Opportunities & focus

Wow, it's been nearly 2 months since my last blog update! Time in lockdown is flying. It has to be said that my lockdown is very different to many as I am still working, and despite the worries on my previous blog, it is a lot. Still with 12 hour days, excluding travel which is minimum 1hr15 each way and includes silly early shifts and nights.

To briefly explain, at Sky, as I have mentioned before, I am a freelancer and work on 3 different floors, in 5 different departments throughout Sky News and Sky Sports News. Shortly after the COVID 19 outbreak Sky made a rule that all staff are only able to work on 1 floor to try and contain the virus and meaning if there was an outbreak only one floor would need be closed down, not 5. Now this didn't really affect full time staff as they already have a 'home floor', it merely meant they couldn't travel to other floors to get different food or meet up with others. For freelancers like myself however it meant we had to make a choice of department(s) essentially. With all sport being cancelled I lost my sports shifts so there was no point working on those floors. Trying to cut a long, somewhat complicated story short, I decided on the 2nd floor in the Sky News newsroom where I was able to do 2 positions.

NOC 

This was going well, I was getting steady shifts but all booked a short time in advance due to the unprecedented circumstances; not normally a way I like to work. Most freelancers, or anyone, would ideally like to know when and how much they're working in order to make a plan financially. My boss however has been great, honouring shifts were possible and trying to ensure we had work still. Just prior to COVID however I got trained up in my 5th department; NOC (Network Operation Centre). Very loosely it is an engineering department that deals with getting everything into the building (it is a department that deals with satellite angles etc. and I'm sure you could work there for years and still learn something every day!). Anyway, they are based on the 4th floor, which given the 'home floor' rule meant I was not able to do the shifts I had confirmed in there. However, I then bumped into (a socially distanced bump of course) the manager from their department and was offered the opportunity to move, if I wanted to. What was important to me when considering this (and I did have to consider it due to the opportunity) was that it didn't impact my relationship with my other boss. Due to COVID the demands in NOC have got higher. An already busy department then became even more so with the increase in virtual guests (via Skype & Zoom mainly) who all have to be contacted and made ready for air by a NOC engineer. With no guests allowed in the studio now it is the only real way to have guests on a show. Sometimes this can be 7-8 calls per hour and that's on top of everything else. So extra people are needed and I found myself in demand. It was therefore an opportunity to go out of my comfort zone to a new, very busy department. Once I had established I wouldn't affect my relationship with my boss on the 2nd floor (as I can still work for them on the 4th floor in 2 of my other roles) the decision was made. I had to have a week off to isolate and now the 4th floor is my home floor. On my second day as a NOC engineer, in which I had one of the busiest 2 hours of my life before and after Boris' address on Sunday, I excitingly set up a live with Marcus Wareing. This was much to the jealousy of my husband Nathan, for whom Marcus is a huge inspiration.

Chatting to Marcus Wareing before he went on Sky News live to talk about COVID and the hospitality industry

Making this switch has meant I am already working a lot more and taking every shift offered to me. With Nathan being furloughed from his Waitrose Cookery School in Salisbury for the foreseeable he is at home being Daddy daycare.

So now I am juggling an extra increase in work alongside my desire to keep up my 10 hours of training per week in prep for IRONMAN Wales. This is something I am managing to do with lots of careful planning and also having Nathan's support, who also is getting in around 7 hours training per week. Last week in fact we both rode 140k on our indoor bikes. This took us around 6.5 hours to do due to the ridiculous climbing involved and meant we took it in turn each day to complete it. This has been our longest ride in a long long time (me probably since Kona 2015 and Nathan IM Lanza in 2015). We both managed to do it well and felt surprisingly fine after which is testament to the training we have and are putting in. We then also ran an half marathon each on the treadmill when taking part in an the IRONMAN virtual 1/2 IM both smashing our PB's (even if they were inside with no elevation).  As well as this next week (when I am off night shifts) I am aiming to do 105 miles (170k) in one go too on the same indoor set up.

Obviously the debate amongst registered IRONMAN Wales athletes is the "will it won't it go ahead?", especially given the various other race cancellations we have already seen. However, it was during my 140k bike that I decided I would do an IRONMAN at home on the same day regardless, even if Wales does not go ahead in September. I am training as if it is going ahead in Tenby but if it doesn't I have the same goal. My aim is to do the 3.8k swim as a tethered pool swim (which I set up last week and is bloody hard by the way - see below for a video), the 180k inside on Zwift and then the marathon either 4 x 10k loops outside or possible mixing this with a bit on the treadmill. Who knows by then I may even be able to get a little support crew at mine too! Just need to sort that finishing tape (it would be the first time and only time I would lift one and be the winner for sure haha).

Also during my week off when isolating from the 2nd floor we managed to sort and complete our home gym/shrine room which now is one of our favourite rooms in the house and made it much more enjoyable to train in. A room to be proud of.

As you can see I am lucky to still be working and be motivated during this time. I don't understand but I do know how hard it is for people during this lockdown. I miss my friends and family terribly but I have a lot of love around me and am very fortunate. All I can say is to try and focus on something to see you through and keep up the chatting albeit virtually (we hosted a virtual family quiz the other night and it was so fun). I am really focusing on my training and enjoying spending extra time with my immediate family. Long walks, cuddles and naps on the sofa and cake making. This family time also includes seeing Nathan every night, which is great as he cooks all the time now, but which also still feels like a huge novelty. Maybe our 4 years of living like ships in the night is being rewarded slightly, even if under such strange and daunting circumstances. In fact as you can tell from the tone of this blog I am actually feeling more positive than ever, which is a weird feeling to feel during these times. Maybe it has given me that much needed reset? A reset to focus on what really means the most to me, what I want and what makes me truly happy?

The rainbow at the local school

VE Day matching clothes

On a long family walk - something we do every day when I'm off now

Finally, despite my increase in wine consumption as Nathan is home every night (yes I blame him haha) my weight is still going down. I am finally seeing some results from my hard work. I am eating clean and feel great for it and despite Nathan cooking majority of the time now I am being strict with what I am allowing him to add (no butter will pass these lips haha). I have a long way to go until I get to where I want to be but with 2.5 stone gone, the only way is down!

Take care and stay safe all! Much love xxx