a few weeks ago was the cooper-young virtual 4 miler. usually held as a neighborhood celebration the night before cooper-young fest in september, the run got pushed back and adjusted to be virtual in the wake of the pandemic.

the neighborhood association encouraged people to do their run on saturday evening to most closely emulate the run experience, but because i prefer running in the morning i hit the pavement early in the day.

i ran the normal route with a few modifications, and it was great. i hadn’t run 4 miles without stopping in years, but with the nice weather and my spotify playlist it went without a hitch. i ran under the famous cooper-young train trestle. i got to run across the first rainbow crosswalk in the state of tennessee. i saw one of my favorite midtown murals. i waved at friends’ houses as i made my way past. i took my time and enjoyed my run and reflected on what a privilege it is to live in this neighborhood.

it wasn’t the run it normally is, and i missed those jello shots and fireball shots and movies playing on lawns, but it was a beautiful morning and i felt pretty great at the end so i will be grateful for the experience.

here’s to the silver linings.

xx