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December 30, 2005
Endings and Beginnings
Jen suggested that I post a “Year in Review” blog entry, and I think it’s a good idea. This has been quite a year, and it would be worthwhile (at least for me) to document its many highlights and few lowlights.
January: Suffered through marathon training with an injured and painful shin. Visited Ft. Davis, TX, a cute west Texas tourist destination nestled in the Davis Mountains, with my parents. Ran a relay segment in the Big Bend 50. Applied for a job at Yellowstone National Park.
February: Finished suffering though marathon training with an injured shin. Limped through 19 miles of the Freescale Marathon in Austin, TX with aforementioned shin injury before dropping out. Hit all-time mental low regarding my running.
March: Ran a few miles this month as I recovered. Mostly spent the month cross training and trying to get healthy. Also spent some time trying to recover mentally from a disheartening DNF experience. Explored Big Bend National Park in the springtime by hiking.
April: Ran a few more miles this month as I continued to recover. Shin still not at 100%, and it wouldn’t be until much later in the year. Interviewed and accepted a job at Yellowstone National Park. Continued to explore Big Bend in the springtime by hiking.
May: Ran a decent amount this month, and felt good doing it. At the end of the month, I moved from Big Bend to Yellowstone. Had a fun mini-vacation while moving, especially enjoyed the areas around Taos, NM, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and Jackson Hole, WY.
June: Began my new job and life in Yellowstone! Ran a decent amount this month, albeit somewhat slowly while becoming accustomed to the elevation and hills of Yellowstone. Began exploring Yellowstone’s backcountry hiking trails. Spent a good amount of time road biking Yellowstone’s roads, dodging the tourist cars all over the road!
July: Ran well for the first part of this month, then acquired a “stress reaction” in one of the joints of my right big toe. Ran a 5 mile trail race at high elevation, had fun, but nearly killed myself in the thin air. Vacationed in and around Great Falls, MT with a friend. Continued to explore Yellowstone’s backcountry hiking trails. Continued to road bike until I broke my bike’s fork this month.
August: Ran only a little this month while my foot continued to recover. Didn’t road bike for much of the month as I was having a new fork made for my bike. Instead, spent this month cross training on my mountain bike. Traveled to Alaska with several friends for a week’s adventure. Continued to explore Yellowstone’s backcountry via hiking trails. Began coaching Gardiner High School’s cross country team.
September: Ran decently this month, not very many miles, but all of them were run healthy. Focused mostly on the running of my cross country team instead. Traveled all over the state of Montana for cross country meets.
October: Ran well this month, still not many miles, but all of them were quality miles run healthy. Coached my tiny cross country team to an outstanding finish at state! Traveled to Texas for a long weekend to attend a friend’s wedding. Forced by snow and cold to bring my road bike indoors for spinning on an indoor trainer. Began doing some good indoor spins on the trainer. Did a few cold and snowy hikes around Yellowstone.
November: Continued to run low mileage but healthy for the most part. Continued to devote good amounts of time to cross training on my indoor bike trainer. Went on my first camping trip in the snow. Traveled with friends to the Black Hills in South Dakota for a week. Visited a friend's family for Thanksgiving. Vacationed in Salt Lake City and southern Utah.
December: Finished vacationing in southern Utah. Ran low mileage and healthy for the most part. Continued to do some spinning on the bike trainer indoors. Visited my family in Minnesota for Christmas. Got my first pair of cross country skis and began skiing. Did some chilly and snowy hikes in and around Yellowstone.
Whew! I’m somewhat exhausted from reading about my year! Despite being busy, it has been a most wonderful year! I do have a few regrets, though. At the end of 2004, I posted to my blog a list of resolutions for 2005. The list of resolutions was really long, so I’ll save you all from having to muddle through them. Instead, I’ll recap a few of the resolutions that I did achieve, a few that I didn’t achieve, and my resolutions for 2006.
Some resolutions that I did achieve:
“I endeavor to, above all else, continue to be happy in all I do.”
“I endeavor to help those who need it/avert tragedy/improve peoples' lives at work.”
“I endeavor to climb/hike/trek to a mountain peak I haven't yet been to in the next 365 days.”
“I endeavor to look closer at the spring wildflowers.”
Some resolutions that I didn’t achieve:
“I endeavor to run a "good" marathon in February, "good" defined as not petering out somewhere after mile 21 as I have in the past due to fatigue or injury.”
“I endeavor to do "something" with all of my writing, stop being shy of sharing it, finally attempt to be published for pete's sake, continue to write creatively when I'm inspired to do so in the next year.”
“I endeavor to get 8 hours of sleep every I can.”
“I endeavor to continue saving towards buying land, put away more money towards this than I did last year.”
My resolutions for 2006:
1) I promise to be happy in all that I do.
2) I promise to continue adventuring in whatever way I decide to be adventurous this year. Whether it is climbing a tall mountain in Hawaii next month, completing my first century ride on my road bike next summer, doing a multi-day cross country skiing trip into Yellowstone's backcountry this winter, or something entirely different, let life be adventurous!
3) I promise to continue to develop my running, including training hard when I'm healthy, racing hard when I'm in shape, resting when I need rest, and enjoying it all along the way.
4) I promise to prioritize my life appropriately, putting myself, my loved ones, my hobbies, and my sleep in front of all other things.
5) I promise to keep in good touch with all the family and friends that I have scattered around the world.
6) I promise to find joy and satisfaction in the little things of life, including a pretty sunset or a loved one's sweet action.
I think I've created a monster "Year in Review" blog entry, so I better stop before it takes on a life of its own. Happy New Year to all!
Posted by Meghan at December 30, 2005 7:49 PM
Comments
well, (and here comes understatement of the year) you're definitely an interesting and well spoken person!! this is an exciting list and i'm proud of you for everything you accomplished in 2005, and for how you persevered when things were "low." good luck in 2006!
Posted by: Audrey at December 30, 2005 10:49 PM
Bravo!
Been wondering for a while about this "S" person ... time to stop thinking of ways to introduce you to my brother maybe?
Stupid, stupid February. Stupid, stupid, shins. Stupid, stupid, DNFs. We will avenge.
Posted by: jenandmats at December 31, 2005 9:35 AM
What a list! Hope you have a good start of '06. Wow from Ft. Davis to yellowstone! :) I too am a xc coach. Will you keep up with that next year.
Blessings!
Posted by: CoachH at January 1, 2006 5:29 AM
Your year in review made me tired too! :) I am so impressed with all your activity, hiking, biking, running, camping, and on and on... I would like to live one day in the life of Meghan! :)
Anyway, good luck with 2006! I hope you accomplish all your resolutions/goals and more...
Posted by: Beth at January 1, 2006 7:34 AM
What a fun, exciting life. I love reading your blog, and I hope the writing resolution from 2005 gets resurrected in between everything else.
Good luck meeting your goals for this year!
Posted by: Barb at January 3, 2006 8:37 AM