Easy to judge

Erina Valley Road on this morning's run

There has been a story in the news today about a health care worker who has worked eight shifts across two care institutions while suffering from symptoms of now-diagnosed COVID-19.  A resident of one of the institutions has now also tested positive for COVID-19.

Without knowing any of the details of this specific incident, and from a distance, it's easy to label the healthcare worker as irresponsible.  And she has been.

Portsmouth Road in Erina Valley
this morning

But it is also not difficult to consider the pressures any casual shift worker may be under in this environment.  Their symptoms may be very mild and possibly ascribed to a cold, or their employers may be short-staffed and they do not want to let them down, or they may desperately need the money to live and not be eligible for sick leave/pay.  Personally, I would like to think I would have stayed home if I was that healthcare worker, but understand that it may not have been an easy call.

Erina Valley Road

About half-way through my 12km run this morning I was wishing I had stayed home.  My lower back and hips continue to be very inflexible and somewhat painful, making it difficult to run efficiently and smoothly.  It was a grind the whole way and a slow pace.  I have always said that a key requirement for a long-distance runner (or hiker, cyclist, etc.) is a tolerance of discomfort, and I got some practice today.

Having said that, it was my longest run for a month or more and my weekly kilometres are building.  Life will be better when the pain abates, I can run further, and some of the muffin-top visible over the top of my shorts disappears.