Appreciating 2015 For What It Was

And it was EPIC. I think about where I was a year ago, and I can barely believe all that 2015 held for my family and me. It was a year of growth, it was a year of taking chances, and it was definitely a year of being epic. My husband and I decided last year we were going to make this the “epic-est” year ever, and we did a really good job. As I look forward to 2016, I have to look back and reflect on the biggest events this year held.

One of the things that was sprinkled through this year were serious health issues and deaths of people I know.  This serves as a GIANT reminder to never take life or good health for granted. Two classmates died from health issues – one was sudden and one was not. Car accident took another friend. Cancer diagnosis. Heart attack. Old age. Quadruple bypass. Heart failure from too much caffeine (yup). Stroke. Some of the people made it, some did not, some are recovering like nothing happened, some are slowly recovering. These things are a constant reminder that you have to live your life, albeit INTELLIGENTLY. You have to do things you’re afraid of doing, simply because you may never get the chance to do them if you don’t give it a shot. Life is not a guarantee, so live it while you can!!! I use the “why not” method. If you can’t think of a good reason not to do something, then do it. We did a LOT of stuff this year!

I tried and failed to qualify for Boston. I did a double sprint triathlon with an ocean swim. I started Epic Running Company, LLC, and led my first running group at my son’s middle school. I signed up for a personal trainer certification. I got on the Base Performance Race Team for 2016. OH YES I DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #racewithbase

Ironman Florida

I did a freaking Ironman in just over 13 hours. My husband ran his 2nd marathon and I “accidentally” signed him up for his 3rd. Sorry, honey! (Not really.) My son went to football camp at Clemson. My other son went to marine science camp. We fostered a dog. We “had a catch” on the Field of Dreams. We visited my parents in Branson, saw tons of friends where we used to live in Iowa, went to a Clemson game at South Carolina, had two kids in two sports with my new running club all while hubby was marathon training with a full time job and I was Ironman training. There was a lot of crying during that few months, by the way, a lot of it on my bike on the trainer in front of my kids. Ok, that was just a few times. It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. But we made it through together.

I met so many amazing athletes/friends during Ironman training doing things I could never have imagined doing. I saw so many sunrises I could cry just picturing them all. The good cry.  We had a murder mystery birthday party for my son. We defied gravity  at Defy Gravity. We went to the beach and played with the sharks avoided the beach because of the sharks and jellyfish. We stayed home when we wanted and we went out when we wanted. We went two weeks before we cleaned the house and GASP!!!! we lived through it! We said yes more. We went to Costco on payday. Now I’m into dangerous territory……I went to Target.

This really was the year we did things. Except for yard work. We never got around to the yard work.

And it was an amazing year filled with memories. And you want to know how we’re going to cap it off? This is part of my husband’s BIG year – HIS team, the Clemson Tigers, are headed to a possible National Championship this year, so we’re going to the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve to cheer them on in the playoff game. Talk about capping our EPIC year with an epic event!

This was the year of doing epic things, of taking chances, of appreciating the in between spaces, and of growing. I learned a lot about myself, mostly through Ironman training. Part of it is because I’m in my 40’s and things changed for me, so I was already on the right path, which is probably how and why I signed up for the Ironman in the first place. I cared less about what people think of me, I did a lot of what I wanted, I tried to give of myself, I tried to be patient, to forgive, and to believe in myself more. A funny thing happens when you believe in yourself…..you do more, you surpass your prior barriers, you create an upward spiral of belief and achievement. No, not everything works out the way you may want it, but that’s where the learning happens.

Where does 2016 lead me? Well, after this year, it will be a year of fiscal responsibility, of working more/getting back into the workforce. It will be a year of hope, a year of happiness, of success, of learning from the failures, and it will be a year of re-connecting. I did miss a lot this year. Birthdays, parties, get-togethers, stuff like that. Blogging. I missed a lot, and I don’t like that feeling.

I am taking the AFAA Personal Trainer Certification,  plan to qualify for Boston, run a 50k, readreadread all my running books, expand my Epic Running, shoot for a big PR in a half iron, and re-connect. Sounds like a pretty EPIC year for me!

And I would have totally added pictures, but WordPress is on a rampage and I just don’t have the time nor patience to deal with it right now 😦

Have you reflected on your year yet? What are your big moments for 2015 and what do you see in 2016?