Running Away

Yesterday was not a good day. I watched the U.S. Presidential Election results roll in on the TV until about 10:15 P.M. when it became apparent that either there wouldn't be a winner declared before midnight, or that there would and it wouldn't be Kamala Harris.

I woke up this morning and checked the news which confirmed what I thought would be the outcome when I shut off the TV and went to sleep last night. It wasn't the best way to start the day, that's for sure.

I went down to my basement office to start work around 8:00 A.M. and did some of the usual tasks, interrupted now and then with a look at the incoming posts on Threads. I posted a few angry thoughts myself.

Before noon, I was more than ready to get away from all that and also to escape the basement for a bit. Like I do most days, I geared up, laced up, started the Garmin and I went for a run. Runna said to do 5km easy pace today. Good enough.

I opened Spotify and put on Folklore by Taylor Swift instead of starting a podcast in Castro. I rarely listen to music while I run, but today I wasn't in the mood to listen to anyone talk, and I also wasn't in the mood to spend any time with my own internal monologue.

Folklore is a favourite of mine. That album came out at a terrible time for a lot of people, myself included. It was July, 2020 and we were living through pandemic lockdowns and the tail end of the Trump presidency. Nobody expected it; one day it sort of just appeared. We listened to that album (and Evermore) a lot in our house throughout the pandemic.

Putting some music on for the run today provided some much needed reminders that despite how shitty things seem, there is still beauty in the world. Things got worse before they got better back in 2020 and things will likely get worse before they get better now too. Folklore is about escapism and nostalgia. Thematically, it was what we needed then and it was what I was looking for today as well.

I took the GoPro along to capture some of that beauty as well. Having the camera in my hand led me to spend more of the run looking around to find those scenes.

Blue skies, brilliant yellow leaves, painted murals, smiling crossing guards, fellow runners out for their own moments of escape.

I came back from the run feeling just a bit better about things. We'll get through it.