Items

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  2020-12-31

  They Never Saw the Sun

  For every birthday and Christmas, I get new running shoes. I tell my mom and husband to buy them when they’re on sale, save them, and wrap them up for me. I run A LOT. When quarantine started in March, I took one run outside. Two days later, the CDC confirmed everyone’s worst fears - the virus was airborne. Although running is a low risk activity, where I run, the trails are very narrow. Unfortunately, the people who walk/bike/run there are apparently pretty narrow minded and refuse to wear masks. Could I run outside and not catch COVID? Probably. But with both my husband and I working from home, my +65 mom living with, and a perfectly fine treadmill, that risk just didn’t seem worth it. Man, I miss those trails. But I am lucky to have my treadmill. In July, I pulled out a new pair of running shoes. I honestly didn’t think about how long they’d been tied to the treadmill, I just laced them and put them on like I had done so many times before. One virtual marathon, three virtual 10Ks, and 600+ for fun miles (all on a treadmill) later, it was time to retire my trusty running shoes. On December 31, I announced their retirement with a snarky picture on my Instagram. But what a bizarre pair of shoes to retire. Perfectly clean on the outside, completely destroyed on the inside. The poor things never left the house, they never saw the sun. As a trail runner, my running shoes are always filthy by the time I’m ready to retire them. How strange to retire a pair of shoes that look brand new. How tired they are inside. A symbol of the bizarre year that was 2020.
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  2020-06-29

  Virtual Racing

  As a runner, a personal loss for me was my racing season. Though I’m not an elite runner, competitive running is a very important part of my life. In April, I discovered a virtual 19K, which I entered and completed, and thought the coronavirus medal was an interesting artifact of this experience. In May, as racially motivated murders became part of the public consciousness, I was happy to see one of the organizations I race with (Rock It Racing) was hosting a virtual “Rock it for Justice” race. No awards were given, participants were asked to wear black while running and all donations (including from purchasing shirts) were given to the Equal Justice Initiative. I signed myself and my 3rd grader up, and it was a great conversation starter for talking about issues of race inequity and incarceration with my daughter. On a lighter note, the AP Read (for scoring AP exams) was done entirely virtually this year. A “lazy marathon” was held for Readers who ran, biked, or swam certain distances during the 9 day read. It took me 2 days to hit 26.2 miles!
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  05/09/2020

  Hating on Runners -- Brooklyn, NY on "PAUSE" ("Policies Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone")

  The say you can't take 2 things away from Amercians -- their guns AND THEIR RUNS. As "quarantine" continues New Yorkers are in a tizzy of fear and anger towards runners not wearing masks. "Corona shaming" those not following social distancing rules has become a favorite past time of restless and anxious city folk. *iphone photo