finally 2011. (+ a new post)

I have mentioned this to several people over the last several months. and it's evidenced by the date on my last post (april 4th): I've lost my writing mojo. I didn't even post about my second ironman! yeah, bad...

I attribute this malaise to one thing only: my job. it has destroyed my confidence for and love of writing. really sad for someone who used to love putting pen to paper. now it just makes me cower (not to mention wake up nightly with horrific work dreams.)

but that was 2010...a shit year in A LOT of ways. I am not, however, going to dwell on that here. this post is about the best of last year. and a look forward to the new year...because it is going to be and HAS to be better than the last year.

so...goodbye 2010. we didn't get along, but I didn't let you steamroll me either...I fought back and can say with fondness that I showed you who was boss more than a few times. my favorites:

-kicking mono, a b12 deficiency + a minor knee injury in january
-learning to ski in february. I'm not great, but I adore it...another expensive hobby.
-making it through the madness of march. aka indoor ironman training. TOUGH.
-forgetting about april. it was an ugly month.
-conquering my ironman training in may while switching jobs.
-becoming an ironman AGAIN in june despite hypothermia after the swim and some trying moments on the bike (killed the run...would you think otherwise?)
-july was uneventful. nothing to see here.
-turning 30 in august with a smile on my face despite being on an island off of maine with no luggage and sans my beloved running shoes.
-running a surprisingly solid half marathon (1:30:58) in september despite thinking I wasn't that fit.
-not quitting my job in october when I really thought I couldn't take anymore of the sexual harassment. PLUS finally paid off all my credit card debt (nearly $7k-- all done in 2010)
-dominating the NYC marathon (3:18) in november despite being horribly ill for days before.
-making sure I made it to the new year with my sanity intact in december.
-ending the year with great mileage totals: 3875 swim.bike.run total. 48 miles of swimming. 2395 miles of cycling. 1417 miles of running.
-having a really awesome best friend and bf by my side. he has definitely been one of my favorites of the year.

so see ya 2010...I totally beat you at your own game...and hello 2011.

a few goals to get me moving into the new year:

1. it almost goes without saying: new job. pronto. I've been working hard at this for months...hoping I secure something in january.

2. ski! it's hard, but I love it. looking forward to a number of fun days on the slopes in the northeast and hopefully at least once out west.

3. run a great boston marathon: this will be the first time in YEARS and YEARS that I have the opportunity to focus solely on running. no coaching. no grad school. no ironman. nothing but being smart, getting fast and smoking boston. goal is sub-3:10 and I am more than confident that if I put in the training, I will have no trouble.

4. pay off debt that someone else accumulated in my name. I could go into detail, but I shouldn't because I need to remain positive. (let's just say I learned the hard way that lending money to a family member is a bad idea.) regardless, with her help I should have it paid by june. hallelujah.

5. start saving and investing...it seems like I'm late to the party at 30, but when you pay your way through three degrees, you don't always have a lot of money left over. 2011 is my year to kick start something for the future.

6. maybe do a 1/2 ironman. but this isn't do or die. I want to save money by not racing the expensive ones, so this pretty much rules out a 1/2 iron. otherwise, maybe have fun doing a few sprint or olympic tris at harriman...cheap and close!

7. celebrate my 10th anniversary of marathon running by returning to columbus (hometown) to run the same course as my first (october 21, 2001). also would like to be aiming to run sub-3:05.

8. I would be thrilled to get engaged. nick is truly my one (after being engaged before and then giving back the ring to the guy I knew wasn't right, I feel like I know this time).

9. just.be.happy. not sweat the small stuff. spend more time with friends. laugh a little more. cry less. cry a lot less. embrace the bumps. gain confidence. take life less seriously.

happy 2011 all...