2019

2019 flew by and my attempts at achieving the goals I had set for myself were half-hearted at best. I quickly realized that I was feeling very lost and uncertain if the goals I had were even still correct for me. I really did spend the entire year exploring my thoughts and plans for the future.

Motivation was low from the start of the year, which is why I ran for 100 days in a row–just to get myself out the door in the cold winter months. Early in the year I was feeling burnt out with everything I care deeply about. I felt burnt out from coaching, running, my business, blogging, writing, my sport psychology work, and anything that had to do with a project around the house. After a while I stopped forcing myself to struggle through this period of burn out and low motivation. We all need a break from the things that are important to us sometimes so we can refocus and get excited about them.

In 2019 I did very few things that I initially set out to do. Instead, I was open to doing new/different things. For example, I am not a morning person but throughout 2019 I chose to try to wake up early and run as much as possible. Of course, this requires going to bed at a reasonable hour so I tried that too. I enjoy knowing that I was able to put myself first, prioritize what is important to me, and then not have to stress and worry about running if my day takes a chaotic turn. Often things will pop up that I have no control over and couldn’t have predicted. This has made me more flexible. Also, getting up earlier has helped me eliminate insomnia. Last January I tried going to the crossfit gym with Phil. This is something I was resistant too for a long time because it didn’t seem like I had the correct set of skills to complete these workouts. I stayed open to the idea and eventaully got over my fear and stuck with it. A year later I can do a pull up, climb a rope, going to the gym has served as an excellent cross training method on days when I really do not want to run outside in the bitter cold. Running, however, will remain my true love. January 2019 was a big month for trying new things. Last January I also joined a book club! This has been such a supportive and motivating group of women, and the books are good too!

Other things from January: I was selected for the Altra Red Team for the 4th year in a row, I finally learned how to light a match, I fell and lost a toenail that is still not fully grown back a year later, we finished putting our house together, and I realized that I cannot use my phone as a planner because if I do I will miss meetings.

In February Phil and I ran together on Valentine’s Day and then I made heart shaped cookies, Ninja meowed a lot, and I was constantly disappointed each morning when I woke up and experienced how cold it was.

In March I ran the first 5k of 2019, running club started, I was exhausted from the running streak, I was still freezing cold, and I got new Altra running shoes. One night a group of us walked home from the gym and looked at the moon the whole way. Colorado had a rain storm that reminded me of New Jersey rain storms, then it snowed some more. My mom sent me Endgrain coffee.

On April Fool’s Day my parents came to visit, which I was certain was a joke because they don’t travel. It was really exciting! I got to spend time showing them our town and all of the local hiking trails. My mom really liked my new kitchen and I let her cook in it as much as she wanted because she cleans up after herself and she cleans to my standards. My dad made me a coffee cup shelf to hang in the kitchen. My 100 day running streak came to an end and then I had to run on day 101 too because of running club. After 3 years with a melted lid on my Nalgene bottle I finally replaced it. On Easter Phil hid Cadburry Eggs around the house for me to find—this is true love.

Sometime between April and May I decided to train for another marathon and shifted my focus over to my own training. I started running a lot of hills, especially the hill up by the cemetery because it is a mile long and reaches just over 6k feet of elevation. We switched our phones from AT&T to Verizon because we had no phone service in our house. It was a nightmare but now we can make and receive calls without having to walk up the street. I miss AT&T though; they have amazing customer service. I ordered the Altra crop top I had been admiring for a long time and it came on a freezing cold day.

In June it was still cold. I had a pain in my butt and started seeing an excellent chiropractor. I literally left her office feeling instant relief. We spent a weekend in Colorado Springs with our friends and hiked the Manitou Incline and went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. GOALden Peak Performance turned 2 years old! My new neon trail shoes came during a monsoon! The worst part of June 2019 is when I chopped off my hair, a decision I didn’t regret initially but began to regret more and more with time. The haircut itself was excellent and I think the stylist did a great job, however I don’t exactly like having short hair and even if I like it in the first few weeks I eventually regret cutting it off every single time. Cutting my hair was a spontaneous decision and a good reminder of why I am not typically a spontaneous person. I left work during lunch, walked to the salon, cut my hair, and returned to work as if nothing dramatic had happened. Now here I am six months later waiting patiently for my hair to grow back. In June it also snowed and I lost a glove at a road race because I don’t think I should have to keep track of gloves in June! We also started seeing lizards in our yard.

In July I started officially training for the marathon! We also became motivated to finish outstanding home improvement projects like paining trim and baseboards; this was not fun. In July my friends threw me a Christmas in July themed birthday party complete with nachos and Christmas music! I dressed like a flag and my new patriotic escalante racers arrived! Phil’s family came to visit and we did a lot of hiking. I ran a course PR in the Hogback Hustle. I made an ice cream cake. We went camping with our friends and saw a meteor shower and lots of water falls.

In August I finally felt completely warm for a few days. I ran another course PR at the Cheatin’ Woodchuck Chase. I spent $25 on an appropriately sized kitchen table and we moved our oversized table into storage. Downsizing is good! I started coaching cross-country again at the local college! This was the highlight of my year! I also continued marathon training and ran up all the hills. I fell and busted my butt during a trail race. Someone left a concrete ball on our doorstep….it was quite confusing. Hollie came to visit! By the end of August I was wearing gloves on my morning runs again. I got more new shoes and the cats got a new box.

In September we continued with home improvement projects. Spoiler alert, these projects are only fun when they are done! I did a 20 mile long run with Liz, one of several, from Dotsero to Glenwood while eating waffles. These long runs were the highlight of my fall! In September our friend found a yoga instructor to come to town and teach us yoga! I’ve missed yoga so much. At the end of the month I did a solo 22 mile run and it wasn’t fun.

In October running club ended, marathon training was winding down, I fell running and busted my left knee a week before the marathon. It started getting really cold again. I was at a cross-country meet that had snow on the ground. We drove to Marathon, Texas and I finally ran Marathon 2 Marathon. I got sick during the race, puked, did not run a PR, but ended up placing 3rd. This was not the race I had hoped for but it was the race I ran. I am still trying to adequately write about this race. When we got home from Texas it snowed and I dressed like a black cat for Halloween.

The first weekend in November I ran a 5k uphill because I was miserable over not running a marathon PR. It wasn’t a smart decision. During November I didn’t use any social media and I didn’t run very much. November was a low key month, but we had friendsgiving and went on a ghost tour.

In December in was Christmas season and no one could deny me of listening to music or celebrating any longer! I mastered the art of rope climbing and pull ups. I wore a lot of festive outfits. We attended so so so so many Christmas parties. Then, we flew home to New Jersey for 2+ weeks and spent time with family. I finally got some scrunchies, which I am thrilled to have back in style! Phil and I went to NYC to Serendipity, we saw the tree at Rockefeller Center, and we discovered how easy it is to take the train from NJ to NYC which is something we never did when we lived there. I was able to run with Lyndsey a lot while we were home and we attended the Sneakers & Spokes Santa Run! On the last day of the year we did a snowy night  hike with our friends and drank hot chocolate at the top of the mountain. I was in bed before midnight.

2019 was a great year to rest, refocus, and do new, fun things.