Run in the New Year

This New Year's Day I decided to trade in that icky morning hangover for  a runner's high...well sort of.  The conditions out there were pretty rough today and to not risk injury I decided to walk most of the 5k.  Along my journey through the wind, sleet and snow I realized that in the last year I've made some huge strides towards being the best version of myself I can be.  I've broken up with my doubts, conquered my fears and let go of everything holding me back.  I'm starting this new year fresh with tons of positive energy and excitement.  I'm hoping that it's infectious and those around me are able to cross a few goals off their lists as well.


The race itself was fairly small, I'm guessing the 9am start time combined with the weather conditions made it an unappealing choice this morning.  As always the lake was beautiful along the course but that particular section felt like I was crossing through Valley Forge.  I'm really trying to enjoy winter running but I just can't seem to get my body to agree.  I definitely think I'll have to stick to short distance races because I'm not sure I could handle anything longer than a 5k in this kind of weather. 


Running this morning was exactly what I wanted to do to get my day started off right.  Especially after having such a great time last night.  I'm not big on going out, I prefer staying in with friends and doing something low key.  My roommate and I have a tradition of trying to do as many NYE superstitious traditions as we can.  We eat the 12 grapes, wear red underwear, light candles, turn all the lights on, run around the block with luggage, fill a pouch with 12 different coins, eat some lentils and a whole host of other random quirky traditions from around the globe.

This year we added a few new ones and I'm glad we did.  We read that in Russia people write their wish on a piece of paper, burn it and then drop the ashes in their champagne and drink it.  It sounded crazy but that's sort of what NYE is all about for us so we tore off tiny pieces of paper to write our wish on and got a lighter out to turn it into ashes.  Aside from that we also made 2 lists, one to keep and one to burn (those ashes went to the trash though).  The first list was a list of all the wishes and goals we have for the new year along with what we plan to do to accomplish those goals.  It seemed fitting that I jot them all down on my race bib so that's exactly what I did.  I wanted to carry them with me on my very first run of 2014 and having them on my race bib was my way to do that and keep them in front of me as I hit the ground running.  The other list was of all the negative things we wanted to leave behind before starting the new year.  That list got burned and disposed of so that we had a fresh start as the countdown reached midnight. 

While most people tend to write resolutions, I think it's equally important to acknowledge the pitfalls you encountered so that you're sure to avoid them in the future.  It was therapeutic to get it all out and symbolically wipe the slate clean.  If you haven't already, start your lists, it's never too late to make a change and start fresh.  As for me, I've already started attacking a few of those list items by registering for my first full marathon (Detroit 10/19) and my first olympic distance triathlon (Chicago 8/24).  This will be a tremendous year for me as I continue to develop as an athlete and work towards becoming the best possible version of myself.  So join me, let me know what you hope to do this year, maybe we can tackle some of those goals together...