What a Difference a Year Makes

A lot has happened this past year.  I feel very very blessed for where I have come both in my fitness and personal life.  Last year, fall was pretty rough and stressful for me.  Partially due to some of my unrealistic expectations not being met, some due to injury creating drama, as well as letting some things that I couldn't control have a large effect on me.  It was not good.  I was not in a good place.

I was very busy this summer with some volunteer work.  I was experiencing a large amount of turnover that I could not control on my committee.  It was driving me nuts.  As a result, I was pretty much the only one who could handle a particular project which I had never intended on doing myself, and was actually told DO NOT DO THIS YOURSELF your first year, delegate it out, it is TOO MUCH.  I was not happy, but plugging away, being stressed about it, and I had brought my concerns to my leadership, and was told pretty much, yeah, that is not ideal, but you're doing great, so keep it up.  Not what I wanted to hear.  Then, enter this lovely ankle sprain:

I took a month off of running.  It derailed my plan to run the Detroit Marathon.  I was too far behind on my training plan to catch back up and do well.  Also, since I could not run, I was having more trouble with dealing with stress.  I was upset all the time, and had developed TMJD and spent a lot of time sick/hungry/tired.  It hurt to eat.  I tried doing the diet I did when I dislocated my jaw in college, but it wasn't satisfying or helping as much as I had hoped.  I went to the dr and the dentist and finally got a mouthguard that started to help.  It was also very expensive.   School was starting, and it was actually tougher on me than I thought, because of all the drama of trying to get 2 kids ready to leave the house at a specific time 3 days per week.  There was too much yelling going on and I felt like a horrible mother.  After much complaining, I was able to get myself relieved of my volunteer work.  We knew we were moving, so it actually wasn't that much earlier than I had told them once we learned about the move.  You would think it would have been easier to stop volunteering, but I guess that is the kind of person that I am.  I hated that I was giving up, and I did finish the project I started, but I honestly felt a bit like a failure when I couldn't hack it.  I  somehow pulled off a PR at the Brooksie Way Half Marathon, but a few seconds.  This was a huge moral booster, and really helped me get ready to start my winter training for the Martian Marathon.

My hard work paid off with my BQ at the Martian Marathon.  It was great to finally realize this goal after working for it for so long.   I was able to score a last minute bib to the Derby Mini Marathon and have another PR.  I did a lot riding on my new bike to prepare for the goal of mine to complete Steelhead.  I signed up for the Racing For Recovery Half distance tri, and prepared for it.  We learned that I could not do Steelhead due to the timing, and I was able to work through it and sign up for Muncie instead.  Yes, I was bummed when Steelhead rolled around and I wasn't there, but it wasn't near the devastation as not being able to do Detroit since I had already acheived my goals for the year.  It is a fabulous feeling to have your year's goals reached by July!  It worked out really well too, because the move really de-railed my training.  I had that horrible race in July while we were moving, but bounced back to do well in a mini tri just a couple weeks ago.  With my Boston entry confirmed, I can just focus on running and swimming, with a bit of trainer riding/spinning thrown in for cross training until spring and when Ryan's work schedule settles down.  He has been working crazy hours.  I am doing better with getting Keira to school without lots of morning drama, although it is slowly killing me, I think, from lack of sleep.  I am grateful for the bus, because I don't need to get Soren up, and can let him sleep as long as he needs to, since he is no longer napping.  I also knew it would be harder than the summer, so it wasn't such the shock as it was last year.  

The biggest blessing is our new home.  I love it.  We aren't totally done with everything, but I don't know that we ever will be.  Sometimes I wish we could live here forever, but sometimes I want to go back to MI.  It is hard with this being still temporary.  I am meeting friends slowly.

It is such a change from before, and the kids get along better in the house with more space than they did here (don't mind our pile of charitable donations on the porch awaiting pickup).

Anyway, it is amazing what can happen in a year.  We have been very blessed and I am thankful for it!  Here's to a great next year! 

I hope I can do well at Detroit, and have a fun time in Boston.  I am not going to go for a PR there, but just run it to have fun.  I would like to bring my camera, I think, when I run.  I know I am going to want to document it as much as possible, and with the bus ride to the start, I don't know that I will have anyone to give my camera to at the start.  I don't know if I would want to gear check it or not.  That seems risky to me.  I am wondering if I should get a new phone with a nice camera in it and a spibelt to have for Boston?   I am eligible for a new phone per my plan, so that isn't going to be terribly expensive, and I have been wanting a spibelt for a while now anyway.  Any other ideas?  

In the meantime, I am going to send my test shoes back today (bummer!), and then decorate for FALL!!!  Happy First day of Fall everyone!