In the Homestretch!
Nearly losing my hat to the wind on Mt. Lemmon! Photo by Mike McMonagle
There is magic in the air, I can feel it! Last weekend was Boston Marathon and the energy in the city was palpable–and it still is. The blossoms are blooming, daffodils and tulips are sprouting up everywhere, we’ve had some sunny and warm weather, and I’m reaching the homestretch of completing my double Master’s degree! It’s not going to be a cruisy few weeks by any means–it will be a sprint to the finish. My graduating composition recital is in two and a half weeks, and I’m still furiously writing music (my deepest thanks and apologies to the musicians playing my compositions!!), not to mention I have three final projects to complete in the next four days and a bunch of graduating recitals that I’m accompanying on piano. That it’s come to this is completely of my own doing, because I want to do everything–so I am doing everything, and I have faith that it will all get done. It’s just going to be a lot!
In the midst of all the school and concerts these past four months, I’ve been carving time out of nearly every day to run. Sometimes it can be hard to believe the runs are meaningful or amounting to anything–I mentioned in a recent social media post how most of my runs are either early in the morning when I’m half asleep or in the early evening when my brain is fried and body (back and arms) are sore from sitting and playing piano all day. Aside from my two short training trips, one in the Marin Headlands in March to test out my Mountain Hardwear gear for the PCT, and another couple days in Tucson a couple weeks ago for an awesome running event also with Mountain Hardwear (where the featured photo was taken!), I’m not exactly spending hours crushing it in the mountains; it’s more like, getting out for loops around the local pond, or the Charles, or hitting the track. But when I look back on my training log, it’s right there in writing. This season has been the most consistent I’ve been out of my three years at Longy, great volume considering my workload, improved speedwork, and generally on the upswing.
Today I’ll get a chance to test my fitness and celebrate all the hard work in the Lake Waramaug 50K, a road race in Western Connecticut. I ran my 50K PR of 4:28 here a couple years ago and had a great experience, and thought it would be a perfect way to cap off this season ahead of hiking the PCT beginning in June. My A+ goal is to break 4 hours, but I would be really happy with anything under 4:28. The weather is looking great in the high 40s, a bit windy at 15ish mph, but hopefully nothing too bad.
I’ve been feeling excited and ready for this race (though not without some nerves). Yesterday upon arriving to the area I passed by a trailhead and wondered, could that be the AT? I checked a map and it turned out that the AT is literally across the river from where I’m staying. What a cool coincidence!
I’ll share about how the race goes on social media (@pinkfeathers), and beyond that, I’ll be putting my head down to finish the music for my recital, take care of final preparations for all the recitals I’m playing in, and finish my remaining class projects. It’s not going to be an easy couple weeks, but I feel excited and ready to dive in after this tiny respite in Connecticut. It really all is a capstone of my time as a student, and a definitive new chapter in my life since moving to Boston in 2022, and I’m ready to celebrate!
If you’d like to attend or livestream my graduating composition recital, register at the button below–tickets are free! It’s taking place on Wednesday, May 14th at 11am in Pickman Hall at Longy School of Music.
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