Crossroads

Its been a while! 2017 has kept me rolling in a lot of random directions, and crossing many different roads.  Many good things and many challenges. I'm a scientist, tons of biology anatomy, physiology, calculus and more to get into and through PT school and complete my job every day. Most science type people don't like to write, but I do ( or maybe thats the Pisces in me). But I love to write and still do regularly in places no one sees. Sometimes it keeps me as sane as running fast or biking so hard it hurts. This blog has been around for awhile and used to be much about racing training and the athletes I coached and all the ups and downs along the way. But this time its about the many crossroads of 2017
Many of them I knew were coming for me, like a kid moving on to high school, and some completely unexpected. 

What I've come to realize is no matter how hard you try, work at it, control it, develop the perfect plan, the universe can sometimes throw you for a loop. It's Kona week and the 8 or 9 times being a Kona sherpa, as well as many years of racing and coaching athletes, I've seen the perfectly planned out race can go completely off course no matter how hard you trained and were ready. The garmin dies or falls off, the nutrition bottles fly off, everyone is racing so fast, or too slow or its way too HOT or windy, or it decides to pour rain with thunder and the start gets delayed, or a flat tire.  No matter how hard you try to control it, plan it,  the universe can certainly mix it up.   This entire year has been a continuous course re-direction. I firmly believe you can only walk through the doors that are open to you.  Kicking them down and busting through closed doors with a sledgehammer forcing things to happen usually doesn't work out too well.  

Ive gotten really good at dealing with the changes of course.  All roads I set out to follow at the start of the year took a different turn and I found myself pedaling down a different path. 

Crazy Crossroads of 2017....

~  Boston Marathon 2017 : qualifying for the first time I tried, registering, training through the winter to find out my Dad's lung cancer has spread to his brain and needed surgery.  No doubt about it in my mind, I go home to west coast for Easter, instead of East for a marathon. No regrets, and this is  1 of my favorite trips home. 

Home /Easter 2017

~  My 14 year old graduates from 8th grade with straight As, and is preparing to start high school. How is that for crossroads slap in the face, I knew was coming but still cried. 

now a freshman

~ At Jacks state championship rugby tournament, I got a little crazy cheering (it happens), and I sprinted down the sidelines cheering for him as he was trying to score and "popped", not pulled my gastroc (calf) stepping in a weird hole as I was sprinting) It was torn, couldn't walk push off for a few weeks, wore a boot and said so long to summer running. 

boo :(

~ 3 + years ago, I re- financed my house in my own name, a crossroad that was scary but it happened. 1 year of keeping the house myself turned into 3+.  Never did I think I would manage this big house myself for this long, but I did all by my big girl self. Now after a really big effort, it sold.  Not in the time frame I'd planned for,  or wanted to be able to move home to move back to Oregon. But it still sold and downsizing when your kid starts high school instead of college is tons of work, but not all that bad. 

~ sending Jack off to homecoming as you watch your friend get married and another proposed to all in 1 night. You can't help but smile, celebrate, and love all the happiness and smiles, and of course being dressed up and girly for a change. 

1st Homecoming

Celebrating so much happiness

~traveling home to Oregon recently for a visit that was very difficult, but trying to stay positive and loving my amazing family and beautiful part of my world. It was a tough trip but I love the beauty of Oregon where I can go run and find some peace.  I had wanted to move home to be close, to be there more often. Instead, Ill be racking up some air miles. 

Tough as Nails

Enjoying Oregon Sunshine 

Try as hard as you want, you can't control some things. You can plan it out, do all you want and sometimes the universe has a different plan. Its not easy, and Im not perfect at it, but have gotten much better at trying to accept it not question it and just go with it and the right thing will happen around the corner.