The Christmas Lull
This year, I have had the pleasure of being able to have a vacation for the first time in a lot of years for the holidays. It has come with some mixed emotions, some lessons that have been learned, and as always, the running and the let down of the holiday it self.
This year I have run more than I ever have before. And I'm pretty sure that included the times I was active duty military. I am not all the way done with my running or the year for that matter, but, I wanted to reflect on some of the highlights of my running year.
To begin with, I had set a strange goal for myself that I thought would be totally out of reach and yet when that moment came, there I was, in line and on time. I had set out to enter and run in the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix this past January, and when that day came, there I was, standing at the starting line wondering if I would be able to meet my goal of 3.5 hours. I will be honest, there is a lot of help from the other runners to keep going and pushing yourself to finish strong. I made my goal. In fact, I had beat my time by 45 minutes. I had finished in 2:45. I was so happy about that. And that's probably the moment that I knew I was trouble. I wanted to do more races and compete more with others. I set out to complete 4 half marathons in the year. I finished with 4 half marathons done, 2 with a large group of people, two done virtually, a 5k with my parents, lots of challenges to complete a challenge and many new race shirts that I love to wear often. In fact, they seem to be all that I want to wear as far as shirts go because I feel so good knowing that they are a piece of pride and effort and hard work come to fruition.
For the time that I was in the valley over the holiday, I managed to get three separate runs in and I have to say that I am glad that I kept going and still got out there and made the effort to keep going. It wasn't exactly easy on some days, and I wanted to run longer on some of them, but for the most part, it was a lovely break from my normal routine.
I have been thinking on how can I improve upon myself in the coming year as well. Such as for my running, for my writing, for my home, for myself. For some of these things, I am thinking it should be an easy thing to do, but, who knows at this point. I am wanting to do more for me than I ever have before, and I feel a bit selfish about that. I don't know how I would be able to do all the things I would like to without some major changes in my life, but, as I sit and think about all of the possibilities of the new year, I think that anything can happen.
I am grateful for my life and that's good, I have everything I need and that's a fabulous thing. I am able to do things that I want to do and to put into perspective, I have to see that my family and I are better off than 95% of the world's population.. Hell, Puerto Rico is still without power so really, I am doing much better than many of my fellow countrymen. I live in a time where women are becoming more and more everyday. There is much I have to say on that topic but for me, as a woman, I see that people are trying to make a difference for the better of all and I am so lucky to be able to see that. To see a woman in a leadership role is tremendous for me. There is an equal amount of stupidity and anger and fear going on and with that, I can only hope for the best. I see what could happen and that scares the shit out of me...
Meanwhile, back at the Bat Cave... For my running, I would like to make the commitment to do something everyday. Running or walking, but always with a little stretching, everyday. To commit to taking my dog for at least a mile outing everyday that I am home. If I'm away for whatever reason, obviously I can't so I have to be realistic on that one. I need to do more for her. If I can do longer runs more often with her then that's great, but, at least a mile around the block so she can get out and get some fresh air.
For my writing, to keep this blog going. I am hopeful that I will be able to write as often as I get outside, but, honestly, I can't keep that one going. It's hard for me to get to the computer everyday. Especially since I am on a computer all day at work, it just makes it harder for me to come and sit at a screen again and focus. But, I want to do more than what I have done the last 200 days.
For my home, well, I'm starting a bit early for it, but I am cleaning out stuff that I longer need and getting rid of it. To bring some order to my messy life. I am hopeful on this one. Might take me a while, but, that's ok.
For myself, being able to follow through on any of these things would be huge for me. I want to paint more, I want to learn to play the violin, which begins today, I want to sing a lot, I want to sew and create. I want to have a super clean house.. one of those ones that you walk into and think, wow, someone has a lot of time on their hands to have a home this clean. I want to have that. Maybe I can have it all.. Who knows... 😃
There it is.. my thoughts through this Christmas Lull we all seem to face. The let down before the new year... It's all good... Here are some photos from the last week or so...
This year I have run more than I ever have before. And I'm pretty sure that included the times I was active duty military. I am not all the way done with my running or the year for that matter, but, I wanted to reflect on some of the highlights of my running year.
To begin with, I had set a strange goal for myself that I thought would be totally out of reach and yet when that moment came, there I was, in line and on time. I had set out to enter and run in the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix this past January, and when that day came, there I was, standing at the starting line wondering if I would be able to meet my goal of 3.5 hours. I will be honest, there is a lot of help from the other runners to keep going and pushing yourself to finish strong. I made my goal. In fact, I had beat my time by 45 minutes. I had finished in 2:45. I was so happy about that. And that's probably the moment that I knew I was trouble. I wanted to do more races and compete more with others. I set out to complete 4 half marathons in the year. I finished with 4 half marathons done, 2 with a large group of people, two done virtually, a 5k with my parents, lots of challenges to complete a challenge and many new race shirts that I love to wear often. In fact, they seem to be all that I want to wear as far as shirts go because I feel so good knowing that they are a piece of pride and effort and hard work come to fruition.
For the time that I was in the valley over the holiday, I managed to get three separate runs in and I have to say that I am glad that I kept going and still got out there and made the effort to keep going. It wasn't exactly easy on some days, and I wanted to run longer on some of them, but for the most part, it was a lovely break from my normal routine.
I have been thinking on how can I improve upon myself in the coming year as well. Such as for my running, for my writing, for my home, for myself. For some of these things, I am thinking it should be an easy thing to do, but, who knows at this point. I am wanting to do more for me than I ever have before, and I feel a bit selfish about that. I don't know how I would be able to do all the things I would like to without some major changes in my life, but, as I sit and think about all of the possibilities of the new year, I think that anything can happen.
I am grateful for my life and that's good, I have everything I need and that's a fabulous thing. I am able to do things that I want to do and to put into perspective, I have to see that my family and I are better off than 95% of the world's population.. Hell, Puerto Rico is still without power so really, I am doing much better than many of my fellow countrymen. I live in a time where women are becoming more and more everyday. There is much I have to say on that topic but for me, as a woman, I see that people are trying to make a difference for the better of all and I am so lucky to be able to see that. To see a woman in a leadership role is tremendous for me. There is an equal amount of stupidity and anger and fear going on and with that, I can only hope for the best. I see what could happen and that scares the shit out of me...
Meanwhile, back at the Bat Cave... For my running, I would like to make the commitment to do something everyday. Running or walking, but always with a little stretching, everyday. To commit to taking my dog for at least a mile outing everyday that I am home. If I'm away for whatever reason, obviously I can't so I have to be realistic on that one. I need to do more for her. If I can do longer runs more often with her then that's great, but, at least a mile around the block so she can get out and get some fresh air.
For my writing, to keep this blog going. I am hopeful that I will be able to write as often as I get outside, but, honestly, I can't keep that one going. It's hard for me to get to the computer everyday. Especially since I am on a computer all day at work, it just makes it harder for me to come and sit at a screen again and focus. But, I want to do more than what I have done the last 200 days.
For my home, well, I'm starting a bit early for it, but I am cleaning out stuff that I longer need and getting rid of it. To bring some order to my messy life. I am hopeful on this one. Might take me a while, but, that's ok.
For myself, being able to follow through on any of these things would be huge for me. I want to paint more, I want to learn to play the violin, which begins today, I want to sing a lot, I want to sew and create. I want to have a super clean house.. one of those ones that you walk into and think, wow, someone has a lot of time on their hands to have a home this clean. I want to have that. Maybe I can have it all.. Who knows... 😃
There it is.. my thoughts through this Christmas Lull we all seem to face. The let down before the new year... It's all good... Here are some photos from the last week or so...
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