June - whoosh and I almost missed it
Time seems to fly by ridiculously fast at the moment. Or is it just me? Maybe. How are we half way through the year already?
How was June for you?
This is how June was for me
Hobbies, health and stress relievers
✅ Trying out a potentially new hobby - crochet. I thought it might be a good way to de-stress. We’ll I still can’t crochet but the book I bought to learn from was comedy genius! Some quotes ‘even the maximum primary stitches can be used to make lovable textiles for yourself or a person else.’ Or ‘This capacity to be inside the second operating on something allows you not to have too many mind racing thru your thoughts.’ And finally ‘There is no restriction while to apply which grip and it doesn’t affect the stitch satisfaction and in case you are new to Crochet, then you have to strive to each the options and see which suits you exceptional and to which grip you’re comfortable with.’ Like I said, I still can’t crochet, but it did still de-stress!!
❌ My first channel relay slot has come and gone. It’s currently rescheduled for August, but we’ll have to see if it’s possible then.
✅ Finding new places near me that I didn’t know existing while out on the bike. This month’s finds included the Basingstoke Canal path, the Muslim Cemetery for soldiers from WWI and WWII (now simply a garden of peace), and a medieval moat less than 0.5 miles from where I live.
✅ In the 100 odd days of lockdown I haven’t repeated a single bike route. So many options to explore.
✅ Another Covid-19 test requested by the Kings College study, another negative result.
✅ A second visit to the chiropractor for one of their emergency appointments - this time it made a massive difference. June saw a greatly appreciated reduction in discomfort (on the whole) and the return of better sleep.
❌ ✅ I’m on the fence with this one. I had the results of my back X-Ray. Good news is that it’s most likely soft tissue damage (which is easier to fix). No disc issues or significant joint issues. There is a bit of bone degredation which is commensurate with my age - the negative is that’s a nice way of saying that I’m getting old!!
✅ Finding that cycling is a great stress reliever has been wonderful. Get on the bike and find a bit of nature and I can feel the stress just start to evaporate. There is a lake pretty close to us which you can cycle all round (about 1.5 miles) and the trail has a lovely mix of woodland and lakeside. It’s my new happy place. How lucky am I that I have rediscovered somewhere that is really close to home?!
✅ I swam!!! For the first time in 91 days! Julian (AKA Number 1) advised me that we were going to swim in the harbour. I had no idea what it would be like, could I still swim efficiently? Well it was lovely. A simple lap of the harbour on a bouncy day! I even managed a tumble turn on the ferry wall. It wasn’t fast, and it didn’t matter. Good company and a lovely swim.
❌ 30th June marked the first of my big solo swims that couldn’t go ahead this year. I should have been swimming Catalina channel (from Catalina island back to mainland California. Before all of these Covid-19 challenges kicked off I was is a great pace physically and mentally. It felt like a repeat of 2014. I’m no longer in that place, but know that if I could be there once, I can get there again. Roll on August 2021.
Work, clients and business
✅ I’ve presented at conferences before, but this was very much a first for me. I presented at a conference that I wasn’t even at! I don’t mean that it was virtual so I was online instead, I mean I wasn’t present in any way shape or form! I pre-recorded my session and the time that it was played was moved to a time that I couldn’t attend so I just simply wasn’t there, even though I was 🤔
✅ Virtual Dover Channel Training sessions continued, as did the mid week virtual coffee and cake. I’ve really enjoyed them. It’s been a mix of getting to know people that I didn’t particularly know before and getting to know others even better than before. It’s also been great fun. Simple, friendly fun.
✅ The start of offering 1:1 online sessions for swimmers, it’s proving popular and it’s great to be able provide support even though we’re not in Dover.
❌ The middle of the month saw some pretty high stress levels with preparing for the return to some sort of training in Dover, but not only that, juggling some pretty challenging workload at work too. Still, isn’t that where the magic happens? Outside the comfort zone.
✅ I am very, very lucky to be surrounded by some amazing friends who I could call upon for support and advice when needing to replan how to run Dover this year. Such a diverse set of backgrounds and viewpoints. So much brilliant and constructive advice. #TeamSpirit.
✅ I attended a fascinating webinar on the return to Elite sport following Covid-19. Whilst not about swimming or channel swimming, it was easy to think about the aspects that were different or common.
In other news
✅ Some of you may have been aware of my lockdown ritual of posting my reasons to be cheerful. I kept this going until 29th June. I know that seems like a random date to stop, but it was when I hit number 100 and that seemed like a good time to call it a day. What I learned from this is that even on the most difficult days there are reasons to be cheerful. I also became much more consciously aware of all the things that I am grateful for, writing it down really does help.
✅ Changing mindsets. I used to jump in the car for most things, even the local Little Waitrose. That has all changed. My new normal instinct is to question if I can cycle there. Never before would I ever have even considered cycling to the hospital for an x-Ray. It’s only 6.7 miles, really not worth getting the car out! I took the scenic route home so it was over 12 miles back.
✅ Went to a fantastic quiz night run by a former colleague (online naturally) - really professionally presented and with some famous faces.
✅ More international monopoly - why did we wait until lockdown to do this?
✅ A family catch up with all my brothers, sister, nephews etc. Lovely, simply lovely to catch up.
✅ A socially distanced BBQ lunch with Paul’s parents, that was a really nice way to spend Fathers’ Day. It was a tough day that had its moments of not being easy as I thought about my Dad, and this was a perfect way to distract.
There are a lot of ticks in these lists. This month has seen moments of extreme stress, extreme gratitude and moments of real joy. In amongst all that is challenging right now, life remains precious and full of potential.
Training
Just for the record, here is what I managed to do in June, it’s now not so much training for an event, but more using my exercise opportunity for keeping healthy and for enjoyment. This month continued to be hampered by the back issue meaning no strength & conditioning work.
Swimming - 1.3 hours, 2.81km (plus a bit of social bobbing)
Yoga - zero hours
Strength & conditioning - zero hours
E-bike - 18.6 hours of cycling covering 305,878 metres
Walking - zero hours
Rest days - 13 (squiffy back!)
Individual Clients
It’s been a busy month, with supporting individual training plans, general performance coaching and tailored sports performance hypnosis. July looks set to be even busier as people get back into sport and look towards their challenges. Is that you? Or perhaps you want some help adapting to your new normal in the working environment.
Get in touch if you’re curious as to how I can help.
emma@emma2france.com 07702 814690
COVID-19 in June 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the world, and here in the UK we are past the peak and starting to have a bit more freedom of movement. For me that has meant slightly longer bike rides but otherwise no real change.
Each month I look for headlines for each day, mostly as an aide memoire for me. It would be very difficult to do this after the event. We are living through something completely unprecedented. Each month I stumble across headlines that I hadn’t appreciated at the time, so fascinating to me.
Like last month, I have sourced headline information from a variety of sources.
1st June
At least 6,206,773 people are known to have been infected and at least 372,752 are known to have died since the outbreak began.
Public trust in the UK government as a source of accurate information about the epidemic has collapsed, suggesting ministers may struggle to maintain lockdown restrictions in the aftermath of the Dominic Cummings affair.
India eases lockdown despite a record daily rise in cases
2nd June
China does not count asymptomatic cases, meaning people who are infected with the virus but do not exhibit symptoms of the disease, as confirmed cases.
Indonesia cancels hajj pilgrimage. The average wait for a place on the pilgrimage is 20 years.
People in Pakistan told to ‘live with the virus’.
3rd June
Sweden’s chief epidemiologist and the architect of its light-touch approach to the coronavirus has acknowledged that the country has had too many deaths from Covid-19 and should have done more to curb the spread of the virus.
Air pollution in China returns to pre-pandemic levels
Vietnam’s most gravely-ill Covid-19 patient, a British pilot who works for its national airline, has started to recover from the illness and may no longer require a lung transplant, state media said today. The fate of “Patient 91” has received unprecedented national attention, with more than 50 people in Vietnam offering themselves as potential lung donors, according to state media.
4th June
A $2bn (£1.5bn) fund aimed at ensuring that poorer countries can access doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine has been unveiled at a virtual summit hosted by the UK.
Face coverings to be compulsory on public transport in England
Bastille Day military parade cancelled in France.
5th June
Brazil’s death toll overtakes Italy’s to become third-highest globally, trailing only the US and the UK.
New York governor urges protesters to get tested
Patients with high blood pressure admitted to hospital with coronavirus are twice as likely to die as those without the condition. For in-patients with the virus who had stopped taking medication for high blood pressure, the risk of dying doubled again.
6th June
Wear masks in public, WHO says in new advice to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
7th June
A further 77 UK coronavirus deaths are reported in the UK - the lowest daily total since 23 March
No deaths recorded in Scotland or Northern Ireland of patients who tested positive for coronavirus, however, the Scottish government warns this will be an under-estimate
Globally, more than 6.9 million infections and 400,000 deaths have been recorded
8th June
Lockdowns have saved more than three million lives in Europe, an Imperial College study estimates
Most people arriving in the UK have to quarantine for two weeks
New York City begins reopening, with as many as 400,000 people getting back to work
9th June
More than 7.1 million cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, including at least 408,000 deaths.
Almost half of US states are seeing higher rates of new Covid-19 cases as Americans go out to socialise or protest.
Coronavirus is in retreat across the UK, the health secretary said. However, he warned the government will take local action where there are "flare ups and outbreaks."
10th June
Schools in the Philippines won't return until a vaccine is available.
US coronavirus expert and White House adviser Dr Anthony Fauci has warned "it isn't over yet", describing the pandemic as his “worst nightmare”.
France's most iconic landmark, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, will reopen on 25 June for the first time in three months - marking its longest closure since World War II.
WHO says people are most infectious when they first feel ill. Dr. Mike Ryan explained that it's easier to transmit droplets because, unlike SARS and MERS, where the virus is in the lower respiratory tract, the novel coronavirus lodges in the upper respiratory tract. “That means you could be in the restaurant feeling perfectly well and start to get a fever, you are feeling OK, you didn’t think to stay home, but that’s the moment at which your viral load could be actually quite high,” he said. Ryan said it explained why the disease was so contagious and hard to contain.
11th June
The US has now recorded more than 2 million Covid-19 cases, by far the highest number worldwide, and coronavirus hospitalisations have gone up in at least a dozen states. Around 113,000 Americans have died of the virus so far, the US could see an additional 100,000 deaths by the end of the summer.
Brazil has recorded more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases in the past five days. At the same time, some of the country's biggest cities are starting to reopen.
In Mexico, the health care system is struggling to cope. Paramedics in Mexico City are using duct tape to patch up holes in their protective suits, hoping screens made of trash bags will shield them. As they watch their colleagues die.
12th June
More than 7.6 million cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, including at least 424,000 deaths.
13th June
A virus outbreak in a wholesale market in Beijing leads to fears of a second wave in the Chinese capital
Brazil's death toll becomes second highest in the world, surpassing the UK's with more than 41,000 victims
From today, people living alone in England and Northern Ireland can form a support bubble with another household
14th June
The UK coronavirus death toll has risen by 36 in the lowest daily increase since lockdown began. The total number of deaths across all settings in the UK now stands at 41,698
15th June
Thousands flock to shops in England open for first time in almost three months
In France, travel to other EU countries is allowed, and all cafes and restaurants can open
16th June
There are now 5,254 people in hospital with coronavirus in the UK of which 385 are currently in mechanical ventilation beds.
17th June
More than 8.2 million cases of novel coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, including at least 446,000 deaths.
In the UK, a new study suggests dexamethasone, a widely available steroid drug, may treat the sickest patients
18th June
Countries including China and Germany have renewed lockdown measures in some areas following the emergence of new clusters of cases.
In the US, Florida, Texas and Arizona saw their highest single-day increases in new Covid-19 cases. New projections say Florida has "all the markings of the next large epicenter."
19th June
More than 8.6 million cases of novel coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, including more than 458,000 deaths.
20th June
New Covid-19 cases are rising in 23 US states, and 10 saw their highest single-day increases.
21st June
UK death toll rises by 43
Spain lets British tourists visit without quarantine on arrival
Donald Trump claims he asked to slow down testing
22nd June
More than 9 million cases of novel coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide.
An infectious disease expert has warned that the virus is on track to keep spreading "like a forest fire" through the US this summer and fall.
23rd June
Confirmed cases of coronavirus around the globe passed the 9 million mark in the past 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Saudi Arabia has banned visitors from overseas making the annual Islamic pilgrimage - the Hajj - to Mecca and Medina. Only a limited number of those resident in the kingdom will be able to attend.
The number of COVID-19 deaths in the US has passed 120,000, with more than 2.3 million confirmed cases. Infections are still increasing in 23 of the 50 states, with California, Texas and Florida the worst affected, each with more than 100,000 cases.
24th June
US infectious diseases expert Dr Antony Fauci has warned some states are seeing a "disturbing surge" in coronavirus cases.
The death toll in Latin America passed has passed 100,000, as the number of cases doubled in less than a month to reach 2.2 million.
The UK has announced a further easing of lockdown, with pubs and restaurants allowed to open from 4 July, and social distancing rules change to 'one metre plus'.
25th June
The UK is starting human trials on a new COVID-19 vaccine, at Imperial College London, with around 300 volunteers taking part in the coming weeks.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the country would not open to international tourists yet, over fears of a second wave of infections. There have been no deaths in the country and just over 350 confirmed cases.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris is reopening, but visitors will have to climb the stairs.
26th June
More than half of US states are seeing an increase in Covid-19 cases. In Texas, some bars have been ordered to close as officials fear "apocalyptic" surges if current trends continue. Meanwhile, Florida reported its highest single day of cases.
Travelers from the United States are “unlikely” to be allowed into the European Union, several EU officials told CNN.
27th June
The US reported more than 40,000 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, its biggest daily jump yet. More than half of all states are seeing a rise in cases.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says the White House coronavirus task force is "seriously considering" a new testing strategy.
28th June
More than 10 million people across the world have been infected with the coronavirus, and more than 500,000 have died.
India reported 19,906 new coronavirus cases on Sunday -- the country's biggest one-day jump.
29th June
The World Health Organization warned that the "worst is yet to come". WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic was speeding up - rather than slowing down - and the world would need even greater stores of resilience, patience and generosity in the months ahead
Pubs and restaurants in the UK city of Leicester may stay closed for two more weeks due to a surge in cases, its mayor has said, with 29% of the city's overall 2,987 cases were reported in the two weeks to 23 June
The EU has named 14 countries whose citizens are deemed "safe" to be let in from 1 July, despite the pandemic - but the US, Brazil and China are excluded. The countries include Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco and South Korea
30th June
The number of deaths registered in the UK over one week has fallen below the five-year average for the first time since mid-March.
I don’t know about you, but it is easy to become blinded to what is happening as we get used to our new ways of living and hearing daily numbers that you can’t really comprehend.
Of course, for those of us who are lucky to get through physically and mentally unscathed, not everything has been a negative. I sincerely hope we continue to acknowledge the things that we can be grateful for and keep the good new routines.
What does July have in store?
In July I should have done another couple of iconic swims - Alcatraz and 20 Bridges (circumnavigation of Manhattan Island. None of those are happening.
The pools are due to open later in the month, which I can’t wait for, I’m really missing that. In the meantime, hopefully more Dover dips and a return to some limited training in Dover for wannabe solo and relay channel swimmers.
What about you? What does July have in store for you?