Friday Favorites: Adios 28!

So long 28, hello 29!

Yesterday was my birthday (thank you for all of the birthday wishes!) and I decided to do a fun little recap on how the age of 28 treated me. This last year has been a roller coaster of emotions, but also a lot of fun. I wished that certain things (ahem, running!) would have gone better, but I learned a lot about myself and I am much stronger person because of what I have been through. I don’t want to jinx the next year, but I think (keeping my fingers crossed!) that 29 will be a good year for me personally, professionally and athletically.

(I apologize for the lengthy post, but I have included links to a lot of my posts so if you are a new reader to Healthy Diva feel free to check them out)

I started 2011 out with a bang and ran a 5 mile race on January 1^st. Nothing like starting the year off on a positive note.

Mid January I traveled to Houston with Mr. Healthy Diva and ran the Houston ½ Marathon. Loved the Houston ½, I would totally run it again. I ran my ½ marathon PR there! We made a mini vacation out of the trip and even drove to NOLA. Not sure if it is a road trip I would ever make again, however, I am so glad that we did it. I fell in love with Texas and Houston. Loved the architecture and Cajun food in NOLA. The high light of the trip was watching the Olympic Marathon Trials AND meeting Desi Davila in person. I was star struck!!!!  

After I got back from Houston, I left the personal trainer I had worked with for all of 2011 and hired a legit running coach to help me reach my aspirations in the marathon. Best decision I have made for too many reasons to list.

Nothing too excited happened in February. I ran a 5K PR of 20:21 at the beginning of the month and also started my training program for the Eugene Marathon. On February 21^st I celebrated my 1 year blog anniversary . Even to this day I am amazed at how therapeutic Healthy Diva has been for me. I am so thankful for the many wonderful people I have met and the experiences I have had because of Healthy Diva. 

 March was uneventful. I spent most of the month increasing my mileage for Eugene. I did run a 5 mile PR in 33:12. The whole time I was training I knew something was seriously wrong with my leg/foot, but still kept fighting through the pain. I trained my tail feathers off, literally

April was a whirlwind! I was selected as a Fit Approach Sweat Pink Ambassador which I am very grateful for. I have “met” so many amazing women from this program. I wished that I could meet all of them! There are some seriously talented and inspiring women out there. I feel honored to be a part of this group.

My training going into Eugene was fantastic, minus missing  few workouts due to my leg/foot issue. I did have the most amazing 24 mile training run and that gave me a boatload of confidence for performing well in Eugene. Mr. Healthy Diva and I made the trek to Eugene for the marathon together. At the expo I ran into Amanda from Runninghood (LOVE her) and Raina who I was really excited to meet for the first time. I also got to meet Meggie who was visiting from NY, Lauren Fleshman and her husband Jesse Thomas. To top it off I got to listen to Meb speak and got him to autograph I picture I took of him in Houston. WOW. Even Mr. Healthy Diva was impressed and a little excited that he got to touch Meb’s silver medal from Athens. Then we all know that the marathon happened. That is all I have to say about that.

May was one setback after another. I ran Bloomsday and managed to eek out a small PR. This was exactly one week after Eugene. Not sure what I was thinking there! I also hobbled my way through the Hippie Chick ½ marathon in Portland with Amanda from Runninghood. It was good to have a great friend to chat away the miles with. My one high light of the month was receiving an email from NUUN asking if I wanted to run Ragnar with them. Heck yes!!!! I was elated, ecstatic, over the moon, etc. I was VERY happy!

At the end of May I ran the inaugural Portland Rock ‘n’ Roll ½ marathon. I wouldn't say I ran; I hobbled through 13.1 miles cursing every step I took. Following the race I attended my best friend’s bridal shower which officially kicked off wedding season. A week after running the PDX RnR I was officially diagnosed with Compartment Syndrome. FML. This just so happens to be the week that I got accepted through the lottery system to run the St. George Marathon in October. The diagnosis was a relief because I had been in pain since November so I was glad to have an official answer. Even if the answer did suck and meant no running for a while.

I spent most of June missing out on races I had signed up for, specifically the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll ½ marathon. Most of the my spare time was spent juggling PT & chiropractor appointments as well as meeting with Matt on an almost weekly basis learning new form drills and stretches to aid my rehab process. I was lucky enough to still go and watch the race in Seattle and got to meet some blogger friends which made the drive to Seattle well worth it. I also got to meet my some more of my NUUN Ragnar teammates!

At the end of June I was given permission from my sports medicine physician to begin running. I was so oblivious to what this meant. I was thinking about glorious miles out on the open road, even training for the St. George Marathon. Yep, that was not that case. My “running” was more like “wogging” and totaled about 10 minutes on the track every other day. Definitely not what I had imagined, but at least it was a starting point to continue my recovery.

In July we attended a ton of weddings, I laid out in the sun a lot and just relaxed. The big downer of the month was having to tell NUUN and my Ragnar teammates that I would not be running with them. I was devastated because it was the one running even of the year I really did not want to miss out on.

In August my best friend got married so I took a mini vacation to Oregon and got to spend time with her and my family. This month I continued my rehab and started to notice some strides in my progress. I missed out on Hood to Coast, but to me it wasn't the end of the world.  On August 22^nd I celebrated my 3^rd wedding anniversary with Mr. Healthy Diva.

September was an incredibly busy month. I had my very first bicycle pub crawl with the Lantern and we had a quick mini vacation to Palm Springs for a wedding.  I started the Lantern Tap House Running Club which has been a lot of fun and has given me the opportunity to be a total running nerd and meet new people. I also ran my first race since May and didn't do too shabby! Not close to my 5K PR, but a 22:35 isn't too shabby for no speed work. I was thinking I would finish in the range of 24-26 minutes so my starting point far exceeded my expectations. 

I was super depressed I wasn't able to register for Boston. Running Boston in 2013 had been my goal since May of 2011. I am hoping that I will get the chance to run Boston in 2014. I want to go back to Boston and run my heart out. As the registration date approached I seriously thought about signing up, but I just knew that it wasn't in my best interests to do so. I want to go back to Boston and run my best marathon, not something that I would consider mediocre for me. The closer the registration date got, I became at peace with my decision to hold off. There will be more Boston Marathons. I will be back.

A high light of the month was being selected to be a Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador and join another group of amazing people. So many more talented women that I have had an opportunity to connect with. Everyone has so many amazing accomplishments!

October was one of those months. I was a little depressed since I was supposed to be running the St. George Marathon. It was a race I was looking forward to getting closer to my marathon goal time. I was able to increase my running intensity and add a couple more miles to my training schedule. I also ran another 5K and was a touch faster in 21:58.

Towards the end of the month I decided to make a positive change and get back on track with my health & fitness so I joined Farmgirlfit. This has been one of my best decisions!!!! I am only a couple of weeks into my membership, but I have been making the most out of it. I love the classes because they are challenging and they allow me to be competitive with myself. Boy have I been getting a killer workout too. LOVE it!

I am looking forward to what the next year has in store for me. I think that 29 will be a good year for me. I have made huge progress in my running and I even have some races tentatively scheduled. I am not giving up on the marathon and I hope that the distance will be kind to me come May when I might attempt another crack at it.

I have some goals that I am going to continue working and hopefully achieve them in the next year.

Cheers to being 29!

--Tasha