Looking ahead and looking back

I've taken a bit of a hiatus from running and therefore this blog in the past month. Today I went out for a wet and chilly Saturday morning run (for 4 miles, ooof and it was hard) and I've been running 6 every Sunday with the White Pine group, but otherwise my shoes have sat stagnant in a corner. It's been nice; I've been able to focus a bit more on yoga and generally enjoy the holidays in the warm comforts of home.

With the new year around the corner I am planning out my running goals again. Right now it looks like:

3/14/15 - first of the DINO trail runs (15K)

5/2/15 - Mini Marathon (13.1)

5/8/15 - Cape Cod Ragnar Relay with Team Strong Hearts Vegan Power!

I mainly am going to focus on the Mini, with the DINO run as a bit of a mid-training assessment. Then recover from the Mini and head straight to Cape Cod with a hoard of vegan runners and run a 200 mile relay race. Yoga and strength is another goal I'm going to continue with. My Xmas present from Scott is an in-house yoga studio in the basement. I'm already able to finally do a proper chaturanga (go ahead and laugh, but this is a BIG deal to me) and hold some backbends. 

Of course this time of year makes me look back too - what have I accomplished and learned this year? What was good, or bad? I can easily say 2014 has been one of the best years of my life and that has all stemmed from taking risks and pushing my limits. I've run more than ever, I've met so many interesting people, and I've learned a lot about myself. 

The good: I got legally divorced. I moved to Indiana and found a job very quickly. We adopted kitties. Scott had a successful surgery and surprisingly quick recovery. I followed a training plan. I killed my half-marathon goal. I celebrated a year of being vegan. We rescued a dog (who has been living it up with his new family). I am being responsible about my mental health. Scott was a cover model. We've got a 15 year plan. 

The bad: I chopped off all my hair and have been growing it back ever since. So you win some, you lose some.