2014 in review : The year of the money-hemorrhaging foot

I finished out 2014 with 2 runs (unintentionally).  I've been in a bit of a running-rut for the last week or two.  I've been running 4-5 days a week, but my heart hasn't been in it.  I've been going out the door and putting one foot in front of the other for about 4.5 miles and then returning home and maybe remembering to stretch.  Today, I was in the mood to run.  I was going to actually run, instead of jog like I have been.  I headed out the door and started up my usual starting hill.  And then I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to use my inhaler.  But I felt strong.  I wondered if I could complete my whole run without the inhaler.  Thankfully, I decided against that.  As I looped back home, breathing got harder and harder.  It was pretty rough by the time I reached my door.  I dashed the stairs, used the inhaler, and headed back out to try again.  Take 2 went better.  My lungs didn't fully recover from Take 1, so I wasn't able to run quite as fast as I had envisioned, but I was happy to be running, and that was all that mattered.

2014 in Review

2014 in running didn't quite turn out the way I had planned a year ago. But looking back, it has still been a great year.  Maybe I didn't run a record number of races, or a race every month.  Maybe I didn't officially achieve a half marathon PR.  I didn't even get close to running 1000 miles this year, making it the first year since 2008 or 2009 that I didn't run over 1000 miles.  Maybe I took 10.5 solid weeks off from running, plus a lot of other time off before I had to get serious and quit for real.

But I did run about 690 miles.  And I did run 6 successful half marathons, 3 with foot pain, and 3 after my long time off.  And I did bike 2291 miles, that included over 158,000 ft of elevation gain.  And I did have an amazing year in so many ways that had nothing to do with running.  2014 was possibly the happiest year of my adult life.

2014 wasn't perfect, what year ever is?  But after a few rough years, I learned so much about myself, and about how to deal with life's punches, and it has made such a difference in my life.  I no longer let myself get completely stressed out or depressed over things that go wrong (most of the time).  Some things just aren't worth that kind of energy.  Being able to tell the difference is such a powerful tool.

2014 was also a great year for my photography.  I registered GMcD Photography as an LLC, and while it is not much of a money-maker for me, it does bring in money occasionally, and has given me some amazing opportunities.  I can't wait to see where photography takes me in 2015.

I don't know where 2015 will take me in running.  I don't think I am going to schedule any races during this winter.  I might just take some time to run for fun without any thoughts towards race/distance training.  I expect to run local races in March and April, and of course I plan on running the Blue Ridge Half Marathon in late April.  I haven't made any plans beyond that, and for once, I am ok with that.

Happy New Year!