Rolling with the punches

The past 14 months have been full of personal records and setbacks. Injuries have knocked me down more than I would like to count. I spent months not able to do the things I love to the fullest. I had to sit on the sidelines and watch as my friends, family, and coworkers chased after amazing goals.

I’m tried of watching everyone else do the things I want to be doing. I can’t change the fact that I got tendonitis almost a year ago. I can’t rewind the past 14 months and miraculously heal my ankles forever.

But I can let it all go.

I can smile when someone else does something amazing and revel in it with them. I can appreciate how much hard work it took and how amazing the accomplishment is.

It’s painful to accept that it’s not your time. It’s not my time to be running 20 miles a week or repping out double unders like nobody’s business. It’s not my time to train for a new distance or get faster than ever. It’s not my time to do a lot of things, and I need to let them all go.

My recent smack to the head has shown me just how important it is to listen to my body and take everything it gives me with gratitude. Yes, there are so many things that I want to be doing that I just can’t. But there are also so many things that I can do that I am incredibly thankful for.

Instead of thinking about the months I couldn’t run, the nagging pain in my ankles, and what often feels like a lack of progress, when I really look back on 2014, it was a damn good year.

I PRed my half marathon time… twice.

I improved my olympic lifts and hit massive weight goals.

I did things that I thought were impossible (hello bar muscle-ups).

I explored past loves.

I started a new job and made new friends.

I made big life changes and took on challenges in stride.

2014 is over. I’m letting go of the past year of hurt, of disappointment, of never being satisfied. This year I’m focusing on all of the amazing things I am going to do (and have done).