Ask yourself: ‘Can I give more?’. The answer is usually: ‘Yes’.  -Paul Tergat

So we meet again on this breezy and blustery New Years Day in the Northeast – a day to remind us that all in life is not lost and that a new year may be the the key to unlock hidden talents or conquer our deepest seated fears in the year ahead.

…2017 was a year of highs and lows – a year of great perseverance and a year of fitness failures

• 675 miles run in 2017
• countless new running + fitness friends
• way too much money spent on the cheapest, most expensive hobby
• 5 5k “races”
• 2 half marathons
• 2 months of injury rest
• 1 marathon, epic meltdown and important realization

As a blogging veteran who has been on a hiatus for nearly 2 years, I sat at my computer on Dec. 12, 2017 refreshing my gmail account several times an hour…waiting for that special email…the redemption marathon.  After squeamishly submitting a lottery application to the Chicago Marathon, I walked away from the computer a little scared but mostly hopeful – that I would have an opportunity to prove the marathon could not ultimately defeat me.

…reaching mile 20 at the DC Marine Corp Marathon on Sunday Oct. 22 in 2017, I felt an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion and pain building from a tendon in my right foot.  I felt like my body was becoming one of those thermometers with the red mercury level rising and ready to burst out the top in front of the entirety of DC…and finally, after crossing the finish line, my worst fear came true…

I felt defeated – emotionally drained, experiencing more physical pain then I had ever felt in my life and swearing off all future marathons, I wanted out of DC and running…

But over the last month, after pulling myself out of a pseudo-running-hiatus depression with the help of many friends and family members – I vowed to embark on my redemption tour in 2018, documenting my training, taking on monthly 30-day challenges, trying to connect with other nerdy fitness folks and trying to enjoy the journey.

Have you all had similar experiences in running or fitness?