Alison is next up and her social media is one to watch;
Since lockdown started life has changed quite a lot for Alison. From suddenly being in work every day to remote working from home in the first few weeks. The first challenges she had to overcome were internet problems and the use of video conferencing for meetings. The internet and phone reception in her house has always been rubbish, and with all meetings being video conference meant it just kept dropping out or no one could hear her and sometimes not even see her! We’ve all been there right? It became very frustrating and stressful which led to arguments with her husband as Alison insisted in turning all wi-fi gadgets off when she was on VC, but that was no help. She was eventually assisted by another member of our executive leadership team who is very knowledgeable on ‘tech’ and ended up upgrading her internet and broadband service which has been a godsend.
“Another pressure was trying to keep my Mum’s spirits up as she is a widow and lives alone and also lives with cancer. Luckily with the kind weather her large gardens kept her pretty much occupied but she missed seeing all of us, her friend’s and going out which she does every day. So organising a rota of grandkids phoning and me in touch every day was a priority. We took her over a Sunday lunch each week and left it on the doorstep and it has been much easier now that we can meet in gardens in Wales.”
Quizing over Zoom became a weekly occurrence with her friends and a few late nights and sore heads the next morning! It has been great for Alison to catch up with the other Fire Angels on Zoom and keeping in touch with the world via social media too.
Like the rest of us, being in the house so much gave her a bit of time to sort through cupboards, clothes and catch up on a few things we always say ‘that can wait until next weekend’. Staying home has also made Alison think differently about the amount of clothes she owns and buys normally and the fact that some of it doesn’t come out of the wardrobe on a regular basis.
“I have bought some more training gear as some days I have been doing 3 short sessions to mix it up a bit. I seem to spend most of my day in this sort of gear.”
Alison also treated herself to a second hand track ski machine on Ebay to help with her training. On warm days she moves it out to the garden. She even skied for 2hrs 30 mins recently! To help improve her flexibility Alison has been doing three sessions of yoga a week, and as she couldn’t go to my normal gym she has been doing online sessions of high intensity training and following Nikki’s plans that she’s pulled together for the team. It seems that the whole country is getting fit as trying to find any kettlebells has been impossible online, however she did strike lucky with some dumbbells.
“Over the last month I have been in work a bit more and we have been taking it in turns to go in and we are still able to use the headquarters gym which has been great. We have to clean every item of kit we use as soon as we finish it and maintain social distance in there and everyone has complied with that.”
There has of course been tyre dragging when lockdown eased slightly in Wales but the highlight of training was Team WAFA doing the 32miles of Cake Ultra. It’s the first time Alison had trained with anyone in over three months. Lots of lessons learned from taking too much cake in her rucksack, too much water, too many clothes and wearing new trainers along with realising how important it is to fuel correctly as you go. She can’t wait to go again.
“I have found the last few months really life changing and I have liked spending more time at home with my husband. I can’t wait to see the children and the grandkids and have a barbeque in the garden with friends. Sometimes the simple things in life are the best.”