Running Into Joy

Happy Monday, internet people! You may recall that last year I traveled with my boyfriend to hike the highest point in New York state, Mt. Marcy. Or, as my  Medium post about the experience recalls, most of Mt. Marcy. That hike took a lot out of me, and not only because it was the longest distance and highest elevation I had faced to date. I met those miles at a point in my life where I'd really lost faith in my body and what it could do. While I hadn't quite yet developed my chronic pain disorder, a few things in my body had felt decidedly not right since mid-February of 2019. I had been experiencing such severe back pain and sporadic right-shoulder numbness that I'd been to the doctor numerous times, each visit bringing a new set of exercises and diagnoses. So, when I started up Mt. Marcy, it was in a body that still felt unbalanced, unsure of this body that felt so strange and so different from the runner's body I had cultivated the year before. I bring th

Happy Tuesday, friends. Running a little late on the post this week because we're transitioning back to working from the office, so I'm back to a morning commute.  As you know, last week I ran the Sports Bra Squad 5K I’ve been training for since April.  The Badass Lady Gang is rolling right into the best your best 5-mile challenge. I was too late to register officially for this one, because commitments mid-August are hard for me as someone who works in higher ed.  Still, I plan to build strength and race my 5 miler twice along with everyone to see if I can beat my best time. On top of that, we’ve got the “Running from My Problems” 7 miler in September, which is possibly my favorite name for any race, ever (you can still sign up for that one here ). This new distance should fit very nicely into training for (drumroll please) my virtual half marathon. After a week of reflection between the cancellation announcement and the email to switch our registrations, I made the difficult d

Happy Monday, all!  On Saturday, July 4th, I woke up at my usual workday time of 5am so I could get ready and out the door to run the Sports Bra Squad Day 5K before it got too hot here in Pittsburgh, where we're experiencing what I'm told is likely a record-breaking heatwave.  I have been training for this 5K since May, and the journey has been unlike any other. For starters, I've never really followed any sort of strict training plan for a 5K before. 3.1 miles is, in this body, a distance I can manage in one way or another without much conditioning.  But, like so many of us, I've struggled with the stay-at-home nature of most of 2020. Not because I crave people--no, my introverted socially anxious being is a little too comfortable not seeing many humans face to face. Rather, what I needed was a goal,  a sense of forward momentum, something I usually find in working with and helping the students I serve in my dual roles of Student Affairs professional and adjunct facult