I’ve always preferred school semesters to summer vacation. I’m wired for structure: lists, expectations, routines help me thrive. And with my sciatica and lower back still healing, this summer isn’t one for ambitious goals or intense training blocks. We don’t have any big family trips on the calendar either. So it’s up to me to shape the months ahead in a way that feels purposeful and supportive.

Here are five intentions I’m setting for myself this summer:

Probably won’t need all the swim/run gear, but I will be swimming at Chatfield Pond this summer–hopefully with my race buddy Katie.

1. Swimming outside at least once a week.
Swimming and cycling are my main cardio workouts these days, and every time I ride my bike outside, I am reminded how much I love/need that experience. While spinning class and indoor rides provide the necessary endorphins to make me feel like I’m starting the day on a level playing field, nothing compares to getting outside and seeing the sky, the prairie dogs, the people in their cars, other cyclists. It reminds me how much I need that connection to the world around me.

Swimming is the same way; instead of seeing filmy tiles below, I could be seeing blue skies and the sun rising when I breathe. We no longer belong to our community pool, so I’ve got to get a little more creative with my outdoor water-based exploits, but it’s a goal: once a week, I’ll be outside in the water.

2. Clearing out some of these plants for good.
A few summers ago, I and my decidedly not-green thumb hired a garden coach (yes, that’s a thing!) to help me replace some dead shrubs. As we planted along the back fence, she pointed out that a lot of what was already growing were actually invasive weeds. Not the kind you tug from the top and move on from, but the deep-rooted kind that require real effort to fully remove.

I’ve never had the patience to sit and dig for hours, but this summer feels like the time. I’m planning to tackle it in 15-minute increments and check off each little session like a training log. Just like training miles add up to half-marathon success, 15-minute bursts of weeding will add up too and lay the groundwork for next summer’s more fulfilling work: planting native, low-maintenance ground cover.

This has been hanging at my desk for about a year. I think I’m almost through the hot pink tangled part of the arrow.

3. Healing my sciatica.
For those who haven’t been paying attention to my *riveting* episode with sciatica, I have been struggling with nerve pain in both calves for about 18 months now. Standing and walking are the biggest triggers, but I’ve had a few breakthroughs recently: I was able to walk for six full minutes without pain last week, which sounds like nothing compared to, say, running five miles, but my typically pain kicks in on my walks around three minutes, so it’s serious progress. I’ll take it.

Plus, I’ve gone on two outdoor bike rides that have been mostly pain-free; as long as I stop and take frequent breaks, I seem to be good. A few years ago, stopping regularly would’ve driven me nuts. Chronic pain reshapes everything; now I’m just grateful to be outside and remembering that my legs are stronger than I think.

While I have been looking into medical intervention, it is a slow process with no guarantees of eliminating the pain. (I’m not interested in manipulating my spine via surgery if there’s a 50/50 shot the pain won’t be gone.) My job this summer is to continue to trust the process and do what has been working: swimming and biking, targeted strength, movement snacks all day long, short walks. More good days are showing up lately, so I’m holding onto that.

Three books that help me keep up my daily journal habit.

4. Continuing to journal.
Taking time daily to empty my thoughts onto paper has been a key component in both my creative process for writing The 27th Mile and healing my sciatica. There’s something surprisingly freeing about moving a pen across a page, especially when I’m not censoring myself.

Some days, I’ll start with a prompt from Suleika Jaouad’s The Book of Alchemy, a new book full of short essays and unexpected and engaging prompts from a range of creative people.  Other days, I’ll use another book: Mind Your Body by Nichole Sachs, a counselor who proposes that most chronic pain, while very physically real, isn’t rooted in a physical source. Instead, it stems from the nervous system being on overdrive 24/7, due to repressed emotions, stress or unresolved trauma. (If you’re in chronic pain and aren’t sure where else to turn, I highly recommend this book.)

Most days, though, I do a version of The Morning Pages pages from The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron: free-form pages where I just dump out whatever is on my mind: sometimes it’s my to-do list, sometimes it’s processing a conversation that I’m continually replaying in my mind. (If this sounds like something you’d love, keep an eye out—we’re opening registration next Monday for a 12-week course based on The Artist’s Way. It’s going to be good.)

I will admit, seeing my daily average go down is surprisingly fulfilling.

5. Minimizing my phone time.
As I was finishing writing The 27th Mile, I took Instagram and Facebook off my phone. When I do that, scrolling news becomes my preferred way to procrastinate. I justified that as staying up with the news, which is true, but it turns out, the news these days can be just as addicting as Instagram (and talk about an overstimulated nervous system). My next step: setting downtime from 9-5 on my phone, so I can only text or call (or use a map) during that time. Which gives me plenty of time to review the news, try to get my Connections winning percentage higher, and still have plenty of time to dig in the dirt.

What’s on your summer list?