Onwards and Upwards

I was asked by a friend and fellow blogger to write a positive guest post for her blog for the new year.  This got me thinking about the past year.  It's been an amazing one from an athletic perspective, no doubt.  When I started my 1:40 at 40 quest at the beginning of the year, I really didn't think I'd have the results I've had.  I vowed to make 40 the best year of my life to date and I can honestly say that it has been on many levels.  I've had my most successful racing season to date, my perspective on racing and training has changed and I've gained some much needed confidence in myself and my abilities.

This newfound confidence has me excited for next year.  I'm planning on tackling 2 marathons next year.  One of them will hopefully get me back to Boston.

I went out on my last run of the year, fittingly an 11km, to see out 2011 and reflected on the year.  It was great to be back in our little 'hood.  It was like I came full circle.  The year started off with planning; plans for our new house and plans for my training.  The end of the year saw the fruits of those plans.  I reached my goal and we luckily managed to get back into our house just before Christmas.   Tearing down and rebuilding seemed to be the theme of the year.  We tore down our old house and built a new one and I tore down my perceptions of what I thought I was capable of and built new ones.

Yeah, it was a pretty special year.  I'm looking forward to my journey next year.

Happy New Year to all of my readers who've loyally read my random thoughts.  I appreciate each and every one of you!

I'll leave you with a few pics from my run today.

All the best for a Happy and Healthy 2012!

All photographs copyright Phaedra Kennedy, 2011