George Fisher: Changing routines, challenges and a massive shout-out to the NHS

In her latest column, George Fisher talks about changing routines, setting challenges, moving back home and she gives a massive shout-out to the NHS.

How things have changed since my last blog a month ago!

This is a really strange place we find ourselves in. For me, over the past few years and actually since I can remember, I have always had strict routine in my life. Before netball I used to swim and by the age of 11 I was training up to 16 hours per week.

After that, came netball which gradually took over my swimming with the NPL, Superleague, then the full time Roses programme. Alongside that was finishing school and the past three years at uni. My life has always had a routine and been very scheduled.

Superleague considering resumption scenarios

A number of scenarios are being considered by the Vitality Netball Superleague as they explore the possibility of how the competition will resume.

I've gone from a totally organised routine to nothing. I felt super motivated at the beginning of the season, we'd had a great pre-season and a good start to the Superleague. I've gone from crazy amounts of training and a couple of matches a week to nothing - I'm struggling!

A couple of weeks ago I'd got up and treated myself to pancakes for breakfast, only to find out later that day that all training sessions were now cancelled. I felt so bad that I had to go home to do a session on the exercise bike to work off the pancakes!

I'm setting myself daily challenges. It would be easy not to set the alarm as there's no set routine, but I am setting mine and then I'm challenging myself. Today, it was a 7km run with my dogs and boyfriend Emil and then breakfast.

I'm still following a solid training programme with S&C, netball specifics, shooting and a bit of yoga thrown in. I'm trying to occupy myself, cleaning, organising and uni work - I've still got one last dissertation to hand in mid April and then that's it completely done.

I'm trying to avoid getting into bad habits, for example chocolate for breakfast! I keep finding myself opening the fridge door and just staring inside and then reminding myself I'm not actually hungry.

At the moment I'm still managing to eat clean and we have been lucky enough to get plenty of vegetables and fruit - toilet rolls and hand soap though are a different matter, where have they all gone?!

I moved back home last Friday, under immense pressure from my mother who wanted us all at home together at this time. Big changes...

Six adults, well six giant adults - the smallest one being six foot tall - are all in one house. I'm finishing uni, maybe not seeing my lecturers again and no graduation? It's hard to adjust but super important for me to be around people for my mental wellbeing.

We are all having to learn to live with each other again which is currently proving to be a little stressful. As they say, you can't choose your family but in all honesty I wouldn't be without them.

I'm really lucky to have a couple of training buddies; my boyfriend Emil and my brother's girlfriend Ellena as we are all self-isolating together. That helps with the motivation.

I'm also pre-planning my days and I've already cleared out my wardrobes. My boyfriend is trying to guess how much money I've ever spent on clothes and trainers over the years!? It felt really good to have a good clear out.

Loving a bit of Zoom - imagine not even knowing what it was a couple of weeks ago?! Now it's essential to not only Mavericks but also for my lectures and physio! Who'd have thought it?!

So, my days are now filled with exercise and training and dog walks. The dogs are actually struggling with being dragged around the park, poor things! I'm hoping Boo will lose a bit of excess weight as she needs to!

I've had a couple of lockdown injuries so far; my brother sliced his thumb open, his girlfriend somehow managed to cut her foot on the AstroTurf while doing yoga and Emil got a full on netball straight in the face when we were having a crazy catch competition in the garden... it was actually my mum that threw it and not me for once!

In the grand scheme of things, the changes to my life are minimal and nothing compared to the huge impacts that other people are experiencing, so many people are facing much bigger struggles.

A massive shout out to the NHS and to all of you people out there doing your thing to keep everyone else going. Thank you.

Stay safe everyone, follow the rules and if you don't need to go out, don't. Stay at home.