Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Hello 2013

2012 was sneaky and real.  But real is good.  I was required to look very carefully at myself, my goals and my direction, and I was forced to work hard - really really hard - for what I wanted and believed in. Most importantly, as circumstances would have it, I was also obliged to take a big, long break when all my head wanted to do was keep moving.  It's quite amazing what you discover when you slow down a little.

The year was an interesting journey, to say the least. If defined by race results alone, 2012 would categorically be summarized as thumbs-down. But luckily, aside from the racing and training, there was everything that happened in between.

The everything-in-between was sometimes inspiring, sometimes frustrating. But I chose it and I lived it.  For real.

I reached. I stretched. I suffered. I dreamed. I grew.

Most importantly, I discovered something pretty amazing, which is that everything works itself out.  At 11:59 pm on December 31, 2012, I was in precisely the exact place I wanted to be at that moment.  And, even more powerful, I possessed the knowledge that I get to live the life of my dreams, every single day. I am pretty damned lucky, and pretty damned appreciative.

To be fair, it matters not to me that it is a new year. Like 2012 and all the years that preceded it, I have no silly resolutions that start on January 1 and randomly end sometime in mid-spring.  You won't find me making empty promises.

Yesterday, I put on my runners and went for a run on the seawall. An amazing, sunshiny, gloriously pain-free run (that ended with a soy chai latte, of course!)  After six weeks of forced inactivity (well, relative to my usual), running (even slowly) is pure pleasure.  In my happy place of sweat and breath and moving forward, I did not spend much time at all dwelling on the year that was.  I did, however, get to blissfully daydream about everything I am going to do this day, this year and in the future.

Pursue adventure.
Reach past fear.
Sweat.
Travel ridiculous distances on my own steam.
Chase start lines relentlessly.
Give beyond reason.
Expect nothing.
Dream without limit.
Live aloha.
Love.

The life of my dreams is a pretty fabulous one, isn't it?

Hello 2013.  I'm ready for whatever you have in store.

2012 race log

First Half Marathon - February 12 - 1:28:53 (2nd in AG)
  • Sunshine Coast April Fool's Half - April 1 - 1:27:11 (1st in AG)
  • Vancouver Sun Run - April 15 - 39:53
  • St. Croix 70.3 - May 6 - 5:18:02 (4th in AG, 9th amateur)
  • Subaru Shawnigan Lake half-iron - May 27 - 4:56:03 (1st in AG, 5th female)
  • Ride to Conquer Cancer - June 16/17
  • Subaru Vancouver half-iron - July 8 - 4:36:24 (1st in AG, 3rd female)
  • Kelowna Gran Fondo - July 15 - 3:37:39 (1st OA female chip time, QOM)
  • ITU Long Course age-group world championship - Vitoria-Gastiez, Spain - July 29 - 7:34:54 (5th AG)
  • Ironman World Championship - Kona - October 13 - 10:55:59 (21st AG)