Background

Swara is a 20-year-old college student from New York. We talked through a Zoom videocall using laptop computers. She walked me through her typical routine for going on runs in a local park near her home. She did not have time to take me on a run with her in real time, but she described in detail what she does before, during, and after her runs. I used the double-entry notes method as outlined by Bonnie Stone Sunstein and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater in their text Fieldworking. Both the direct observations and the personal reactions were taken simultaneously in a two-column table, with direct observations on the left, and personal reactions on the right.

[Direct Observations]

A. Interview at 2PM EDT on Friday, July 3
B. Sitting in room with light brown walls, mirror vanity in the back
C. Two door closet (white doors w/ gold knobs – elongated handle)
D. Closet has 2 organizing shelves, and the clothes are folded and packed in. There appears to not be a lot of empty space and she acknowledges that she put back all of the clothes she had taken to college
E. She points to her athletic wear which is kept mostly on one shelf, but she pulls upon a drawer filled with running shorts
F. She mentions that she usually tries to wear shorts/leggings with pockets but that what she wears can depend on the weather and a bunch of other factors
G. Before leaving, she always applies deodorant (when asked what brand, she shows that it is Secret® Powder Fresh aerosol). She also shows an “invisible stick” version of the same deodorant, but says she prefers the spray because it’s easier and she tends to stain her clothes with the stick
H. Ties hair up into either a braid, a ponytail, or a bun, and uses an elastic headband to keep smaller hairs in the front from getting in her face
I. Has specific headphones she uses for running – light blue Bose Bluetooth wired earphones which she says are “meant for athletic use” (she also wears AirPods for the entire call and says she doesn’t use them because she’s afraid of losing them)
J. Always runs with music. Chooses playlist on Spotify for iPhone (lately she has been into a playlist she made named “gorlz” which she described as “female artist hype up music”)
K. Puts on socks, goes downstairs, then puts on sneakers
L. Always says bye to whichever parent is home. If a parent is home, she won’t grab her keys, but if no one else is home, she takes her keys with her
M. Before taking off, she sets her Apple Watch (with pink wristband) to Outdoor Run mode (part of the larger exercise mode setting on Apple Watch) in order to track distance, heart rate, and total time. She also shows the selecting process on the watch itself, and the face has a black background with green lettering
N. Typically, she runs in a park near her house. She expresses uncertainty about the name of the park and acknowledges that it’s “just so familiar you don’t really ever know what it’s called”
O. She notes that the park is by the water and describes the layout of the park as having two paths, one side being on more of an incline than the other
P. She runs to the end of the park and sees the historical landmark that marks the parks end. Sometimes she runs farther than that point but not always
Q. She often chooses between speed and distance for each run based on how she’s feeling. She says this choice also determines whether she runs or walks back when asked
R. When returning, she takes a slightly different path from the one that she took on the way
S. Before she gets home, she tries to walk for 5 minutes as a cool down
T. When she gets back to her house, she takes off her shoes and showers
U. Drinks water before going for run. Most of her bottoms/tops don’t have pockets and she already has to carry her phone in her hand, so she doesn’t want to carry more

[Personal Reactions]

D: Realizing I cannot entirely see into her closet from the angle she was holding her computer. Is the closet as full as it looks? How many of the clothing items in there are devoted to running/working out?

D: Crosses my mind that I have particular rituals for how I choose what to wear, so I ask her how she chooses what to wear when she goes running. I also miss out on seeing if she has a specific way of putting her clothes on (e.g. in a particular order) since she is just describing and not doing the action

G: Deodorant is such a customizable item (in terms of scent, type, brand, etc.) so I ask her why this one is the one she uses

H: Again remembering my own rituals for how I wear my hair, I wonder how she chooses which up-do to wear on each occasion

I: Noticed that she’s using her AirPods while on the call with me. Makes me wonder why she doesn’t just use her AirPods, which are designed with the purpose of being hands-free

J: Choice of audio is always a point of interest. Some people prefer music with high energy, some may choose slower music, some prefer podcasts, others don’t care for any kind of supplementary sounds and run w/out music

K: Not immediately sure of significance, but shoes being kept downstairs by the point of entrance/exit is something that not everyone does (for example, I sometimes put my shoes on in my room)

O: Having difficulty envisioning what the park looks like. Even if she were to have taken me on her run with her through the phone, I may not have really been able to understand the park’s layout and how she chooses which path to run on as much as I would’ve in person

Q: Wondering if the choice of distance vs. speed is something that happens immediately once she reaches that defining point or if that’s something she decides prior to/during the run. Also should ask if she runs or walks back. If I had gotten to run with her, I could maybe understand this thought process more

R: What are the specific reasons for taking a different route back? Safety? Change of scenery? Crowdedness?

U: Definitely an afterthought on my part, I take a sip of water and I think to ask her about her whether she brings water on her runs

Swara showing me the exercise mode on her Apple Watch!