancelled/postponed? So now studying is also postponed, so I have had lots of time to get to reading! My favorites for the month of March were This Tender Land, The Dearly Beloved and The Book Women of Troublesome Creek.

Travel: Now this is a story I never thought I would have to tell. Believe it or not, I did travel in March. On the 11th, I flew to...wait for it...New York City. I went for a work trip combined with my friend's wedding. My flight was basically empty. The Monday before I left , the Dow dropped over 2,000 points. The Wednesday that I flew, the Dow dropped another 1,400+. The first day in the NYC office, it dropped another 2,300 points and then on Friday the 13th, it went up 2,000 points. I would say that was the strangest week (at the time) market-wise, that I have ever been through. To top it off, our firm was starting to make people work from home and restaurants were half empty etc.

March 11: SFO-EWR

On Thursday, my friend who was getting married texted me to tell me that her wedding has been cancelled. So we make plans to still meet up for brunch on Sunday. On Friday, they start shutting down restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn. My friend says brunch is cancelled. I decided to get an earlier flight out and end up flying home on Saturday morning. On my flight home, most people are wearing masks.

Etc. & Misc.: I am still going into the office. Out of our team of 12, three of us are still going in. I am driving there (I usually take public transit) and back each day and am going grocery shopping every two weeks. Other than that, I am at home. I am taking runs by myself, all within 5 miles of my house. I am healthy and I have plenty of food. Since I do not have to study, I am getting a lot of yard work, housework and cleaning/culling projects out of the way early this year. I have not done my taxes yet.

I am still hopeful about having a garden, but am not going to go out to buy plants since that is not essential so I have ordered some online (we shall see!) and am attempting to plant some seeds this year. Also the trees (fig, peach, plum, orange, avocado, blueberry) are looking very good this year!

What was your favorite March read? What are you filling your extra time with?