At the stroke of midnight in the first minutes of 2024, I was on ultrasignup furiously hitting the register button on the Rim to River 100-mile trail race. I was upstairs in the office, and my husband was downstairs also hitting the register button. We were both registered and it seemed as if 2024 would finally be my year of the 100 miler. If you’ve been reading along here for a while, you may have read about my 10-year complicated history with this distance.
However, God and the rhythms of the Universe had very different plans. In March, our family received a life-changing health diagnosis. It’s not my story to tell, but the theme for the year has been never-ending bloodwork, doctors’ visits, scans, and searching for answers. I am a ‘find the silver linings’ kind of coach, and in the midst of an unexpected and scary situation there are many silver linings. A year that was supposed to be about performance ended up being about health and wellness. But really, how can we expect to perform if health and wellness isn’t at the forefront?
A few of the silver linings:
I stopped drinking.
I am coming up on one year of not drinking. What started as dry January became dry all the time due to the health diagnosis. The amount of energy I have in the mornings now is truly unbelievable. My recovery is improved, and sleep enhanced. If you are looking to improve your performances without training any harder, removing drinking should be on the top of your list.
I eat a vegan diet.
This was solely due to the health diagnosis and had to be done. I never in a million years thought I would be a vegan, but here we are. Thanks to some handy recipe books I eat tasty and dense meals to support my living and training. I am not here to suggest you do the same. I am here to tell you that if you want to try a different diet, it may not be as hard as you once thought.
I started working with an Ayurvedic Health Practitioner.
Frustrated with how I felt in the 5 – 10 minutes in doctors’ offices and a total lack of discussion around diet and lifestyle, I heard from a friend about Brittni Nicolodi, Ayurvedic practitioner and endurance athlete. She has played a huge role in supporting my health and wellness this year which has in turn made my training feel better too.
I view breathwork, rest, slowing down as part of my training.
Brittni taught me that I need to balance my drive to be on the move (running, working, caring for dogs and family) with grounding, slower movements, and nourishing practices. I used to think slowing down was for the weak, but I now understand that slowing down helps me speed up when I need to.
2024 – Unexpected, scary – definitely. But aren’t all years unexpected and scary to some degree? I hope to stay rooted in service, health, & being grateful in 2025. If you’ve been part of my journey this unexpected year, thank you. Your time and presence mean the world to me.
Thanks for sharing