Winding Down 2007

Hard to believe that its almost the end of yet another year. You know they say that time goes much faster as you get older, and I firmly believe that, but none that I recollect have gone faster than this one.

I think back on the year, and I remember I was getting ready for the marathon this time last year. Having run my longest run of 21 miles and eagerly awaiting the "day", all the while thinking that somewhere in those last 3 weeks with hardly any running in comparison to the month preceding that I would somehow wake up and not be able to run more than a mile. However we all know that is not what happened and I somehow found the will and determination on that day to finish what I had started.

A month later I found myself running another 1/2 marathon on the beach no less, along side of one of my dear friends Suzy. And then the Spring races started and I was PR'ing at every distance from the year before, but the sub 30 alluded me in the 5K. I came really close at the Trolley though by 19 seconds, clocking at 30:18.

Injuries plagued me a lot off and on, but with Kenyan Way in the summer and then in the fall, I found myself getting faster and faster and able to do things I never thought I would be able to do.

An injury mid-way through marathon training sidelined me from the full marathon which is just over 2 weeks away, but I hope that the training I have been able to do since will see me PR at the distance.

This year also brought about some unexpected things and people into my life, of that I am truly grateful and no matter what anyone says or what the future holds, 2007 will be one of those years that I will never forget because of that. The past years leading up to 2007 left me with a hardened heart and a nature which some might call cynical, but one person in particular changed all of that. Through the drama, the laughs, the tears, the heart felt conversations, the I'm sorry's, the smiles, the truths, it always somehow ended in an upright position. I was able to find something that I thought I had lost somewhere along the way; that had been taken by heartache, lies, by things I had done, and things others had done to me.

I learned that friends are the family you get to choose, and that the family we are born into isn't always necessarily the ones that will lift you up when you have fallen. I have learned to turn to those that care about me and will never judge me based on my faults, or the mistakes I may make along the way.

I have learned that love is a powerful thing, in whatever form it chooses to present itself.

I have learned that the gifts that are unexpected and presented at times when you least expect it are the greatest gifts of all, and more often than not, come in an intangible form. They come in the gently placed hand in the small of your back, or when someone holds your hand, or in the form of words written on the first page of a book.

I found myself in Idaho again, the land that in my heart is what I expect heaven to be like. Among friends, old and new. We'll do it again this year and I expect because of a certain few that will be joining us this year, it will be yet another girls vacation that won't soon be forgotten.

In 2007 I have finished my 2nd year of school. One more year of basic stuff and then we'll get down to the nitty gritty leading up to my final year and graduation.

I survived my mother's surgery and recovery, along with her incessant ability to still make comments that make me feel like not such a good person sometime. I love her and I forgive her, but goodness, I really just wish she'd just stop already.

I survived a very stressful move, leaving behind somewhat of a comfort zone, but what was quickly becoming a battle zone.

I suffered a long and painful job experience in 2007, well up until September and somehow I was able to get out from under that and get back to what I truly excel at and am thankful for the leadership I have now. 2008 looks to be extremely stressful on the job front, but I anxious to take on the challenge.

Challenges are what I live for, and running in 2008 will provide that as well. We have the Spring races coming up again, and I wonder will I have PR's abound as well as last year? Will I finally overcome the elusive sub 30 and if so, by how much? I have some goals in the running area, maybe attempting some of the shorter distances at Rice in the summer. We'll see how the Spring goes, and if I can really concentrate on training at the 800m to see what I can do.

I will be signing up for the NYC marathon lottery again in February and maybe this year one of us that REALLY wants to run it will actually get in. If I don't then I may consider going up to Michigan to run with GLRG.

To my friends, both real and those in blog land, to those that lurk day after day, never commenting (hey post a comment will ya! Let me know you're really there and not just a statistic on my statcounter!), I hope that your year has given you some smiles, and that your 2008 will be the year you overcome a fear, challenge yourself to do something you've never thought possible and that you find love, or whatever you seek. That you find the will to forgive those that might have done you wrong in some fashion, and that peace fills your heart.

Peace.