Holy hell did 2011 just fly by! Here’s what my year was filled with:
In January, I started this blog because any day is a good day to take a positive step in your life. I also ran my first half-marathon in 2:09:06.
Come February, I embraced my athlete status and took a knee injury to a sports doctor. When it started to feel better, I climbed the seven summits of Phoenix over a long weekend!
March was the perfect month to get a bike. It was love at first ride. I never got around to telling the how we met story. Basically, I bought it off Craigslist from a super serious cyclist who bought it for his fiance who rode it once and hated it! It was just my size and a good price for a starter bike, since I wasn’t sure how often I’d actually use it.
In April, I participated in a very Phoenix race and rocked a short-distance pace I never imagined I could (4.2 miles in 35:44). When registration opened up on Veteran’s Day, my mom signed up for next year’s Pat’s Run before I did! After that race, I injured my knee. Again.
In May, I volunteered at a triathlon to figure out what they were all about and was majorly inspired.
Oh June…I found yoga. What started as a “well, this new studio is hosting free classes for their first two weeks, so I might as well give it a shot even though I’m probably going to hate it,” turned into a love…completely transformative for my body and spirit. I’m also sometimes reminded that although I didn’t write about it, one Friday afternoon in June, I ran 12 miles for funsies. On a treadmill. I think about that when it feels like running is the toughest thing in the world and that I’m never going to get back to that level. I was there once and I will be there again. Things that are that great are worth anything.
July marked the beginning of training for my first triathlon. I kinda rocked it. I joined a fancy new gym that had everything a yogi triathlete could want. I was also slightly distracted in July and didn’t post very much!
In August, I deepened my yoga practice by figuring out the whole intention thing. I turned 27! And I visited San Diego and Las Vegas, which messed with my training plan a bit, but the change of scenery was a good thing!
September is another Oh month because I completed my first triathlon! I also got involved with Girls on the Run as a coach to 10 wonderful girls. Oh yeah, and I barely talked about it here, but I bought my first house (note to self: give the blogworld a little tour in 2012). Yeah, I’d say September was a pretty good month.
In October I was still on a tri high and talked about it a lot. Probably to distract from the fact that I was a little burnt out on training and was taking a breather. This time the break wasn’t because I was injured, thank you, yoga! I was in two weddings in October and visited my favorite city, Seattle and spent time with some great friends!
During November, I decided to pare down on my commitments as I took on a major one, my new pup, Rigo. I set a 10K PR, 1:01:50!
In December, I got a crash course in homeownership (the leak was found and everything fixed as good as new thanks to my HOA). Girls on the Run ended so quickly, but I loved watching my girls cross the finish line of their 5K. I also built my race calendar for 2012 and came up with a training plan.
The year has had its ups and downs, but as an eternal optimist, I choose to focus on the ups and think about the challenges in terms of how they strengthened me.
