2017 in the Rear View Mirror

The holiday letter. A great tradition that runs strong in my family. As everyone grew up and started spreading out, we don't see each other as often and I love reading what everyone has been up to over the previous 365 some-odd days. While we don't write our own holiday letter, it seems like this is a good time to reflect on the year that was, especially since I wrote less here in the past year than I have any other year since I started this.

Even if it only serves to spark my own memory a few years from now (or next month) when I can't remember what happened in 2017, it'll be worth the effort. This is going to be a long one, so grab your coffee and a cozy blanket and let's go... (or turn back now, your choice!)

This year was a struggle - crazy and frustrating at times, and every day seemed to bring something new that was nearly impossible to believe. But the year also brought new adventures, opportunities, learnings and laughs.

As I was enjoying my 115 day run streak, feeling strong and getting a lot of fresh air, I was also spending hours each day searching for a new job. I don't think anyone really enjoys spending their days submitting resume after resume, answering the same questions over and over, and hoping that something might come of it. I certainly didn't. 

On the upside, my schedule was my own to set. I could meet a friend for a run and coffee at 8:00am on a Thursday morning, on a regular basis. I was able to continue my run streak as long as I felt it was doing me good. I could go to the gym in the middle of the morning.

Early in the year, I spent an incredible morning surrounded by thousands of other Coloradans who felt strongly that their voices needed to be heard (and they still need to be heard today). It was nothing short of inspiring and something I'm proud to have been a part of.

I flew away to warm and sunny Phoenix for a weekend of running and exploring with friends new and old. The weekend was a great reminder of why, after six years, Oiselle team is a big part of my life. With flexibility in our schedules, we drove to Estes Park on a Sunday evening to go snowshoeing Monday morning and have a national park (practically) all to ourselves.

We headed to Florida for a family wedding. A nice reprieve from the stress of job hunting and the cold Colorado winter. Spending time with family, running along the St. Johns River and getting a locals view of Jacksonville, we headed back to Denver with a new appreciation for the city and our time there.

On a spring Sunday morning we found ourselves on the way to Buena Vista for a couple days to relax in the hot springs, drink some beer and do some hiking. We also found ourselves on a climbing wall inside our Airbnb and enjoying a local coffee shop right across the alley. 

Still with nothing holding me back, I was able to spend a weekend in Minneapolis to celebrate my sister's birthday with her and hang out with my awesome niece and nephew. Then on to New York to join Matt for a few days. I ran every day, explored museums, laughed over drinks, good food and memories with the most amazing friends, caught a friend's show at Rockwood, walked for hours through my favorite city, and soaked in all the sights and sounds. All without worry of how many PTO days I was burning. 

When Michigan State's alumni board here in Denver decided early in the year that it would take on the challenge of planning its first full-scale fundraising event, complete with a VIP reception, silent and live auctions, live music, buffet dinner, and special guests (hello MSU offensive line coach, former football players and current Broncos), I signed up to lead the marketing efforts. Let's just say that as the days counted down, it was a good thing I had a lot of "free" time on my hands. With a lot of hard work and dedication by a determined group of Spartans, it was a great success and I'm proud to have been a part of it.

Having "free" time also meant I could grab lunch with friends, sleep till 7:00am any day of the week, schedule chiropractor appointments at any time of the day, and rate local coffee shops by their almond milk lattes and WiFi signals.

I also did some running and ran a few races during 2017. Mostly ones I've done before and love doing with my teammates (Colfax Marathon Relay & BolderBoulder), but also a new one for me (Evergreen Town Race) which I hope to do again because of it's small-town, well-organized feel and great views. Hopefully the elusive 10 miler will be checked off during the year ahead.

While our tenth anniversary trip didn't work out as we had been dreaming of, we did enjoy a long, beautiful and delicious weekend in California, exploring a part of the country we'd not yet been to. Local wine and beer, a beautiful bike ride through the vineyards and walks along the Pacific Ocean made for a truly unforgettable weekend. Thankfully, the little oasis in Santa Rosa where we stayed during our trip made it through the Sonoma County wild fires earlier this year. (Happy to recommend it to anyone planning a trip!)

It was over that weekend away that I decided to accept a job offer with a small (but mighty) agency, just a few miles from home that does important work. I didn't yet know the intensity and long hours that were ahead of me, but I was thankful to find meaningful work. The theme of the rest of the year truly was "learn something new every day."

Writing this, it sounds like I didn't spend much time actually looking for a new job, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Job hunting can be a full time job in itself, but there's only so much you can do in a day. To keep your sanity, you need to fill your time with much more than simply reading job listings and submitting your resume. As much as I loved setting my own schedule and having flexibility to my life (and miss it now), it was hard. Really hard. I'm thankful for my family, friends, and running, for helping me through it.

The rest of the year has been a bit of a blur. Matt suffered a back injury that required a lot of physical therapy. As luck would have it, just as he was getting back into running, I was dealt a shin injury, then a back injury of my own. While not as often as we had hoped, we did manage to get out for a few hikes throughout the year - Table Mesa, Walker Ranch, Rocky Mountain National Park, Ptarmigan Trail, Mt. Falcon Park, to name a few. 

BirdCamp Colorado at Snow Mountain Ranch was a highlight of the year. Working alongside Rebekah, Mary and Ali, we spent nearly a year planning the weekend running camp for our Oiselle teammates. Our scout trip to camp, complete with testing out the tubing hill (just to make sure), will be with me forever. I'm thankful for their leadership, friendship, dedication and the countless text threads about everything from insulated wine glasses to schedules and budget spreadsheets. Stressful: definitely. Crazy fun: absolutely. Having Sally, Steph, Hannah, and Heather join us for the weekend made it even more memorable. To know that fifty women took time away from their families, work, regular training schedules, and to-do lists, and put their trust in us to plan a weekend that was worth all that and more, seems a little bit crazy. But we accomplished what we set out to do and I'm pretty sure we met their expectations.

One last trip for the year took us to Nashville, where we met up with my parents to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Four days of live music, museums, good food, and enjoying our time together, created memories that will last forever. I haven't been able to spend much time with my parents this year, so having them with us for Christmas was a treat. They were troopers for going hiking with us and our house is in a little bit better shape now than before they arrived.

While I'm ready to see 2017 come to a close, I'm also acutely aware of how fleeting each year is. Maybe it's a symptom of getting older, but I find myself wishing that I could stop looking forward to the weekend, or the next month, or the next year. I wish there were more good days and that they would last longer. 

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to 2018 and hoping it brings many great days and great adventures for all of us.

What are your favorite memories from 2017?