The One-Year Wall
As we approach the one year anniversary of COVID shutting down our lives, preventing disease spread has never been more important
Ask anyone who has run a marathon about “the wall” and you will hear about the moment(s) during the race when the thought of putting one foot in front of the other and actually finishing 26.2 miles seemed incomprehensible. The wall is characterized by feelings of fatigue, negativity, and loss of energy. My first experience of “the wall” came between miles 18-21 of the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon. I was demoralized during miles 17-20 of the race where there was little crowd support and no water; at mile 20 I had to run up this wicked steep on-ramp to a bridge where I fell and skinned both of my knees. All I wanted to do was quit. I was exhausted; I hated everything about running; I was done; my mind and body were shutting down.
I had reached THE WALL.
As the pandemic approaches many one-year anniversaries (March 6th: first cases of COVID in PA; March 13: Governor shuts down schools; April 3: first mask mandates issued), I know we are all ready for the pandemic to be over. The thought of masking, distancing, and navigating social situations for one more day is wearing on all of us.
And the news about COVID this morning isn’t good — case counts are rising and our public health leaders are warning that relaxing mitigation strategies now could result in another surge in cases.
"Please hear me clearly: At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard earned ground we have gained," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a White House coronavirus briefing Monday.
"Now is not the time to relax critical safeguards," she urged states.
We have hit the one-year wall with COVID.
In this moment - where we have hit “the wall” and want nothing more than to quit - I think we can learn a lot from marathoners (read: me!), who have developed strategies to push through “the wall.”
It has been a crazy, disrupted, and traumatic year. And the pandemic is NOT over.
So, how do we push through the one-year COVID wall?
When you hit a wall during a marathon, it feels awful. After my fall on the bridge at mile 20, I was crying, had two bloody knees, and wanted nothing more than to head home. I didn’t care about finishing the race. I just wanted to quit; to make the awful feelings associated with “the wall” go away. However, I finished the marathon that day despite hitting the wall (and then decided running more marathons was a logical next step/good idea).
The strategies for overcoming “the wall” experienced in a marathon have been adapted here to help us all through our one-year COVID wall —
Step #1: Recommit to the goal. I believe our shared goal in this pandemic is to decrease community spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We want our friends, family, and communities to be healthy.
We need to recommit to health.
Let’s focus on what we can do individually to promote health and decrease disease spread — this means continuing to mask, maintain physical distance, avoid crowds, wash our hands properly, and wait in line for our vaccine appointment. But I also think we need to care for ourselves by stepping away from the computer, moving our bodies, getting outside, staying hydrated, and eating well.
Step #2: Don’t fear the wall. When you hit the wall, you Hit.The.Wall. We need to acknowledge when we have hit the wall, but not give into the desire to just give up.
We are at the one-year COVID wall - there is no point in denying or fearing it. I believe the wall is a chance for us to push through it; a chance to make ourselves and our communities stronger. As your “let’s get through the wall cheerleader” — I want to remind you that we can make a difference in our communities by committing to decreasing disease spread.
Let’s commit to taking it one step at a time; one masked & distanced day at a time. Positive self-talk is needed; so are deep cleansing breaths, and a little bit of yoga wouldn’t hurt.
Step #3: Face the reality. The virus is “winning” at the moment. Between mutations, limited vaccine supply, and easing of mitigation strategies, the virus is out in front of us. We are trying to catch up and contain it. Seeing case counts decline for a hot second does not mean “open it all back up” or plan your trip to Disney. The virus is still spreading and killing. And the end of the pandemic will not mean the eradication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Step #4: Draw on strength from others. When I was at my lowest point during the marathon in 2005, encouragement from my husband and complete strangers along the bridge helped me to put one foot in front of the other. We need to draw strength from others and encourage each other through this one-year wall moment. Cheering each other on - to mask, distance, avoid crowds, get the vaccine - is needed.
We are stronger together.
And someday in the future, we will take pictures of ourselves celebrating that we got through the “COVID wall.” When I look at the picture below, I am reminded of how strong I actually am, that I’m a fighter, that I can accomplish big things - even when it hurts and I don’t want to - and that I am loved and supported.
Let’s focus on our future as we work together through the one-year COVID wall today.
