Life in the Bubble
By Jen Forbes
Communities around the United States have been struggling to find normalcy in what feels like a now 8-month long science fiction movie in which we’re begging the movie theater to turn the lights on so we can get back to our lives. Unfortunately, this is not a Hollywood movie that we can walk away from, and it’s definitely not safe to go to movie theaters yet - so please don’t. It has also become increasingly more clear that life as we knew it before COVID-19 is over, and we are now moving forward with new ways of operating.
With over 5.72 million reported COVID-19 cases and over 177K COVID-19 related deaths, the United States alone has contributed 24.4% of global infections, and 21.9% of global deaths. It is speculated that the death toll will reach 300K by the end of the year; but, it is likely that if folks can continue to follow the guidelines set by the CDC and by their state and local governments, the country may be able to avoid further surging in new cases.
I appreciate that our state and local leadership took important initiatives as early as was knowable to ensure the safety of others rather than focusing solely on ourselves. The emphasis on wearing masks and socially distancing ourselves in the early months of the outbreak. The overwhelming emphasis felt more like an effort to keep at-risk individuals within our community safe, rather than fearing that we might catch COVID. That being said, we also knew that we athletes were not entirely immune from catching the disease since data and reports were coming out confirming that young, healthy elite athletes (US Women’s Training Center as an example) contracted COVID and got hit hard by the symptoms, which greatly reduced their ability to train…. for months. So we all knew COVID was to be taken seriously by everyone, and we also knew that if we had an opportunity to train safely, we wanted to do that.
There’s not a ton of mystery involved with training and getting faster. If you can accumulate solid blocks of training together without having to back off due to injury or illness, you are probably going to be faster, stronger and more technically proficient as a result. With the rescheduling of the 2020 Olympics to 2021, we all now have a renewed focus of pushing our mental and physical capabilities each day, with the added challenge of no setbacks.
The GRP rowers had a very swift change of plans in mid March when World Rowing cancelled all competition for the remainder of the year. Our team, which had been preparing for Olympic Trials in Inverness, FL made a swift decision to cease any further training hours after receiving notification of the cancellation. The team worked into the night to uproot and clean our rental homes and training facilities, and prepare the trailer for its 1,421 mile journey the following morning. The team drove north, making as few stops as possible (one car equipped with rubber gloves, hand sanitizer and provincial face masks drove through the night) so we could begin our first 14-week quarantine period. We were able to set up an alternative quarantine gym space, and for a few days we were allowed to ski. As COVID-19 progressed, however, the COC unfortunately had to close off trail access to the community to ensure folks were being safe.
GRP as a whole found new ways to work and help within our community since coaching, and in-person fitness classes were now a thing of the not so distant past. We wrote letters to elderly community members, we organized food delivery systems for people in need, we helped out where we could and the COC community did the same. We went on more video calls with long lost friends and family as we tried to stay connected. And then, we waited for the IOC to make a decision regarding the status of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
When we had enough information to make a safe and informed decision, thanks to tireless efforts of our own COVID task force, we all signed the “GRP Pact Agreement”, which allows us to continue to use specific training facilities and live in our group housing, but does not allow us to go out into the community i.e “real world” or go into any non-pact dwelling including a friend’s home, or any store or restaurant. Some of the athletes on the GRP are not on the pact since they do not live in group housing, so while most of us are able to interact with each other mask-free, those non pact athletes are required to wear masks around others and us around them at all times. They are also unable to use our training gym since it is a pact-only environment. While the precautions may seem (at least initially) strict to some outsiders, our main objective is to keep ourselves, the outdoor center, and the greater community safe.
Read about the details of the GRP pact here
We were fortunately able to get back to training on the ergs relatively soon after returning to campus, and when the lake thawed in May, we were able to get back out in singles and train. Since May, we’ve adopted a daily practices of things like: wearing masks to the boathouse and until we shove, using hand sanitizer before and after equipment use, and continuing to maintain distance from non-pact athletes and employees around the center.
Rowers took a 2-week break at the end of August allowing us to visit with friends and family. Before returning to the COC, we were all required to have a negative test in hand and to have quarantined for 7 days. We are now back to training in our 1xs, but are taking on extra precautionary social distancing measures until we get the results of a secondary test. This means - we are not allowed to go into pact-friendly spaces until we get our test results back.
It's great to be back with the team, and even as we grow in numbers, and our common spaces get louder and busier in between practice, we are all going to be closer as a result. Social distancing, like training, as a group is a lot more productive for me, than it would be if I was going it alone. I’m so grateful for this team of fun and hard working athletes; they push and challenge me to be better for myself, for them, and for the greater community.
Until next time,
Jen