Single, Sweaty, and Smiling: My New Hamburg Lockdown Lesson
“So what have you been up to the past few weeks? Running, I see?”
As I met a friend for a takeaway coffee and a walk this week (literally the only social activity currently allowed in Germany), I had to laugh at her rhetorical question and spot-on answer. If you’ve been following me on Instagram for the past year, you’ve probably seen a lot of the following 3 things:
Weekend coffee in my cozy flat
Wine
Running selfies and #Runviews
Because, in all honesty, after the hours spent on my laptop for work, these are the things I look forward to these days. In case you’re reading this from somewhere where “Moin!” isn’t the typical morning greeting, it’s worth pointing out that Germany is still in a very strict lockdown. No shops beside the essentials are open. Takeaway is the only option for food you don’t want to cook yourself. And even in your own home, meeting more than one additional person is strictly forbidden.
And as a newly single gal who lives alone, there are days when this feels particularly tough. (Especially when the typical, gray Hamburg weather lingers for a few too many days in a row.) But something I try not to forget here, is that this is tough for everyone in Germany, not just me. Everyone is fighting their own small battles in this neverending lockdown, and the only thing we can do is figure out how to make the best of it. So if you know me, you know that’s exactly what I set about doing. What can I look forward to after closing my laptop at the end of the day? So far, it’s a nice bottle of Portuguese wine (Hamburg friends, I’ve discovered the Edeka in Hanse Viertel has a surprising selection of Portuguese varieties!), putting on an epic playlist to accompany my weekend breakfast, and, you guessed it… RUNNING.
Running is a thing I only started to enjoy a few years ago. I’m not super competitive about it. I don’t set out every time with a plan or goal. And I certainly don’t have aspirations of becoming a marathoner.
Until now.
Yep. After a routine 15K run a few weeks ago, without any particular feeling of accomplishment, I decided to step up my game this lockdown and set a goal for myself. I want to run a marathon. Not competitively. And not with a specific time in mind (at least not yet). But I want to push myself to be able to complete 42.2 kilometers, and preferably without dying. (I actually set this goal as one of my New Year’s resolutions, but I was too scared to say it out loud. So here we go. No turning back now!)
But before you go judging me one of two ways (1- “You’re insane and we’re no longer friends” or 2- “You go girl! I’ll meet you at the finish line for a glass of bubbly!”), I want to share my other motivation for this pie-in-the-sky resolution: I want to find running buddies. Yep, you know those girl groups you see out for weekend jogs, exchanging stories and gossip from the week? I want to be a part of that. And while groups won’t be allowed anytime soon, you are indeed able to workout with a buddy in Germany. So approximately 5 weeks ago, I crafted what felt eerily like a personal ad (“redheaded optimist with an affinity for endorphins seeking likeminded partner…”) and went about sharing it in various Hamburg Facebook groups with positively purposeful communities.
I won’t lie, I was a bit nervous about what the response would be. Would anyone be interested? Would I be inundated with messages from creepy old men? (Sorry, but this is seriously a thing.) Or could it actually… work? Would I actually find someone who was interested in hauling our spandex-clad tushies further and further each week, until we could successfully run what sounds like an impossible distance?
Luckily for me, the answer to my last question was yes. Yes. YES! Y’all, I was not prepared for the incredible response to my funny little post! It took a while to sort through the replies and find the right match, for both parties, as finding a running partner honestly bears a lot of resemblance to dating. You don’t run when it’s cold? Ok, let’s chat in the summer. You’re only available during weekdays, depending on your babysitter’s schedule? So sorry, my boss wouldn’t be too pleased with a 3-hour lunch break. Oh, you run triathlons competitively? Lol, give me a few years to get on your level, and in the meantime, know that I have the utmost respect for you!
And after about a week of back and forth with like-minded strangers, I landed on two running buddies: One interested in pushing herself towards the same goal of running a marathon, and the other an experienced marathoner looking for company on relaxed (for him!) runs through Hamburg.
Meeting for the first time, I had flashbacks of my serial dating days in New York (a story for another day). What if the conversation was flat? What if our personalities completely clashed? Or, what if we simply had exponentially different paces? I was nervous. Especially because my confidence in training for a marathon alone is practically nonexistent. I accept that I need other people in order to make this happen.
Well, can I just say that, many runs and a few weeks later, that ad I plastered around Facebook groups was one of the best things I did for myself in 2021. On Wednesday evening this week, I met one of my two buddies in the city center for an evening jog through the shipping port and straight on to Hamburg’s gorgeous waterfront running path, winding through industrial areas I’d be way too scared to explore alone at night. Running back into the city, with unparalleled views of the glowing skyline, a decent pace for a weekday 12K, and a bubbling conversation about the challenges of learning German, I was just… so happy.
Same with every Saturday morning, when I meet my other buddy to explore a new route along Hamburg’s many waterways, and we swap stories about being foreigners in German workplaces (she’s an architect from Prague who radiates positivity) and navigating our budding social lives in the midst of a pandemic. In fact, two weekends ago, we had so much to discuss we ticked off a half marathon, without even batting an eye. And wow, did I jump into that weekend feeling on top of the world (and incredibly sore).
And it’s these feelings of happiness and accomplishment that keep me posting those silly and sweaty running selfies. (And because I can’t post only photos of wine. It might send the wrong message…) My happiness has felt pretty shaky over the past two months, I won’t lie. So knowing that there’s something I can do to increase my chances of good days, by simply throwing on some insulated leggings and meeting up with other people going through the exact same thing, is pretty powerful. And what I want to share about this little victory, is that it didn’t take much. I set a goal. I sent a few messages and posts. And I showed up. For both myself and for someone else. And that, in my opinion, is the takeaway that’s gifted me some precious perspective during this 43rd lockdown. Figuring out ways to show up, both for myself and others, is what keeps me going.
But it doesn’t have to be a marathon. It could be finding a language learning buddy. Or a hiking enthusiast. Or, as I recently saw in another Facebook group, a wine lover to swap new blends with. People are out there. All you have to do is show up.
So I hope you’ll help hold me accountable for sticking with this goal of mine (luckily I have two buddies who I trust will do the same), and know that I want to do the same for you. Let’s show up for each other. Let’s encourage each other. And let’s get out there and find the things (and people) that keep us smiling and sweaty ;)
See you at the finish line.
There will be wine.
(After copious amounts of water.)
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