2018 in Review – 2019 in Preview

This year’s review was not at all what I had anticipated. What’s the saying? “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans?”

As always, though, let’s start with the numbers:

• 1,325 miles run
• One trail marathon run (Spring Eagle)
• One 50K run (Chuckanut 50K)
• Two half marathons run (Orca Half and Redmond Reindeer Romp)
• Three sunset hikes (Chain Lakes Loop, Fremont Lookout, Tolmie Peak Lookout)
• One Trail Running Festival in the North Cascades
• One surprise injury (writeups here and here)
• Two whisky festivals (Whisky Jewbilee in Seattle and Banff Whisky Experience)
• One whisky blending workshop
• 70 (new-to-me) whiskies tasted

In contrast to last year’s Review/Preview post, it’s rather underwhelming on the running front. 2017 was my most accomplished year to date, with lots of successful races and adventures. Those achievements pushed me to aim for loftier yet attainable goals for this year, and I was on track with my training to succeed. However, in early May, a soft-tissue injury sidled up and threw a wrench in the works, which derailed my whole season.

Before I wallow too deeply in that little mud puddle of melancholy, let me say that 2018 was not the year I planned, but it was not quite the tragedy I feared either. Humility, reflection, community, and yes, fun, were the main themes of the 2018.

Here are my takeaways:

• Every mile is a gift. This might sound a bit dramatic, but for someone who loves running for hours on end, it absolutely sucks to lose that practice of movement in the outdoors. I (half-heartedly) tried other sports, but swimming and yoga just didn’t quite fill that void for me. After I got the okay to s-l-o-w-l-y build back up from zero, I reveled in every mile I was able to run or hike. It was refreshing to feel like running was an opportunity and not an obligation (but I wouldn’t recommend an injury to achieve that gratitude.)
• Hiking is actually better for photography than trail running. I love that trail running allows me to access more terrain in a shorter span of time than hiking. However, when you’re running, you can miss interesting little details at your feet, or you don’t get to fully take in the view, or you don’t want to stop again to take a photo because you’re running partner might just throttle you because there’s still 15 miles to go.  When I hike, I don’t feel that pressure to focus on the workout. Instead, I allow myself to slow down, observe, take photos, and enjoy the environment around me.
• You can still be involved in the ultrarunning community even if you’re not racing. I may do a longer post on this in the future because it was critical to my healing and enjoyment of the months I wasn’t running. With my past injuries, I withdrew from my running community because I was so disappointed that I couldn’t run myself. This year, in contrast, I threw myself into volunteering at aid stations or crewing for my friends because I didn’t want to isolate myself again. And guess what? I had a blast. Turns out there’s still lots of fun to be had when you’re not running the course yourself. (Plus, there’s less sweat and dirt involved, and you can have a beer while you wait.) It also gave me a new appreciation for crew (it’s not an easy job) and inspired me to write an ode to ultraspouses because they’re effing awesome.
• You have your whole life to run. This summer, when I despaired about missing out on  epic adventures with my friends, I was reminded that I still have years to run. The mountains and races will wait. If I listen to and take care of my body now, I can keep chugging along and experience plenty of incredible trails in the future.
• Time out on the trails, either running or hiking, is essential to my well-being. I already suspected this about myself, but it became abundantly clear while I was injured. Without the temporary escape of the outdoors, my stress and anxiety increased unchecked, and I became downright unpleasant to be around. My apologies to coworkers, friends, and my husband. 😐 Thank you for your patience. Also, I owe you a drink (or three.)
• Injuries create opportunities. I tend to be rather focused on my goals, and that sometimes blinds me to opportunities I pass by in the pursuit of my ambitions. Take away those goals, and I have a void to fill (because I’m not good with idle time.) I was able to use that time this summer to fall back in love with hiking (and do some killer sunset hikes), reconnect with non-running friends, and support my running friends with their goals by crewing and pacing them. Frankly, I probably would not have done those things had I been uninjured and focused on my own goals.

Honestly, I can’t say that I’m not afraid of re-injury. I am. I fear losing months of training and beautiful weather to another vague soft-tissue injury. But who does? It’s completely unreasonable to imagine running ultramarathons and not acquiring an injury now and then. So, I’ll take the lessons I’ve learned and not let fear keep me from reaching for those big goals (or delusions of grandeur.)

So what’s in store for 2019? I’ll start by getting back into my “regular” training with my coach, Jess Mullen. That means running five days (~35-65 miles/week) with some fun tempo and hill workouts, and my perennial favorite, the long weekend runs. One tweak to my training this year is to make damn sure I’m listening to my body (and mind) to keep me balanced and healthy. Our goal is to get me strong so I can enjoy all of the self-supported mountain adventures I crave during the summer.

Besides that, here are my current race goals:

• Chuckanut 50K: I’ll be running it for the fourth time because it’s such a great training race that I simply cannot stay away. I’ve had different weather at every race, and I PR’d last year, so it’s always interesting to see how the day shakes out.
• Highland Fling 53 miler: Back to Scotland we go! Adam and I ran it in 2016 and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. This time we talked one of our Scottish friends into joining us (muahaha), which will make it even more fun. Of course, our 2019 recovery plan includes lots of whisky tasting, just like last time (read about part 1 and part 2.) I’m pretty stoked about the race, and visiting more distilleries!

After that? We’ll just have to see. I have some ideas (and one lottery ticket in the mix), but no firm plans yet. No matter what, my year will include lots of beautiful trails in the Pacific Northwest, and, of course, I look forward to sharing my journey with you!

Let’s do this, 2019!