Forgot to mention, my bloodometer was reset

Like that? Bloodometer– clever, right?

Okay so on Christmas, Dave and I were without big family plans this year. See, his family celebrates Christmas Eve and my family usually does both, but this year my Aunt (the usual Christmas hostess) decided to visit her daughter, son in law,  and grandson way in Virginia (like they are important!!!! 😉 just kidding!) so I was without concrete Christmas plans also.

As you may have guessed, a free day means a day to run on the trail. Dave and I suited up and headed to Round Valley Reservoir (one of my absolutely favorite NJ locations, although I really don’t run there that often). It is a massive man made reservoir towards west NJ. The water spans almost 5 miles across, it is the deepest body of water in NJ (there is actually a town down there!), and our run around it is about 12 miles total– 8.5ish on pretty technical ground and the rest on backroads.

I have a nice falling history at RoVa. In June, days before I moved to MA, I was running there and fell hard on my knee, creating a beautiful and painful puncture wound. This was a BAD fall. I was miles in the woods and really couldn’t walk well. It resulted in days of pain, an infection, and a lot of issues moving from a second story apartment to another second story apartment 4.5 hours away. Oh and I was certainIy like to remember these days when I think things are bad because really, they were never as bad as that.

Anyway, I haven’t been to RoVa since that fall! And I had made it about 112 miles flawless/fallless. So here I am, back where things went sour. And I make it almost 8 full miles on the trail. I successfully finish the technical and climby sections and have made it to the beach side, a simple gravel trail and guess what….

Yup. Tripped over a rock and slide for what def resets the bloodometer. Yup. Oh well!

2015- A year for personal, professional, and perpetual growth.

Happy New Years to all! I am writing a personal blog post today in order to reflect hard on 2014 and think ahead about the new year and the new things that I hope to achieve in that time.

2014 was a whirlwind. I spent the year in a milieu of professional development. I applied to graduate schools and met a vast (and ever growing) network of academics and scientists who are changing the field of education, social science, economics, and developmental psychology from many angles. I have lots to be grateful and thankful for in that year. My boss and advisor, Vanessa LoBue, has helped me in many ways and I have vicariously learned through her how to be helpful and give to others. Some of my dear friends let me talk about my thoughts regarding my future to them in helpful and non-judging ways. They showed their deep interest in my health, happiness, and future and for that I am grateful. My parents and brother were patient and kind when I panicked and supportive when I thought I had things figured out. My boyfriend was patient as well, and helped me make a decision by staying out of the conversation in many ways.

In 2014, I moved to Boston. I finally made a real adult independent move and am living financially independent. I am pursuing my dream career in it’s most primary form– getting the degree I need to start changing the world. I may have my doubts and my qualms about the BU program itself or about my perceived necessity of some of the courses that I have to take– but I have to keep the finish line in sight and work hard to get through it and use everything to my advantage in some way. Things are only useless or pointless if you don’t give them a use or a purpose.

In 2014 I PRd in my second marathon- the Philadelphia Marathon. I won’t bore everyone with another post about my triumph but I am thankful to all my friends who ran with me during my training and to David for pacing me for the majority of the race and keeping me running and my spirits high. Thank you.

2015 is upon us! I has started and I like to think it started with a BANG. I rang in the New Years on a midnight trail run with Dave in the cold. We brought beers to share at the top of the overlook at Chimney Rock. It was fun and I hope to ring in many New Years to come in a similarly adventurous fashion. 

Do I have New Years Resolutions? Yes and No. I don’t really have a list of defined attributes to add or subtract from my life. I don’t plan on joining a gym or starting a new diet. My health doesn’t call for that I don’t think.. I do have goals however–both abstract and concrete.

Abstract Goals: Become a “giver” (See Adam Grant’s Give and Take for a detailed description). Further my professional career in research. Stave off depression (my personal babadook). Save more money. Find some sort of solace in my emotional life and build a foundation from there.

Concrete: Move my life more Boston centric. Possibly train and compete in a 50k race (if I can figure out my body). Race the Mountain Goat series in New England. Attend and present at SRCD with the goal of expanding my network and generating ideas. Keep a gratitude journal. Cook more on weekends.

Of course this list isn’t finished or final in any way. I am flexible when it comes to these goals. I just think improvement is always possible, I don’t want to tie myself into a rut and I want to keep working hard at what I am doing. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew so I also have been thinking about my priorities in 2015 as well.

I am excited, grateful, and looking forward to the new year. Cheers, all.