A day of rain, and also I think the first day of the lockdown that I have taken no photos at all. I do still have plenty to work on though - this shot of a bluebell in the garden was taken using my macro lens at the weekend - I would have got rather damper had I been lying on the grass to take it today, that's for sure!
I've realised in the past couple of days what a difference the good weather was making to the way I was coping with the current situation - I use movement and exercise to help deal with anxiety and depression generally, I think I said previously on here that one of my major fears when the lockdown started being mentioned was not being able to go out and about as I needed - in fact our daily walk or a run has mostly been enough to keep things on a fairly even keel until now. I'm not someone who by any means enjoys doing either in the pouring rain though, so the thought of several very wet days on the trot was playing on my mind somewhat. I decided that being proactive was the best approach - hence heading out for an additional bit of exercise yesterday afternoon, knowing I might not be able to do much today it felt important to get one "in the bank" as it were. Sure enough on getting up this morning it was truly unpleasant outside, so rather than our usual walk, I got fitness kit on and did three back-to-back interval sessions at home this morning. One cardio - to get the blood pumping, then 2 strength sessions - one purely bodyweight and the second using a resistance band. I didn't enjoy any of them much while I was doing them, but certainly felt better for it afterwards!
A fair number of people have now voiced the thought to me that perhaps one good thing which could come from this will be more people incorporating some form of exercise into their regular routines, having been encouraged to take it for granted during this time. Certainly I get the impression that a fair number of the people currently seen out walking, running or cycling haven't been doing it regularly for all that long - it's really refreshing to see and hopefully they are really feeling the physical and mental benefits to a level where it will encourage them to continue. I also have several friends currently working their way through the Couch to 5K programme - including one who very much as I did for years has always insisted that she'd be entirely unable to run - it's been a joy watching her finding out that she can, and how great for mental health it is too.
More poor weather forecast for tomorrow - let's see how we fare.
Robyn
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