Dear RWM Readers,
I'm always floored when I get to this post every year. When we're in the throws of it all some of the days, weeks, months even; they feel so damn long. And, yet here we are again at the end of another 365 day cycle. As always, some big things have unfolded for me, my family, my team, my friends; for most of us, probably. Which is what it's all about, right? Celebrating the big events but also appreciating the slow and simple phases in between when things just are as they are and that feels good, too. As far as running goes, for me it was a bit of a shit show. I had a couple good races in the winter, trained my ass off for Boston, took a spill the week before the marathon and ran it with a broken rib. So, clearly it didn't really go as planned. After that, I got mono. Which I didn't realize I had so I kept working and training right through it and suffering from exhaustion like nobody's business. Super fun. I injured my foot in the summer and that took forever to heal, not that I took time off to deal with it. Because who has time? And, yes, because I'm stubborn. Then in early October I lined up for my fall marathon having just gotten over Covid and slogged through it with just enough energy to finish for my team and ultimately seal our tie for the win in the New England Grand Prix Series. I'm really proud of this one. Although I don't recommend trying it yourself. It was probably not the smartest decision. So, yea. No personal bests. No great marathon stories. Just your standard ups and downs; mostly downs. Not that I don't appreciate the fact that I am out there running. I do. Every. Single. Day. As far as my family goes, my older daughter graduated high school, had the summer of her life and then flew off to college in Colorado in August. Which has been both thrilling and slightly devastating for me. I just miss having her around. My younger daughter is a junior and beginning the college process herself. I can't even think about her leaving and our house being empty. Jeff and I cruised through the year as we always do. Both of us working a lot and navigating parenthood - interesting and very tricky when they're teenagers - while also trying to have fun together and just appreciate all the good. Which sounds easy but often takes more effort than it should. In the end, I have zero complaints. I'm healthy. My family is healthy and happy. I'm running and coaching which is ultimately what I love to do. So, I'm very lucky and incredibly grateful. As far as RWM goes, in addition to my standard posts, I partnered up with the guys over at Six Minute Mile as a guest deejay, if you will. I'll also be writing reviews for them throughout the year on various running related products. I'm super excited about working with them. And that pretty much wraps it all up. Thank you, again, for following along this year through all my craziness. My stories aren't always that exciting but perhaps they resonate or make you laugh and I suppose that's reason enough for me to stick with it. And with that, I'll sign off. Have a wonderful holiday. Soak up every second. Relax when you can. And get ready to do it all over again in 2024.
All the best,
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