Got Hope? #ItsUnCanceledToo

We ran on HOPE this week folks! Which, well, isn’t all too different from what I am (we are) usually running on. Hoping you finish your scheduled miles. Hoping you don’t injure yourself, or in my case, get lost AND injure yourself. Hoping there’s a bathroom on the route (clean and sanitary please! …doesn’t that have new meaning now?). Hoping that you’ve trained well enough, or that your training has gone well enough to make it across the finish line. Sure, some of us are more certain, more assured, than others. But you’d be crazy to think that the hopefulness was somehow, fully abandoned.

Well, for us serious athletes who are exemplars among the running community (of our friends who aren’t serious or athletes at all, because also we’re not those things either) we planned to Un-Cancel a 5k for Easter! E-Boogie dubbed our 5k the (water to) Wine and Resurrection Run, and well, that suits us just fine. E-Boogie was insistent that we (her, me, and Big Meek) get our run in before Noon, PST. While Big Meek and I grumbled at the idea of waking before the sun, we lamented because we love E-Boogie so much (or because we were drinking). As accountability, E-Boogie suggested that anyone who didn’t finish their 5k by Noon PST, would have to Instacart the others a bottle of booze/spirits – in addition too, of course, completing their 5k.

Before ending our Houseparty, (E-Boogie, Big Meek, & I) I hoped, sincerely, that one of us would not finish the 5k by Noon PST because, who doesn’t want wine Instacart’d to their home? Duh. They hoped the same thing too. We don’t need your judgement.

This week I Un-Canceled HOPE with a 10k & a 5k! Unfortunately, I ran and walked all my miles, so I didn’t get to do math. *insert tears here* Also, I ran/walked more than I was supposed to, so I get like, change back!

10k = 6.2 miles

Running: 5.62 miles

Walking: 1 mile

   [The Math (should have been): 6.2mi – 5.62mi = 0.58mi; 0.58mi x 20min = 11.6mins; round up to 12 mins of exercise/physical activity]

5k = 3.1 miles

Running: 4.00 miles

   [The Lesson? You don’t get to do Math when you overachieve, even if on accident]

Post running reflections on HOPE:

Big Meek (on tha Block) Says… HOPE. A lack of it is what I’d been feeling lately, in this TOUCH–less, HUG–less, PRO–Social Distance world I’ve now found myself... Though I’d been running, lately it felt much less purposeful... When encouraged to participate in the Un-Canceled Project, it was just the motivation I needed... I think... Well, I HOPE. This in many ways has reminded me of what is both in and out of my control. My running time might not have been where I wanted, but I got out there and ran with purpose... Maybe there is some HOPE after all.

E-Boogie Says… As I sit here trying to remember what HOPE feels like, I’ve got a sharp pain in my right knee. I ran 4 miles, even though I was only asked to run 3.1 (overachiever) and now I’m paying for it. I’ve always loved running and was excited about this challenge, however, over the past year I’ve decreased my miles to give my trusty knee a break. During these difficult times, alternative workout methods are limited and as hopeful as I am that this COVID-19 chaos will end soon, it is imperative that I have coping skills to get through this. Running is my coping skill. Running will give me the fuel I need to continue working in a healthcare setting. Running is my outlet ensuring my mental health is intact when the world around me is sinking. But really, all of this is based on hope, faith, and trust in something bigger than me; than us.

I Say… I hope I find more that motivates me during this time. I was going to get my 5k in on Easter, Instacart’d threat or not, but I felt real motivation, real connection to the idea that I would be running, virtually, with two of my faves #TemeculaTime #TheGoatAndVine. There was something, other than my intrinsic determination to fully embrace the Un-Canceled Project that got me up at 5:00am to do my 5k. Truth be told, I didn’t sleep well (much) the night before. Getting up to run felt easy. I was home frying bacon and prepping my baking for the day before E-Boogie or Big Meek met the pavement – and believe me, that’s an Easter miracle too #YayJesusTho #YoursWasBigger.

I have other hopes, very selfishly, very for me (like hoping I still get that Instacart’d blessing and hoping America stops treating Asians people like trash, and, well that China stops treating Africans/Blacks like trash in all this COVID-19 unrest, cause my lil’sis is in China and I’m anxious, and nervous, and restless…). But I’d rather share my hopes for all of you, for all of us. I hope you learn how to connect socially, as we continue living our physically distant lives. There’s gotta be a way we can hug online, right? I hope that world heals, and we come out of this with the same care, concern, and attention to each other that we must do now. Cause reaching out and loving on your loved ones these days seems to require more intentionality than it did before, hunh?

All these hopes feel a little like prayers, don’t they? I hope we do more of that too.

HUMOR is up next! Let’s see about finding some fun while you run (or exercise) …safely…and physically distant(ly)!

Still need to sign up to Un-Cancel some of your feelings? Click Here! It’s free and it’s fun!