Friday morning and I logged on to a significantly more cheerful bunch of staff than yesterday!
It’s not easy, is it, working from home, communicating through a 2D box and negotiating intermittent WIFI whilst discussing the serious impact on business and people’s lives.
I am lucky though. I only had the pneumatic drill outside as the water board were fixing a 100 litre an hour water leak under my house. When infectious disease hospitals are closing across the world through lack of running water this waste has been a two-week guilt trip for the family! But it’s done now – thanks to the emergency service who worked to solve the problem. Downside - no endless pool in the garden!
That was my day, but the rest of the Welsh Triathlon dedicated team were experiencing similar stresses.
It may have been the weather or the realisation that we were locked down for the long haul but one staff member fairly new to running took off for a 13mile run – she said it worked! I didn’t see her move around the house on her call this morning and wonder if her training plan meant significant reduction in the DOMs – I hope so. Another staff member took to Zwift to race with the Performance Centre Athletes, he didn’t mention any results.
We had a sticky customer service issue from a staff-member, usually so calm and amenable. Luckily her sweet side return this morning. Then there was the – ‘it was ok yesterday till 5pm when my computer crashed and I lost my days spreadsheet’ – conversation. When you can’t leave the office or get out of the house to explode, scenario's like these can manifest themselves in all sorts of ways! I am leaving the best till last though. Imagine – lockdown, poor weather, budget submission due, an 8 year old boy’s birthday and two other children vying for attention – apparently starting work at 11pm became the only option. The deadline was met against the odds – impressive!
We know that we are going through absolutely nothing compared with some of you. We have all bounced back today through colleague and family support and a sense of purpose in our work supporting you. We are not dedicated frontline staff taking the brunt of the load but we passionately want to be there for you, our triathlon community. Our aim is to help keep you healthy and active, keep the sport able to return to a full schedule of activity as soon as we can and to remind you this is not for ever and we will see brighter and exciting times outside our 2D boxes again soon.
Heed the guidance, stay active and take care of one another – people have never been so important.
Beverley
Making Wales the Proud Home of Triathlon
