Happy New Year!!
I’m late to the game. Fortunately, one of my New Year’s resolutions was not to be more punctual. That’s just a lost cause. I will be late to practically everything in 2018 and forevermore.
I personally very much enjoy the annual creation of New Year’s resolutions. I am a list-maker at heart, so making a list of everything I want to accomplish over the course of an entire year? Sign me up. And not to brag (too much), but I am one of those dedicated few who tend to see those resolutions all the way through. The key is making resolutions that are 1) actually doable and 2) actually enjoyable. But I’m not here to tell you how to live your life, I’m here to talk about me. And we all must agree, that’s a way more interesting topic, right?
Despite my mother’s lovely comments about me leading a “boring and uneventful life,” I think I’ve had it pretty good in 2017. It was also NOT boring and FULL of events so whatever, mom. Anyway, it was an awesome year. There were a few times where I wasn’t sure I could muster the courage for what laid ahead of me. I made some decisions that not everyone agreed with, but I felt were right all the same (that’s pretty big for me). There was a lot of growing up and a lot of wondering if I would ever actually feel like an adult. If you’re looking for more specifics (because we like to share specifics with strange friends across the internet in 2018), you’ve come to the right place. My 2017 is below, broken down by month.
January
Flew solo across the world to join my family for their Chinese New Year vacation! Jackson had to work, and in the name of seizing opportunity, I decided that detail wouldn’t stop me. We stuffed two weeks full of Siem Reap, Cambodia and a cruise in Halong Bay, Vietnam and a trip to Hanoi. We even snuck in a trip to Shanghai Disney. It was incredible. We saw villages floating in the middle of a lake, ancient temples, and about a thousand wild dogs I had to control myself from adopting. We took the most amazing kayaking trips and saw sights I’ll never forget. It will certainly be the one and only time I take a trip without Jackson since all I wanted to do the whole time was tell him about everything I was experiencing. However, I don’t regret that trip for a second.
February
Spent most of February recovering from the Chinese New Year trip. Each of my family members had gotten sick during the trip, but thanks to my extreme dosage of vitamin C gummies, I didn’t feel like I was going to die until halfway back to the US. For all you travelers out there, 24 hours of traveling followed by two weeks of 5 AM wake up calls, more flying, and attempting to squeeze in marathon training whenever you have the chance does not end well. BUT February also marks the first time I took Wilson on a run! He was a natural. He’s my favorite furry running buddy, except when literally anything mildly interesting crosses our path. He fails to grasp the concepts of straight lines and zero distractions.
March
With somewhat of a last-minute decision, Jackson and I decided to run the Kal-Haven trail run (shoutout to random free race entries through work). The trail is about 33.5 miles long. There was a solo option, a 2-person team, and a 3–6-person team. Being a pair, we signed up for the two-person team. It was my first race back. Meaning I had done my own thing for two years, running at my own pace, virtually no speed work except the unpleasant tempo mile here and there. But Jackson wanted to see what we could do, and behind all my familiar and suffocating self-doubt, I wanted to as well. I gave everything I had for a little over 18 miles and it felt like I had reclaimed a piece of myself. Also, we won the two-person team (The Michael Scott Paper Company (<– team name) for the win!), so that was cool.
April-May
After a two year break, I ran a marathon. And then six days later, I ran another one. I put April and May together because the two marathons in a week thing happened at the end of one month and the beginning of another. I can’t tell you how many times I heard that this was a terrible idea. However, I was not one to turn down a free marathon entry. Also, they might have been right. Things could have gone terribly wrong. But as it turns out, it was a truly awesome experience. The first one was a trail marathon, which was perfect for my first marathon back. It was just me out there. I had no clocks to worry about, no crowds, nothing but me and the dirt (there were a few instances the dirt and I became too good of friends. Like when I feel on my face). Next week, I ran the Kalamazoo Marathon and gave all I had left. Despite incorporating very little speed into my training, I was still about to pull off a 3:36. I was back.
June
For about forever, I had been making my high-school cross-country friend promise me that after she finished her senior year of track at Northern Michigan University, she would run a marathon with me. Us runners stay true to our word, and we signed up for a tiny marathon in the middle of Michigan’s upper peninsula. To save money, we decided to camp at the nearby Tahquamenon Falls. Little did we know early June belonged to the mosquitos. After braving the outdoors to set up our tents, we had about 3/4 of the blood in our bodies that we started out with. The next day, the two of us with about 30 other people listened to the very old, very adorable race director give us the Irish Blessing before setting out for 13.1 miles on the shoulder of a country road (when you pay about $30 for a marathon, assume the roads are not going to be shut down) and 13.1 miles back. It poured rain nearly the whole time and we couldn’t even slow down to grab water since we would receive at least 30 mosquito bites in the process (all the volunteers were wearing head to toe mosquito nets). It was one of the most intense things I’ve ever done, and my friend absolutely killed it. The only training she had under her belt was her track season and a 15-miler long run. And yet she finished her first marathon in 3:40. We celebrated with complementary post-race pasties (it’s a UP thing), watched Balto at her family’s cabin, and fell asleep by 7:30.
Also, June was Wilson’s first birthday. I would be a bad dog parent if I didn’t mention that. He had cake and shared it with all his four-legged friends.
July
July was our first month in our new home! We were Super Adults in 2017, not just buying a house, but buying a duplex. We became landlords, somewhat conquered the fear of being landlords, and learned to do landlordy things. It was really incredible settling down in a place I knew I was going to be for more than a year (which hasn’t happened since I lived at home). The feeling of establishment was a powerful one, and it certainly made me love my new home all the more. Fortunately, the house is about a half mile from our old one, so running routes stayed about the same!
August
Ran myself into the ground training for nothing! I thought it would be fun to spend the summer running and working out as much as I could and maybe even sneak in a Pr in the 5K before starting up marathon training again. Turns out, the human body has limits! At least, mine certainly does. My all-or-nothing mentality will be the death of me someday. So I ended August with a knee injury that left me hobbling through very short runs (still holding onto that last sliver of pride). Jackson and I also were lucky enough to be a part of our best friends’ wedding! It’s super weird to see your friends get married and grow up, but also tear-jerkingly beautiful.
September
Jackson and I boldly went where billions have gone before: Europe! The panic of being in a place where we had no idea where to get anywhere or what anyone was saying only stayed for about a day or two. After that, we had an awesome time outside of our comfort zone (and only thought we were going to die once or twice!) We ran a half marathon (sorry, a 21 KM) in Budapest, saw some truly incredible things, fell in love with Airbnb, and successfully visited three countries!
October
After probably too much soul-searching, I decided to stop running for awhile and let my injury run its course. I got myself a membership to the local high-school pool and realized that swimming isn’t nearly as bad as I remembered (swim class was one of the low points in my childhood. You’d be right to assume I’ve had a pretty good life). I worked on strength training and felt myself getting stronger in ways I wasn’t used to as a runner.
November
I started running again! Veeery gradually. My big running event for November was the Canton Turkey Trot. I ran with a friend who had never run a 5K, and it was awesome. Sometimes, it’s more than okay to be far from the front of the pack. It gives you a whole new perspective on things. Like, I was surrounded by people who actually seemed to be enjoying the experience, not in immense pain. Not that running all out isn’t enjoyable in its own way, but isn’t the reward really after the race, that feeling of accomplishment? I mean come on, there are literally quotes about that.
December
This past December held the first Christmas I have ever been away from my family. It kind of sucked, but we got to host Christmas at our house, which was pretty neat. Santa was very generous to Wilson this year, my food didn’t poison anyone, and it was really nice to go to our church on Christmas Eve. Also, Jackson got the Nike Vapor Fly 4% shoes for Christmas. He was nearly moved to tears when he opened the box.
Clearly, 2017 was freaking awesome. Also, shoutout to all the random strangers who took our picture when asked. My photo collection would be much lamer without you. So far, 2018 has brought pain-free marathon training (indoors, because there’s only so much I can suffer for this sport and running in sub-zero temps is just too far) and good food (always, because what’s the point of eating anything else?)I wish you all many happy runs and joyful meals in 2018!!
