Jay and I just returned from one glorious week in the real upstate, as we like to call it. My third summer in the Finger Lakes did not disappoint. Jay’s sister Julie gave us the perfect excuse to drop all the things stressing us out in NYC and escape to the countryside. She got married.
Highlights of Julie’s wedding include: her attention to detail in making every moment personal and true to her style, Jay’s beautiful solo at the ceremony despite not performing music in years, the family I count myself blessed to be part of, and just the fun of it all–especially watching Jay and Julie’s dad cut a rug like we never knew he could! Julie and her husband Brian have been together for seven years now, so this was one of those weddings where you just sit back, relax, and watch love unfold. They are tried and true together.
While upstate, I got to run. I ran 3 miles of trails near Jay’s house, 8 miles of rolling hills near the cottage at Port Bay (Jay borrowed a neighbor’s bike and rode beside me the whole time to keep me hydrated, safe, and entertained), 4 miles along that same road, and finally a 5k race at Sodus Bay. The Lighthouse 5k is a 4th of July tradition in the Holder household. Truthfully, I was dreading it a bit. It’s a hot and hilly course that starts later than I’d like. I failed to finish this same race 2 years ago and the “DNF” cloud was hanging heavy over my head Wednesday morning. Add to that the fact that my last 2 races have been ably paced by friends–this time I’d be running solo. In the end, I was pleased with the results. I barely missed 3rd in my age group, but I was a top-ten female finisher–goals like these are reasonable in little races!
Jay’s running days are another story. After over 2-months of IT Band Syndrome, he has seen 3 false-starts and little improvement. This means he a) lacks a much needed release after working long hours at an extremely stressful job, b) misses the social outlet that his team provides, and c) struggles to feel like himself when so much of his identity is tied up in running. After sober consideration and some soul searching, Jay made the difficult decision to back out of the Philadelphia marathon this November that he planned to run with all his Charlotte buddies. He’ll still be there for the reunion and to give support, but competing is out of the question. Needless to say, we’ve had some gloomy moments in the Holder household.
We celebrate and we pout. Gladness and sorrow, sickness and health… at least we’re leaning into our vows.
lauren laughs 