One month

It's hard to believe that one month ago I ran my first marathon. In many ways it seems like it was much longer ago than that.

Like most people, this is the time of year when I start reflecting on the past year. In 2009 I ran 500 miles, and it was amazing. As of today, I've run 830 miles, and I'm planning on hitting 850 by the end of the year. That is even more amazing. No doubt I can thank Marathon training, and @Speedysasquatch's (sometimes grueling) twice weekly speed workouts. I also met some of the best people in my life. We grunted, groaned, whined, sweat, laughed, cried, drank, ate, Rock Band'ed, kicked ass, motivated each other, cheered each other on when we needed it the most, and sometimes we ran, not needing say anything at all.

I've had a lot of time to reflect back on the marathon, and while I was reading Erica Sara's blog post, I realized I agreed with her. The marathon, in a lot of ways was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Granted, it was hard, and I was sore for days, but there was something in those last 6.2 miles that clicked. After running 20 tough miles, I realized I was in the home stretch. I felt strong, euphoric, and probably a little loopy. Anytime I have a bad run, feel unmotivated, or just feel down, I remind myself "I am a marathoner!" and that's something that no one can ever take away from me.

Reflecting back on 2010 I think about my amazing boyfriend. We celebrated our 8 year anniversary together, we celebrated my first marathon together (and he even got sympathy blisters!) and had many other adventures along the way.

Looking forward to 2011 I focus on all the good, all the things I have control over. The only thing I can do is to try and make next year an even bigger, better year.