Saturday Graduation 10k with Surfers

COVID-19, “The Rona Era”

Today is graduation day at SSU part II. Last Friday and Saturday was graduation for the class of 2020. I was apart of the drive by faculty experience for those graduates. COVID-19 had just started and we weren’t sure what to do. There was a link to an online video message and a drive around the campus and parking lot. Last weekend, the class of 2020 were able to walk across the stage for a proper graduation. We are still in COVID, so graduation from 9-6pm with staggered times on both Friday and Saturday.

This Saturday is the 2021 graduation group and it’s the last day of the graduation extravaganza. I wasn’t planning on going because our sociology students were spread out in so many different time slots. This is why I am not Chair of the department.

My plans for today besides resting from Friday( the last day of work before getting Furloughed) was going to a get together with my SSU girlgang faculty crew at 3pm. I decided to go graduation because my partner in crime Liz, have tailgated for the last 15 years before graduation. We even did it last year before the drive- by graduation. I had to keep tradition alive.

Before going, I needed to get a run in. Summer is knocking on springs door. Which I’m not a fan. I wanted my morning run to be along the water. Nahant beach was the running pick for today. I hadn’t been there in a long while, so I thought this would be fun.

Beside it is warm and bright, I saw a lot of people walking and running along the beach. The bonus of the run were the surfers. This must have been the surfer meet up. They were in the water riding the waves.

The location of Nahant beach draws a diverse pool of people, white , black, Latinx, Asian, which I appreciate.

Side Note: I look like a runner. Today, I passed by a group of white runners, they saw me and I smiled and walked away. One of the runners, run up to me and asked if I could take their picture. There were other folks around but they asked me. It might have been my Black Girls Run hat or the running shorts and shoes. I was slightly annoyed because I wanted to get back to my running. I took it.

6.11 miles, 1:02:59; 10:19min/ml. I felt vary sticky and salty after the run. Regardless the miles got done.