If mental-will is a muscle in need of exercise like Lynn Jennings, one of the best female American runners of all time, once said; then she must have been referring to Kate Jwaskiewicz.

This Liverpool-resident grew up running. And long after her competitive days have passed, Kate continues to pound the pavement.

“At this point in my life it has become a self-care ritual for me,” Kate says. “I just love how I feel when I’m out here by myself. It’s just me and the road.”

And for Kate, most days that road leads directly back to home. Everyday she makes the short commute down her basement stairs where her work begins. She splits time between running her own branch of Momleta, a nationwide company which helps moms connect while working towards their exercise goals, and the company’s social media.

Between teaching and admin work, Kate estimates she spends around three to four hours of her work day in her “office.” Which puts a nice dent into her work-family balance.

“Finding time between working virtually, my kids and everything like that, I (just) have to make sure that I’m on top of all the admin tasks and running a business,” she says.

After the “work” that is where the “fun” of the workouts begin.

Normally the moms in Momleta meet face-to-face for in-person workouts. While a few of those classes still gather from time-to-time, the majority have gone virtual due to the pandemic.

“I have to tell you, I have worked harder than I have ever over the last eight months, because we know how important the community is,” Kate says.

Even though the world has changed because of the Coronavirus, the mission of maintain the selfcare of Central New York moms remains.

“The goals are to meet the physical needs of our moms,” Kate says.

Which is fitting, because at the end of the day, a mom’s job is never finished.

When Kate wraps up her virtual class on this fall morning, she heads back up the stairs. That’s where she, her husband and their four children are trying to get a head start on spreading the holiday cheer. The Jwaskiewiczs are putting up their Christmas tree early help offset the general mood that the year 2020 has brings.

But after the way this year has unfolded, if Kate needs to unwind, there’s always another class or another run to help clear the mind.