I’ve been listening to the audiobook version of Off The Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam, and some advice in the most recent chapter made me reflect on my running.

Vanderkam speaks about memories, and how the years can blur together because our mind consolidates similar experiences so that instead of remembering every commute to work, we remember them as a single composite.

It’s unique experiences that create new, distinct memories that can help us feel like we have done more with the hours of our lives.

I love traditions and had not realized until I heard this advice that my love of running repeat routes or races might actually be diminishing the memories I have of running.

The half marathons I have only run once stand out in more detail in my mind. The annual 5ks and the half marathon race I ran four times are more lumped together when I recall them.

Sometimes this repetition is nice. There are certain running routes that I associate with certain periods in my life. The sidewalk route that I tended to run with the double jogging stroller. The easy, relatively flat route I chose to train for my first half marathon and never deviated from, running a little further each time before turning back. The scenic riverside route that curves through the woods. While the individual runs layer together into one memory that I conjure of each place, the repetition makes each route easier to recall.

We’ve visited New York City, and what stands out in my mind are the different shows we’ve seen and the different places we’ve seen. When we repeat experiences at restaurants, the meals stand out less upon later recollection, even if the buffalo mushrooms at PS Kitchen are worth having on repeat.

While I will always love visiting favorite hotels or restaurants when I travel, this advice about creating unique memories encourages me to plan for more adventures.

We will run races again. We will travel again. We will eat inside restaurants again. When we do, I think I may plan to create some truly new memories instead of just layering upon my old favorites.

This election is going to be a nail-biter, and there’s a lot at stake. As the ads will tell you, the environment, the pandemic response, and human dignity and rights are on the ballot. And on top of being anxious about the results, we have a president who is already hinting that he won’t accept those results and whose actions and words encourage voter suppression and intimidation.

It’s a lot. And if you’ve already done your part and voted, it may be worth thinking about how you’re going to make mental space for yourself to get away from the news cycle.

Here are my strategies for coping with election anxiety.

1. Remember how much I’ve done to encourage a positive outcome in this election, and that I am not alone in working hard to turn out the vote. We have set things in motion, and now, for many of us, it’s time to take a deep breath and wait. (Last minute phone-bankers or election day volunteers, thank you!)
2. Limit news and social media consumption. Scrolling through the news or sitting in front of the television all day on Tuesday will not get me information any sooner. I can catch up on the headlines from the day when polls close. Reading people’s posts on election day will likely either snowball my own anxiety or incite negative emotions – perhaps best to shut that off or limit it to a five minute catch-up period, too.
3. Have realistic expectations for when I might know the results from each state and the overall election. I am setting my sights on watching Floriday on Tuesday night and perhaps some of the important Senate races that might also be called, and I’m prepared to not know about Pennyslvania. This article from FiveThirtyEight breaks down when results will come in and whether early or late results are likely to favor a particular party: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-results-timing/
4. Have an election night watch plan. We have snacks planned, we have drinks planned, we have a comforting paella recipe on lock, and we even have a strategy for moderating alcohol with seltzer water and meyer lemon slices in between the light starting cocktail and the rioja we’re opening to go with dinner. We also have a mini bottle of champagne to open if Florida is called in Biden’s favor, because with the election results taking longer due to the pandemic and mail in voting laws in many states it’s going to be helpful to celebrate milestones and think of this as an election journey not a night.
5. Live in the moment. Work out, go for a walk, read a book, do a craft with your kids. Remember that mentally cataloging all the fears and possibilities of an uncertain future is not helpful. It’s not irresponsible to seek out distractions. I am not uniformed or uninvolved if I walk away and catch up later. I am not the leader of the free world, I’m a parent. Hugs and hot chocolate and focusing on that job can be a great outlet for reducing election day stress.

Stay well and be kind out there!

Still need some more help? Try the NY Times “Election Distractor”

It has now been over 6 months of not hugging extended family or sharing meals or being able to walk into the grocery store or drop my kids off at school without a twinge of anxiety. The news cycle is brutal and the country is literally on fire. I don’t think I need to list all the reasons mental health might be taking a hit right now after half a year of pandemic life.

Here are some of the coping strategies I’ve adopted.

Volunteer to help get out the vote: I’ve found an easy way to help with voter turn-out for the November 3rd election by sending personal, brief, non-partisan letters encouraging people to vote via the website votefwd.org. Voter turnout in this election is critical and Vote Forward is a quick and easy way to increase voter turnout. The organization provides you with a return address for a local office and has you sign with your first name and last initial, so it’s a safe and non-confrontational way to encourage someone to vote by expressing why voting matters to you in just a few handwritten sentences. A similar organization recommended to me by a fellow activist and strong woman I respect is postcardstovoters.org. Instead of feeling powerless when I read the news, for the price of stamps and envelopes I can now encourage fellow voters.

Taking walks with friends: Rather than getting together for lunch or a yoga class like we might have before the pandemic, I’ve rediscovered how much I love taking a walk with friends. We wear masks and walk outside, lowering our risk, and the combination of exercise, sunshine, and social interaction is a perfect trifecta for my emotional and physical well-being. It also helps me cope a little with the loss of my beach walks with my mother this summer up in Maine. I can’t even begin to explain how much I miss them. Walking is also a much warmer way to be outside than sitting, which can make the cold seep into your bones. It’ll be something I can bundle up and enjoy on a crisp sunny January day when I wouldn’t be too keen about sitting outside in a lawn chair ten feet away from friends.

A social media break: I deactivated my Facebook account on September 1st and have left Instagram mostly dormant. It reduces the amount of time I spend looking at my phone that would be better spent emptying the dishwasher so I can take an actual break, and it protects me from some of the social negativity. While I am a little concerned about missing out on important news (I’ve learned of deaths, pregnancies, health scares, new puppies etc. on Facebook because it’s become a cultural norm to announce big news there) I do not miss scrolling through my feed and seeing insensitive comments about the concerns of teachers or the severity of the pandemic or the selfishness of parents or the fierce frustration of people who judge other people’s precautions as either too cautious or not cautious enough. I don’t miss interrupting my own life to share a picture of the dinner I just made in hopes that someone else will be inspired to make a vegan meal, and then checking back anxiously for likes or comments and wondering if maybe that eggplant didn’t show well. I don’t need to see an otherwise kind and compassionate acquaintance post a tirade about how universal healthcare is communism and would steal his hard-earned tax dollars, even as I know that this person would never want to see a hardworking American arrested for unexpected medical debt, something which happens in our current system. A break from Facebook is a break from judgment and fear of judgment on all sides.

LeVar Burton Reads: Yes, news podcasts and being informed are all well and good, and wellness podcasts can have great tips and tricks for being mindful and smelling the flowers or whatever, but sometimes you just need to escape reality for a little bit. That’s why I love the artfully curated and masterfully read short stories on LeVar Burton’s podcast for adults. He read to me as a child, and he’s reading to me as an adult. The dishes and decluttering and constant battle to pick up the whirlwind of other people’s possessions scattered throughout my living space is made bearable by his thoughtful performances. I can’t recommend it highly enough. LeVarBurtonPodcast.com

Knowing what’s for dinner by 4 pm: I don’t always manage this, but my life is much better when I do. If I can take a few minutes over my morning coffee to figure out what’s for dinner, it expands my options because I can defrost something if needed or make a pot of beans or soak cashews for sour cream. And then I don’t discover at 6:00 p.m. that I have no plans and there isn’t even time to preheat the oven.

Zwift and Voyager: I’m still riding my indoor trainer or running on the treadmill and watching Star Trek Voyager. Escape into a show you love and if you can do it while exercising so much the better.

I hope you are finding ways to connect, to exercise, to cope, to be proactive and to have hope. Be safe and stay well! And make a plan to vote, please.

I just started using a Zwift training plan. I’ve had the app for cycling on my indoor trainer since January of 2019 but this is the first time I’ve used one of their training plans.

I took an FTP test through the app so it had information on what wattage I could average for 20 minutes of my best sustained effort, and Zwift now uses that information to fill in personalized goal wattages for me within their training plans.

I chose the FTP builder, designed to increase my cycling performance in about 4-5 hours a week.

Workouts are locked until it’s time to complete them, so you can’t skimp on recovery time. Warm-ups and cool-downs are integrated, with wattage goals, encouraging compliance.

For each stage completed, you get a star! A virtual star. Not a real star. But your legs get the real workout.

I’ve found that with the number right in front of me, I perform well even if I’m splitting my attention between the training screen and Star Trek Voyager.

This both enhances my average wattage for the ride, and breaks up the ride into more interesting segments by varying the efforts. It also makes me feel more comfortable when I’m recovering, because I’m supposed to be recovering.

At the end of the FTP builder plan in 6 weeks, I’ll test my FTP again and see if it improved. I suspect it will, but even if it doesn’t, I’m already enjoying the variation to my riding routine and the sense of purpose the training plan provides. And since my real end-game is to get my heart rate and mood elevated regularly… I think that’s already a win.

We are fostering kittens!

Our guest bedroom is now “the kitten room” and we are on our second set of furry guests from Off the Rocks Animal Rescue.

Fostering kittens gives them a more spacious area and regular attention and socialization than if they needed to be kept at an animal rescue while awaiting adoption.

Fostering also gives us a wonderful chance to cuddle and play with adorable kittens… without making a permanent commitment that would deeply offend our 15 year old cat. Letting kittens stay in one room separated from her hasn’t caused her to bat an eyelash, but if they started taking over the house I think we would have a problem!

Kittens need to be played with and entertained and cuddled and shown that people are warm, safe, wonderful places to take a nap. My kids now have the chance to be the center of a feline’s world rather than barely tolerated by our magestic 15 year old who remembers when they were born.

It gives me a sense of purpose, too. I get to photograph kittens for their adoption page, which I take way too seriously, giving me a reason to hang out in the kitten room waiting for just the right opportunity to capture the right shot that shows their markings and personality.

A lot of shots look like this:

Fostering can be added to the list of other silver linings that have come out of Covid-19. Knowing it would provide so much joy for my kids during a time when they’re missing school and playdates and hugs from grandparents was a huge factor in our decision to go on a kitten adventure.

And it can be an adventure! I recommend thinking carefully about whether you have the appropriate space for kittens (non-carpeted, no low hanging curtains, etc) and are ready to handle any of the common issues kittens sometimes have. They can come with worms, ear mites, trauma if they were rescued from a difficult situation… it’s good to know what you might be getting into and how your rescue supports you in those situations.

Off the Rocks is dropping off ear-mite drops for me this morning, VIP treatment! Since our cat is kept separate from our kittens, and I’m happy to clean out kitten ears, this is no big deal.  It’s just good to think before you foster about what you’re up for and whether you’re a good fit for any challenges the kittens might be facing.

We will miss these two so much when they leave for their forever home, but are so grateful we’ve had the chance to watch them grow.

Every morning I hear their door creak open because our 9 year old sits and reads in the kitten room until breakfast.

Every night I read out loud to the kids in the kitten room, and it’s like we’re putting the kittens to bed, too.

A friend came over for a socially distanced chat in our backyard, and half an hour in she was like “where are your kids?” and of course, they were in the kitten room. Uninterrupted adult time without screens, hooray!

This has also been good for me. That moment when a shy kitten climbs on your lap for the first time and sits down, or seeks you out while you’re reading on the bed and curls up next to you… all the feels.

If you’ve been thinking about adopting but aren’t sure, fostering can be a wonderful way to have a chance to nurture some animals that are in need of a safe place on their journey without making a lifetime commitment!