Christmas at the beach with Couch Potato #2 and some pretty amazing people was just what Santa Claus ordered! Clearly, Old Saint Nick thought I was good enough this year to be rewarded with such an amazing experience (or he chose to overlook one or fifteen small things)!
As I begin to prepare for the excitement that is New Year's Eve & Day, reflecting on all that has taken place this past year never ceases to amaze me. Specifically, I've grown up a whole helluva lot both personally and professionally. Frustrating experiences have been turned into lemonade, which have been turned into a thriving lemonade stand, if you will. Things that were great from start to finish were the quintessential cherries on top.
This new endeavour of running has been both frustrating and extremely rewarding. In the past 137 days/4.5 months, I have gone from being unable to run 8 minutes straight to running my first 1/2 marathon. There were times that my knees wanted to take a rain check. At one point, my ankles gave me an ultimatum- quit now or never walk again. I went from feeling uncomfortable running outside in fear that I would have to walk all the way back with tail between legs. I managed to run my first non-stop 5k in 41 minutes, two weeks into this journey. Now I can run a 5k in 31 minutes (and the time keeps dropping). Finally, I have managed to fit back into pants that have been keeping the back of the top shelf of my closet company for two years. My shoulders are set back just a little more than they were initially. My chin is raised ever so slightly higher than before. Most importantly, the word "can't" and all the ways it manifests itself are slowly, but surely slipping away.
Four days away from 2011 or as they are starting to say in South Africa- 2000-elevation, my resolution for the new year is to use the lessons learned from 2010 and apply them in all things that I do moving forward. It is my hope that I continue to break down the barriers I've set for myself (many of us have that problem); set ambitious goals and achieve them; and continue to seek a healthy lifestyle through running, eating well, and maintaining a positive outlook.
Concretely, in 2011 I plan to do the following:
- Run 1 marathon in a country other than the US of A before the end of the year.
- Every quarter, run in at least one race.
- Renew my membership to the gym.
- Encourage one person to begin a regular exercise and healthy eating routine.
Until next time...come up with a few of your own realistic and measurable goals for the New Year (and don't forget to share them)...and of course, keep it movin'!
Yours in (still getting my act together) training,
Dani
P.S. Within the next day or so, I have to decide if I'm going to run in the "First Eleven" New Year's (11.1k) race at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens. This morning, I called the race organizer to find out the details...that's the first step, right?!
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