The start of the fall has brought back the start of the school year as well. Putting assignments on the calendar, spending evenings at the library, and taking lots of study breaks for snacks!
This year, the start of the fall for me has also brought around marathon season! I will be running my first Marathon this October in Chicago, and have been training all summer putting the work in, and am finetuning my training these last few weeks.
While I ran in undergrad, taking on a Marathon seemed like a big challenge. In college, I specialized in the 400 and 800 meters, so switching gear to long-distance was very daunting.
Balancing coursework and training has been rough. For my long runs, I’m running for 3 or 4 hours straight, and then have to recover after which takes a big chunk of time. Thankfully, I’ve discovered that being forced to sit down for long periods of time after a long run to recover is a great time to catch up on lectures and have designated time for sitting and being at home to get things done.
I see similarities between my approach to school and my approach to training. I love checking off boxes and apply that toward both. With my training, I have a calendar that I drew up with my fun flair pens and get the satisfaction of putting an ‘x’ through the day’s plan once I’m done with my run. Similarly, I make a checklist of each class that I hand above my desk and check off assignments as I get them done. Something about the visual reminder and action of crossing something off keeps me accountable and gives me a sense of accomplishment.
It’s been a busy start to the semester so far, but I am continuing to enjoy the engagement and discussions with my fellow StratCom students and continue to cheer them on in their own personal endeavors as well.
The Chicago Marathon Start Date is October 10th. If any fellow MSU people are there racing, look for me sporting the green and white and good luck!
Molly McQueeny is in her third semester of the StratCom program and is also working towards a graduate certificate in digital media. We wanted to highlight her because on top of working full-time as a Communications Coordinator for the Kane County Regional Office of Education and being in school, she is also training to run in the Chicago Marathon.