2019 in a nutshell

Since I haven't blogged in a while, I have a lot to catch up on.  2019 has been a challenging year, one that makes me wonder if I'm meant to run...or at least my version of running.

Beginning in January, my first challenge was the never-ending chest cold.  You know the kind, the kind that keeps you up all night coughing, where you feel like you are not getting enough air, you're producing enough phlegm to fill a stadium...you know, that kind.  That was what I was faced with in my first run in January, the San Diego Trail Marathon that takes place in San Pasqual Valley in San Diego County.  I had my usual anxiety about running compounded with this cold.  And then it rained...not just a sprinkle, but a pouring, drenching, cold rain that left the trails in a mess of beautiful (?) mud.  Up until the night before I had definite doubts about my sanity. 

The morning of the race dawned with more rain...and mud.  Fortunately, it did stop for the start of the race, but halfway through (at least for this turtle) the rain began again, just enough to leave me soaked for the second half.  But the setting in San Pasqual Valley www.sdrp.org was beautiful enough to take my mind off the mud.  It was a beautiful, challenging, fun race.  We also stayed at Bandy Canyon Ranch, which is a wonderful, quaint, out of the way place.  www.bandycanyon.com

Unfortunately my next race was a training race for Western States (in no way am I qualified for that), which is open to all (even the turtles), but the weather was not cooperating, so I gave into my sanity and didn't go to that one.

March brought us to San Diego for the San Diego Half Marathon.  A tradition for us, we do it every year.  Such a fun race.  www.sdhalfmarathon.com 

If you've read this far, thank you for your patience!  This brings us to April and my DNF at Oriflamme 50K.  oriflamme50k.com  This was supposed to be my first ultramarathon.  Well...not.  This race takes place in beautiful Julian, then drops down into the desert, turns around and comes back.  It was extremely challenging and I was not prepared enough.  I ended up dropping out at 20 miles.  It was a lesson learned.

Almost there!  My final race was a 5K in San Diego in La Jolla with my husband and daughter, Kirstie.  It was a lot of fun except the food poisoning.  I made it through the race and ended up spending the rest of the weekend in bed.

So, this year has been a challenging year.  I had so many aspirations and hopes of increasing distance, doing more trail runs, etc.  I'm hoping that the second half of the year will be better.  Thanks for reading!