New Year, Same Me, Hopefully Some More Posts

It's 2019! I am excited for a new year and a new semester, but I am even more excited that I woke up this morning well-rested. I have had the worst cold since Friday. I've basically been in bed for days, and it was a legit struggle to stay awake at dinner last night. I spent my New Year's Eve exactly how I wanted to spend it - having dinner with my best friend - and then I was home and in bed with the pups by 10 PM. I just wish this cough and the rain would finally stop!

No hangover for this girl this morning.

I got out on the Beltline today for a 4.25 mile run during a brief rainless moment. One of my goals for 2019 is to learn to love running again. I have signed up for the Hotlanta Half Marathon in June. I ran the race in 2016 and it was pretty dang hard because it was just so effing hot. I'm going to casually but frequently run until April and then I am going to start a training plan. I've been looking around at some different options and I think I can commit to a 3 day plan (1 day of easy mileage, 1 day of speed training, 1 long run) in addition to my regular CrossFit programming.

I ran Piedmont Park in very similar weather for the first time in April 2013. And now I live here.

Another 2019 goal is to compete in my first United States Strongman competition. Central Georgia's Strongest Man will be held on March 30. My plan is to compete in the lightweight women's novice division. As part of this goal, I am fired up about committing to improving my nutrition, recovery, and sleep so I can get stronger and leaner. My understanding is that I just need to weigh in at under 165 to compete as a novice lightweight, but if I find myself competing in the open division in the future, I'd really like to compete as a lightweight (read lighter weights for each event) and that's 132 lbs or below. Instead of figuring out how to lose 20 lbs quickly without losing strength, I have reasoned that it makes sense to start this process now.

I saw my friend Scott running the Beltline. I still cannot take a selfie properly.

How cute is this little neon couple with their little neon dog? #couplegoals

I had a lot of thoughts while running today, and not all of them were, "Holy shit. How is the Beltline up hill both ways?" 2018 was a year of surprises. If you told me on January 1, 2018 what my life would be like on January 1, 2019, I would never have believed you. There were great highs and some really shitty lows. It felt like I had lost myself for a while, but I'm still here and I'm remembering my values and my priorities. And since I'm being honest, I can still hatch a great revenge fantasy while running around Piedmont Park. There is no sweeter revenge than living your best life and looking great doing it besides running a long con and making that person question everything that is good and true in his life.