Empathy, running, and joy

I planned my writing badly this morning. Usually, I sit quietly for a while, connecting to the days’ process, feeling, and energy. Then coffee, then I write.

I had forgotten that today it is Brooklyn Half Marathon day, which means that this moment (7:36am EDT) is the exact moment when the frontrunners are passing through the park across the street. The hooting is relentless. I wanted to write about empathy and now I find myself sidetracked by holler.

And yet.

I am uniquely qualified to feel deep empathy for the runners. I have done this particular race 4? 5? times. The intersection I am closest to is where my friends used to holler. In the new configuration of the race, it’s about halfway through, just before folks turn down the interminable Ocean Parkway. I know how they feel.

Maybe this has moved from empathy to identification, but does it matter? And what are the correct qualifications to feel connection, if any? Whatever insights I might have had are all getting lost in the joyous raucous noise right now. And I am not sure that matters much either

Here’s what I know: distance-running grounded me for so long. I wish for everyone in this race that they feel even a fraction of that.

Next up: online vinyasa flow, today Saturday May 21, 13:00 UTC (9am in Brooklyn). More times zones in the post. See you there?