Living [and running] in the epicenter of a pandemic

Have you ever tried to go for a run and hold your breath at the same time? 

Living in NYC during a pandemic makes me appreciate my time with the pavement more than ever - giving me something to look forward to and provides some structure to my week in a time where it's becoming increasingly hard to hold boundaries. Boundaries with turning off work, turning off the zoom happy hours, and carving out time for yourself. And after staring at a laptop screen all day in my tiny apartment, I welcome the fresh air miles, even with a face covering.

 This has been my running look most days, pulling my buff up and down as I pass other runners - on a sunny spring day in Brooklyn, this is every few seconds. I'm frustrated by how many people I pass, how many times I have to pull up my buff and breathe hot air. I found myself hoping for more rainy days than not, because it meant less people on my running routes. But as time passed, I began to see this more as a symbol of hope - that moment when the runner on the other side of the sidewalk pulls up their mask at the same time - a subtle reminder we're not going through this alone.