Once More, With Feeling

It's that time of the year, the beginning, where I'm trying to determine how to make all the changes to my life for it to be "better". Overall, I am happy with the day-to-day in my life, but I am also a victim of comparison syndrome and see all the ways that I should be able to improve my days. 

 Remember: comparison is the thief of joy. Some of my proposed changes do come from a bit of a place of necessity. 

The early morning workouts I hope to accomplish allow me to let the workday take the path it will take and not feel like I'm losing something if/when it gets away from me. The others goals, meal prep to make my days easier and aim to eat balance, sleep more, write more, stretch more, do more strength and PT, these are all goals I have to improve how I feel. But, man, is it hard to always find the motivation even for those things that you *know* will make you feel better. 

 Yet, I'll try. 

One thing that I do miss is writing. It's been for myself for the last years and, let's be honest, will continue to be for myself as this little corner of the internet will likely get little travel. But I can put some words to a page and look to grow and share even if it's just me. Today is the start of the new year. That is an arbitrary start, but also a clean one. Today is the beginning, although I've had forty-two other beginnings that have bleed into one another, but we'll still call today a beginning. 

So, I'll write my post, share my post, and consider the next steps after that. Overall, this place will be about running and health because that is what I happy to share. 

To start the new year, I'll concluded the last one. 

 On my last run of 2024 yesterday, I put some retrospection into my running year. I ended 2023 very disappointed and frustrated. I'd put a lot of effort, energy and myself into a spring marathon that was a disaster. I actually bounced back okay, focusing on the fact that it was a one-off, but I also new that it easily could *not* be a one off and could I put myself through a training block that ended in something so bad (for me, remember, this is always what I consider bad). I'd looked at running coaches online and pinned one for a few months and finally, at the end of 2023, I decided to take that leap and reached out. It's a purely online coach, but what a difference. 

The coach allowed me to just let go and following instructions. I gave me someone who, more often than not, provided the right positive feedback and motivation. It gave me someone who said they were proud of what I did in something, big picture, as trivial as my running. It allowed me to just show up and do what the plan said and try my best. In a life that is so often controlled by me and something that I often have little control over as well, it was what I wanted and needed. 

 The year resulted in a Boston Qualifying time that, although I did not make the actual time cut off, I made it on paper. It gave me a half marathon personal best and it also made me love running more than I have in the past. The downside of it all, it is caused me wo to wonder "what if". What if I had done this before I was in my forties? But that will get me no where so I'm focusing on what "what now" aspect of this. 

 I know 2025 easily can result in no further improvements. I know I'm getting older but I also know I have some fight still in me for times and efforts that I never reached before but I think that was because I hadn't tried like this before. I look forward to the challenges as it is something that I am choosing to challenge myself with and not something that I have thrust upon me. The training cycle pretty much begins now, with a brief two week lull this month, and then we take off. 

It's time to see how much I can grow this go around.