After living in New York for over 10 years, I find myself feeling a bit at sea out here in suburban Georgia. For the most part, this city girl moves under the power of her two feet whether that means running or walking, and there’s biking when I’m plumb out of pocket of options. Because my feet are the primary mode of getting around, I place a high value on my ability to move: speed, agility, and strength, being the building blocks of my mobility. That said, I’m super grateful that I have these options out here even when passersby feel the need to stop and offer me a ride. It’s that southern hospitality they’re famous for or so I tell myself. I suppose it’s a bit of a rarity to see someone walking or biking from the grocery store. On a side note, I went to the local Walmart on a scouting mission to look for some decorative stickers and found myself on the receiving end of a few curious stares and comments as I meandered through the aisles with my bike. Next time I’ll probably park it, though I didn’t notice any designated parking. I am unfazed by the novelty I present to these driving surburbanites. I run to the gym, the pharmacy, to family and friends, to the library, and anywhere within a five-mile radius whether for purpose or fun and sometimes fun is the purpose. Interestingly, I don’t run to church, well for two reasons really: it’s a bit farther than five miles, which just happens to be as there’s a church on almost every corner. They don’t call it the Bible Belt for nothing. Also, running to church is impractical even for me. I mean, the shoes, the dress etc., the good Lord knows it just wouldn’t work. Jokes aside, running is one of the ways I get to explore my neighborhood and find little hideaways – the less-traveled path if you will. Plus, taking care of an elderly person warrents some running away for mental and emotional health – it’s a bit of a destressor and I make no excuses for that. I’m just grateful for the opportunity and the ability to get going when the need arises. When I’m out walking it’s usually with a goal in mind and may include the grocery store, the thrift store, from the gym somtimes – after a grueling workout. I also take mom out almost-daily on short walks in our neighborhood as well. Walking – the slowest of my options is not my favorite as you may have guessed. I much rather a faster pace, which running and biking allows me. It turns out that getting the bike was one of the best decisions I made in 2020, even though it was for a triathlon that’s yet to happen. Since then, its taken me places and afforded me a greater bandwidth in terms of exercise and movement than I had before. I’m glad I didn’t get rid of it when I moved down and had the presence of mind to plan ahead in this regard. Biking around is growing on me as most of it happens on the roads and I’m still growing confidence to ride with traffic. I think the cars are getting accustomed to me too. Bike lanes are not so much a rarity but just appears at random and doesn’t go a whole lot of anywhere really. Like the running community, biking isn’t so common either – at least not in the neighborhoods. I did join a local Tri club, so there’s proof the community exists. But as with everything in these parts, they’re a bit of a distance away and I have yet to make it to the meetups. On the other hand, I have been swimming in a local pool and working up my nerve to get in the open water next year. Step by step, bit by bit, I’m confident I’ll get there. I’m getting better at accepting that things won’t always happen when I want them to or just because I want them to. Sometimes, it’ll take a while or turn out a bit different than I want and that’s ok. I just have to do my part and that is enough. I guess the next question is, what is my part? I’ll just say for now that in each season of life “my” part may look different and so could yours.
July came with all the sunshine, heat, and yes, thunderstorms – with a jump into the hurricane season, that’s meant we’ve been sitting in 90°F+ for the past week or is it weeks, hard to keep track with everything else going on. America celebrated July 4th – independence day – the likes of which this generation had never seen before. I mean we had fireworks in our neighborhoods unlike anything, in terms of its aggressiveness and duration, it went on for weeks at all hours of the day and night, which initiated unprecedented complaints and reports and made national news that got the powers-that-be attention and eventually tempered the insanity. Could it be, like many were insisting, that it was an outlet for a people tired of Quarentine? Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter protests continued, though it has simmered down now, and in a final twist to highlight the issues of African Americans and the social unrest bubbling, John Lewis, a main figure in Congress and representative of the struggle for equality and justice for African Americans, died a few days ago. This is amidst the continued restrictions in American society aka social distancing, wearing masks in public, outside dining, many small businesses going belly up, and others, like gyms and health clubs, remaining closed.
The Mall It’s another favorite interval running spot for my run group and an overall favorite of many park goers; that day so green and uncrowded. From there I meandered my way through the East Drive, where the NYC Marathon exits out the park onto its final leg on West 59th Street. There I stood at Grand Army Plaza with 5th Avenue off to my left and the famous Time Plaza Hotel to my right. Straight up ahead on 5th Ave was the opportunity for a shopping experience the likes of which you’ve only seen in the movies, only not that day, they were all closed, well almost all. From my precarious perch, camera in hand, I could see the Apple store open while practicing social distancing with people lined up outside. Apparently, iPhones are “essential”. Still, there was more traffic in these parts and I was getting nervous so my hands went to the handle bars and my eyes to the roads as I made my way back over to 1st Ave and onto the bridge once more for my return to Queens. I didn’t feel so nostalgic then, where there was a will, there will be a way.
runningwithfaith 