Here I am, starting from scratch in a few ways:

• Starting to blog again after many (many) years (and as a result, re-learning WordPress!)
• Starting to run after being sick

The first one is pretty self-explanatory. The second one is as well, but that’s the one that makes for a much more thoughtful blog entry.

Training for a half marathon..

Early last fall, I decided I was going to run another half marathon. I had run one in 2017, so I had a nice five-year break. During that break, I would run 5 and 10Ks, but nothing more. I started low and slow, two miles at a turtle’s pace. From there, I built up. The weather was still warm, and I remember having at least one really hot run that I almost had to call off, but thankfully, after a 10-minute break, I was able to continue.

There is one area I ran around in particular, a park with a small pond and a walking path loop around the pond. You can imagine that as my mileage went up, that was quite a few loops! The fun part was, I’d cross paths with a lot of walkers who were doing the same loop, and as we’d pass we’d smile and wave. It was so nice. But I was so touched when, some miles into my run, these walking companions would cheer me on. “You’re doing great!” “Look at you go!” “Good for you!”

It meant a lot and gave me a lift when I really needed it. Those are special moments that I thought of during my second half marathon in November, and carry with me even now, during my runs many months later.

…and starting over again

I ran my third half marathon in January, and I was preparing to run my fourth in April when I got sick for basically the entire month of February. Totally derailed my training. I now find myself at that beginner stage once again. I’m at the very-slow-three-miles-with-breaks stage and hoo-boy, it is humbling. But I’ve started small before and built up and I know I can do it again.

I’m confident I can finish the race, but I am highly doubtful that I will PR, which leads me to a conversation I had with an athlete friend. She commented about how PRs are important to her and if she doesn’t have such a great run, she takes it somewhat hard.

While I understand that, my thinking is pretty different. I like to get a good race time, but I judge my races more on how I feel. Do I feel strong? Am I mentally positive or am I thinking “Ugh, this sucks.” Do I run more than I walk?

Maybe I have this perspective because I don’t consider myself an athlete. I’m not competitive with sports. I like to win, and I like to set goals for myself, but with running at least, I’m more gentle with myself. It’s one of those things where I’m just so flipping proud of myself for reaching my weekly goal, even if it is slow. Because at the end of the day, I’m doing it. I’m getting out there and moving my body and doing something I enjoy and doing something that challenges me.

Goodness, WordPress has changed since I last hopped on here! I suppose re-learning WordPress will be one of my personal goals for this year.

That’s right, I had a birthday!

Yes, I completed another trip around the sun. It was a good year. The past four or so years have been pretty good, actually. Maybe because it was about that time that I started being more intentional in looking at what was good, what I had accomplished, what I wanted to do and pursue, and what I wanted to change. That doesn’t mean everything was (or is) perfect, but that small shift in perspective has made a tremendous difference in my life.

Similar to how some people like to review their year around New Year’s, I like to review it during my birthday. This year I found the inventory process interesting. When I looked back, I found myself plucking out these memories:

• I knit a sweater I absolutely love. I’ve knit several sweaters now, but this was the first pattern I chose on my own, without the help of a class or instructor, and absolutely loved the end product. What a cool feeling!
• I prepped for and ran a half marathon all by myself. OK, this was my first half in five years (and only my second half ever), and yes, I did see several people I knew there. But this was the first time I decided “I’m going to do this” and I trained on my own. It was really satisfying and I loved the race, despite the rain and cold. 🙂
• I traveled to Fargo (so unexpectedly fun!) and way on out west to Montana. That was incredible, and one of the reasons I’d like to keep a digital blog. Yes, have my paper journal, and I love that, but sometimes it’s faster to type.
• I volunteered consistently throughout the year. Giving back to the community and supporting worthwhile causes – and beings! – is very important to me, so this felt really special. 

A couple other noteworthy events included:

• I celebrated a work anniversary and also made a conscious decision to limit my freelance work. Both have worked out well.
• I celebrated my first wedding anniversary. This makes me chuckle, because the date my sweetie and I met feels more special than the wedding date, but this was a noteworthy event and I was happy to celebrate it.

So that’s that! Overall a very good year and I’m looking forward to what this next, new-to-me year brings.