Retrospect 2014

Super James rockin' his heart cath

Okay seriously where did this year go? It's already January again! I swear we tried to really appreciate the little things, but this year seemed to fly by. Overall it's been a great but crazy year. I look back to where we were a year ago. I was just starting to take James to private speech. He was barely babbling, had no signs and absolutely hated books. He now has a couple words, tells us stories non-stop, over 60 signs and even has a few favorite books. We still mostly stick to short board books, but at Christmas he insisted on reading Polar Express every night which was huge for him! By far the longest book that's ever held his attention. He started not only walking but running! And really has become a little boy! A terrorizing little boy, but none-the-less a cute one! 

James' year started off with a bang, or well a heart cath. But he rebounded quickly. His eye surgery was a huge success which means I think we can delay having tear ducts created for a few more years, yay! He hit the 20 lb mark which is also huge! We still have a ways to go and no end in sight for his oxygen dependence. I'm so used to living with a trail laid before me. It may be rocky and hilly but there's always been a path. As James gets older it seems more like we're having to forge our own path...blaze a trail. It can be frustrating and some days I just want there to be a plan, but I guess sometimes you just have to trust things will work out and that whatever path you make is yours and there aren't always trail signs and answers.

WDSD Run

In terms of running it was an up and down year. I had a great race at Quad Rock and then got excited, over raced and wasn't performing as well as I wanted to be. It's a struggle to balance the excitement and energy of racing with being able to run quality races. Looking back last year I tried to cram too many races into too short a period of time. This coming year I plan to spread my races out a bit more and probably cut back on how many I do. I've always been of the mindset that a few good races is better than a ton of mediocre races. It's personal preference and I know a lot of people that would rather just race all the time even if it's not always a PR. That just doesn't seem to work for me. So time to scale back and focus on quality over quantity.

But really I can't complain too much about my season. I won money at 2 races which is 2 more races than I've ever won money at before. I held my own at a 100, which even though I wasn't in the elite field, was a mental victory for me. I got my BQ again (without training) and I got on the Pearl Izumi Champion Team. All in all I'd say I stepped it up and have been doing some of the best running I have in a long time, maybe ever. I feel really good going into the 2015 season. I'm ready to take on the new challenges and see what I can bring to the table. 

Chicago Marathon - finishing our
321 mile challenge

This past year putting family first and still getting in our training was a big focus. We got James geared up in his BOB and logged some serious miles in that thing. Almost every Sunday when the weather is good we go for family runs. Dan and I both said the moment we can't both train and have a quality family life we stop 100s. It's just not worth it to us. But I feel like we did a really good job working to find that balance this year. We are by no means high mileage ultrarunners. But that's okay, because we make each mile count and I don't think overall it's really hurt either of us. I mean really we aren't elite runners looking to make a career of this. We just want to be able to finish races and have fun in the process. 

My other plan for running this year is to focus on quality runs and to train more specifically. I know I need to get away from my comfortable moderate pace, moderate distance runs. I need to do more workouts such as hill workouts, tempo runs, intervals, fartleks. This is really hard for me to do so we'll see how long it lasts. Okay so this is a direct quote from last year and I failed miserably at it. I think taking a bit of a break at the end of the year really rejuvenated me for training, but again we'll see if I can actually make it stick this year. So far I'm 1:1 for getting my speed/hill workouts in. 

2014 Goals:

• Sub-28:00 at Run Rabbit Run 100
• Quad Rock 50 sub-11:00
• Win a race, Dan said I have enough 2nd and 3rds so its time for a W
• Gashouse-Baldy Loop sub-2:40
• Leadville Marathon sub-4:30, okay this is VERY ambitious, but I will get it someday 4:45 is probably a more attainable goal for this year
• Run as many 14ers as possible
• Run the Four Pass Loop
• 2000 miles for the year
• Train more specifically
• Continue to be an advocate for James and Down syndrome research
• To help grow Research Down Syndrome
• To give James all the opportunities I can and never be what holds him back
• To Run Hard, Live Hard, and Love Hard

2015 Goals:

• Leadville 100 - Big Buckle (sub-25:00)
• Win a race, Dan said I have enough 2nd and 3rds so its time for a W
• Quad Rock sub-10:00
• Gashouse-Baldy Loop sub-2:40
• Leadville Marathon sub-4:30, okay this is VERY ambitious, but I will get it someday 4:45 is probably a more attainable goal for this year
• Run as many 14ers as possible
• Run the Four Pass Loop
• 2000 miles for the year
• add speedwork to training
• Continue to be an advocate for James and Down syndrome research
• 500 entrants for World Down Syndrome Day Virtual Run/Walk
• To Run Hard, Live Hard, and Love Hard 

• 

  Cheyenne Mountain 50k

  
  

  

  first baseball game

  
  

  

  Leadville Marathon

  
  

  

  Leadville Marathon

  
  

  

  North Fork 50

  
  

  

  LT 100

  
  

  

  RRR 100 

  
  

  

  Adam's Camp 

  

  Team B.O.B.

The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark. -John Muir

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go. -T.S. Elliot