so, it’s 2016. I can’t even believe it. A lot happened in 2015, and the year seemingly flew by. I should probably recap.
School:
As always, school was my biggest priority. I spent the first half of the year at my dream internship and loved every minute. It was truly such an amazing experience and solidified how much I actually want to be in the career field I’m in.
I also managed to score a few more scholarships, which is always great. I did well in my classes and basically continued through the process that is 2L year.
I’m now halfway through with my final year. ONE semester (and one teeny tiny, 2 day, 11 hour exam) stands between me and being legit. It seems absolutely crazy that I’m in the place. I can remember thinking that three years would take SO long. Man, was I wrong.

Celebrating the end of this most recent semester
Running:
I think it’s safe to say that we all know running was my second largest priority. It’s been a bittersweet year that started out strong, and ended up sad. I started 2015 training for my spring marathon. Everything was going great. I ran my fastest 20 miler EVER. I was really looking forward to the race.
Then, during taper, everything just went downhill. I won’t recap my whole ferritin issues – I’ve documented it more than enough. My first DNF (and DNS) was in 2015. That sidelined me until about June-Julyish when I began training again. I did complete a marathon this year – Erie in September. And while I was happy to have a 5+ min PR, I couldn’t help but feel like I had more potential.
And I proved that to myself when I ran the Grand Rapids half marathon and clocked 1:43 – a time I could have never predicted for myself. It was truly a pivotal moment when I started to think instead of “not me…”, but “why NOT me?”.
Unfortunately, that period of elation passed quickly. I began struggling with hip issues in November (resulting in my 2nd DNF). I thought rest and easy running would alleviate the problem, but I just couldn’t seem to figure it out. Finally, this past week I went and saw a PT. Turns out I have severe muscular imbalances in my glutes and my pelvis is out of alignment. The joys of turning 30.
I have a solid plan of action now, and that’s great. But I won’t lie – it’s hard to watch my mileage and pace drop. It’s hard to go out and want to run so badly, but have to stop because of pain. It’s hard to think just a few weeks back, 8:xx paces were my easy paces, and now I tend to hover around 9 (which does NOT feel so easy all the time). It’s just… hard.
I want to be a healthy, lifelong runner. That is my main goal. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that also includes improvement for me. So it’s very difficult to feel like I’m regressing. And sure, I’m probably being a bit overdramatic. But it’s hard for me to feel that way right now. It’s humbling, to think I ran a sub 8 pace half marathon less than 3 months ago.
You guys know well enough to know that I do NOT like feeling down and out for long. I trust that once I get my muscle strength back to where it needs to be, the rest will follow suit. I am trying to focus on doing my exercises, getting in a little more yoga practice, and just waiting for the day to come where I don’t feel pain/ like it’s super hard to run paces. I have no clue when that day will come, but I hope and trust it is soon.
I haven’t spent much time thinking about what I want out of 2016. Professionally, it is the year that I will hopefully (pending I pass this previous and next semester!) graduate and take the bar exam. It is a HUGE year for my career. I hope to enjoy the last few moments of being a student and head into the path I’ve set for myself.
Running wise, I really can’t say. I can’t make plans until I’m healthy again. What would I like? To run another marathon. Maybe a few halfs. But mostly? I just want to be able to run as long as I want, at whatever pace that I want, and NOT feel pain. And, I want to take care of my body so that it can serve me for the long haul.
I really hope it doesn’t take me too long to get there. In the meantime, I will just keep trucking along, because well, that’s what I do.