As I write this the world is seeing a dramatic rise of COVID-19 infections, driven by the highly contagious OMICRON variant. Experts in South Africa, seeing a significant drop, speculate that the spike may already be past its peak for them. The general consensus for the rest of the world is a peak sometime in January.
What does that mean to you? If you are reading this, there is a good chance you live an active lifestyle, filled with a variety of outdoor activities. The Honolulu Marathon attracted a good 10,000 participants, and not one has reported coming down with COVID-19. This confirms what experts have been saying, that transmission is much more likely to occur indoors. My advice is to stay out of the gym, do your workouts outdoors as much as possible, and when you must train indoors, do it alone, preferably at home.
Another thing to watch out for is group gathering before and after a group activity. I prefer to workout alone, but many athletes prefer to be in a group. That is fine, as long as you do not get all snuggly before and after. No hugs, no high-fives, no group photo. Save all that now so you can be there when things get back to normal. You do not need to wear a mask while training, but always have one with you, and mask up before and after, when you are trying not to stand too close together.
If we all do our part, those early spring events we have signed up for, like the North Shore Triathlon, can still happen.