2018: A Look Back

2018 was a pretty great year. Now, I’m not saying it was perfect, but on the other hand, perfection is a myth, so maybe it was exactly as it should have been. All I know is that overall, I am pretty lucky. I live with the two people who make me smile most, who love and support me, and we have had some great adventures and time together this year. I have a job I enjoy, two cats to snuggle with, a house to call home and the means to heat it. I'm healthy and able to get out to run, hike and enjoy nature, which brings me great joy. I have wonderful friends with whom I can enjoy miles and laughter and time together. We are blessed with family with whom we love to spend time, and who cheer us on during our crazy endeavors. There is much to be thankful for indeed 💗

I don't really make new year resolutions but I do like goals. The past few years I've set running goals for myself at the beginning of the year, things that keep me honest and working hard. I didn't achieve all my goals this year, but that's OK. I'm pretty pleased with what I did accomplish, and besides, you have to dream big and sometimes fall short to make things happen!

Goal #1: ✔ Wrapped up the year with a random road run this morning to round out the numbers out to the lovely palindrome of 2,112 miles. Icier than expected, and my legs felt a bit creaky, but there was some lovely color in the sky and one deer was seen. (6.5 miles)

Very happy to have exceeded my mileage goal for the year, especially considering I truly am only a 5x a week runner and took time off after both Laurel and JFK.

Goal #2: ✔ Qualified for Western States with my Laurel finish, and then even better, actually got into Western States through the lottery with only 2 tickets!! Woohoo. 2019 is going to be pretty awesome with that on the roster!!

Goal #3: Didn't quite achieve this goal, as the puking at mile 57 put a damper on any sort of fast movement, but still proud to have done as much as I could in those final miles of Laurel to finish as strong as I was able. 

Goal #4: Nope. Didn't happen. Gonna have to put this on my list again for 2019 and make it happen!

Goal #5: ✔ Kept up the 2x a week arm strength throughout the year, but never really rallied to make the leg strength happen.

Goal #6: ✔ Hills made a strong appearance in my training plan pre-Laurel and I really worked to incorporate speed pre-JFK. No track workouts but pretty good for me!

Goal #7: ✔ Races are fun but it's truly the process that makes me happiest. I really do love to run and know that getting outside for my miles on a regular basis makes me a better person. Enjoying the journey is the true purpose and the biggest joy, always 💗

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Spent this sunshiny New Year's Eve day hiking at Bradbury and enjoying sushi and gelato for lunch with the kiddo.  Looking forward to a great 2019 filled with more hiking, sushi and gelato, plus lots of miles, smiles, friends, family, laughter and adventure! Happy New Year everyone!

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Running Log Files:

2018 - 2,112.00
2017 - 2,002.00
2016 - 1,900.00
2015 - 1,963.60
2014 - 1,702.00
2013 - 1,557.75
2012 - 1,400.00
2011 - 1,375.00
2010 - 1,100.00
2009 - 675.50 *pregnant/Sam born
2008 - 1,112.00

2nd Christmas Fun

Christmas round #2! A fun weekend filled with more Christmas, family, laughter, food, drinks, joy and maybe a slight bit of chaos 😂💗🎄🎅 These kids though. Oh so cute together, even if they are causing mischief 😉

Writing a letter to Santa

🎅 snacks

These cuties 😍

Opening stockings

Playing with new toys

OMG 😍😎💕

Marble run puzzle mazes for the win!

Merry Christmas! 🎄

Cousins

This morning, I headed out before anyone else had woken up for a run around the Georgetown block. Legs were feeling fine but I was feeling a bit mentally exhausted from this whole week of family time and merriment 😀 so I gave myself a bit of grace and just ran a nice 10 mile loop instead of pushing through for the 16 that I had on the "schedule," which really isn't a schedule at the moment, just thoughts on paper of what seemed like I "should" do. It was a bit overcast but I had some lovely marsh views and maybe burned off a few glasses of wine😆😂 (10.0 miles)

Marsh views

 

Midweek Running

Trying to cram a bit of running into these holiday days! Ooff, not the highest quality miles based on too much food, too little sleep and an off-kilter schedule, but there sure have been some pretty sunrises this week. Oh, and a bit of snow too...

Wednesday morning, I got up early but was tired from a full day yesterday and it took me a while to actually get out the door! 😂😁 Too bad I had to go into work after my run 😜 Ran the cart paths minus holes 1 & 2 and enjoyed running without a headlamp and watching the sun rise. Such a pretty morning! (5.2 miles)

Heath overlook

Thursday was a headlamp run, but I started late enough that I was treated to the glow of the orange sunrise through the trees and on the back of the Highland Green loop saw the wide expanse of glowing light on the horizon, with Venus shining brightly above. A nice if chilly morning road run. (6.0 miles)

Venus glowing high above

We are heading south to MA for Christmas #2, but while we were waiting for the snow to turn to rain (boo....), I headed out for a run. It was snowing lightly with just enough on the ground to warrant screwshoes and to hide the remaining ice 😁 A bit of cart paths, road and the trail around the Heath thrown in for a random loop today. (5.0 miles)

Oh, and just for grins... I do so love my Gigi cat 💗

Life is so rough 😂😍

Merry Christmas!

A fun day filled with family, laughter, eating, drinking and laughing some more 💗🎄🎅

Ready to start off 2019 right! 🏃

Christmas Eve Fun! 🎄

We had a lovely Christmas Eve, with time spent baking and running and walking and playing games and eating what is most certainly a very traditional meal of Indian food and gingerbread cake 😂😋

Sam has been getting up early so I started in on the baking around 7:00 am and managed to knock off the banana bread, pumpkin pie and gingerbread all before 8:00! Then I just had to wait around to get them out of the oven 😉 before I headed out for my run. Ryan was too comfortable on the couch drinking coffee to join me, so I headed back out to the Cathance by myself. It was a beautiful bright and cold morning, and although I pretty much ran the same trails as Sunday, I was greeted with new views including ice pancakes and several flooded frozen bog bridges. I really do love that 💗 (6.0 miles)

It was so lovely that I ran home thinking, I'm going to walk in the door and say, "Who wants to go see a roaring river and ice pancakes?!" and everyone is going to shout "Yes!!dx" Of cy7ourse, when I got home, Mom and Dad were out picking up a few final stocking stuffers and Ryan and Sam were playing Catopoly 😂 but after lunch, everyone did nicely agree to my desire for a family walk in the woods! Thankfully i have a very agreeable family, and my parents are good sports even if they semi-froze out there!😀😆 (1.6 miles walked)

Cool lichen

Looked like a mini forest atop a stump

Lots of hoar frost to have fun with!

Frozen waterfall

Roaring river

💕

Late afternoon glow

Ice pancakes!

Pretty sky

Frozen vernal pool

Then it was home to drink some tea and thaw out before we had dinner and got all the presents under the Christmas tree. Sam may not believe in Santa but she still loves presents and wants to help with the whole process! 💗🎅