One year of blogging

Sunrise on 12-30-08 from our back porch

It's been a long time since my last blog post...3 months to the day, in fact. Quite frankly I've been thinking a lot about what you might want to see in print about me, my life. So with the new year upon us, I thought this might be a good time to reflect on the year of this blog, and provide some updates as well.

It seems much more than a year since this blog was created. If you recall, I began this blog as a way to journal, publicly, about my re-entrance on the running scene, log my training miles, and float the idea of beginning a scholarship in the memory of my coach, Rob Luecke. For those of you who have followed through the year, you know that it became more than that...at least for me it did.

For me, this blog has become a means for self-reflection, motivation and connection. Think about it...how often do you sit quietly and reflect on your life, the path you have chosen and where you might be going next? Then write it down for all the world to see? Maybe a bit deep, perhaps, but this blog has forced me to do just that. When setting the goal of qualifying for Boston (which I didn't attain, but more on that later), I also enforced my personal motto of "I will not sacrifice personal for professional". In other words, setting good boundaries and leaving work at work and home at home makes Renee a happy girl. Training for the marathon caused me to take time for myself I might not have done otherwise. I also got into better physical shape than I had been in a while, so that helps with the motivation as well. But perhaps most importantly, writing this blog has allowed me to connect and re-connect with people on a more intimate level than I otherwise would have done.

This past year, you followed me as I logged over 500 miles on trails through Wheat Ridge and Golden, Scout by my side nearly every step. You comforted me when the window fan fell on my head in the middle of the night, scarring the bejezers out of me, and took my side when Sargent tried to kill me with moldy water. You sat with me under the grape arbor on warm summer nights as I became all philosophical (I swear it was only wine in the glass). You kept believing in me even though it became quite clear that I was a huge head case. But most of all you gave me your full support as I attempted, and failed, to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Although my goal of qualifying for Boston was lofty, my intentions were good. I had run 4 marathons in the past, but had never trained for one, and had set no other goals than to finish. To me, qualifying for Boston was the ideal goal to set. I stated my intention in this blog, found a "fail-proof" training plan, and went to work. What I realized, however, was that the work I needed to do was not just physical, not just putting in the miles and paying my dues. I also needed to do some mental and emotional work by way of self-reflection, which I gain through the time spent running.

Over this past year I realized that 1) things don't come as easy as they used to; 2) I must not take for granted the gifts/talents I do have; 3) the marathon is not a good distance for me; 4) I would be lost without my best running partner, Scout; 5) allowing for vulnerability (i.e. blog posts) reaps huge rewards (i.e. connection w/ others); 6) my friends and family mean the world to me.

So what do I do about this? I will continue to run and train for key races. I will enter into some 10K's and half-marathons this spring and summer with the goal of a) having fun, and b) maybe an age-group win or two. Any race I can run with Scout, I will. In fact, we are looking at the possibility of adopting another border collie so Scout has a four-legged running partner as well. That covers numbers 1-4 above. I will continue to blog, openly and honestly, about my life and the little that makes it interesting. Feel free to read if you wish, but I'm not promising a lot. That's #5. And lastly, #6 is true. I let "life" get in the way of staying connected with you. This endeavor has brought us closer. It made me realize that I don't have to be perfect, I can just be me and my friends and family will love me for who I am. Thank you for that.