This morning I rounded out the year with 2150 miles and 295 hours on my feet by running the 7 mile loop counterclockwise. With a little bit of snow covering the ground, I went cautiously, but also woke up late and had a deadline for getting back to the house. I almost abandoned the run with the idea of "I'll do it later" but like I've said before, delay can be a tricky con that leads to inaction and excuses. Not always, but its much easier to fall out of routine than it is to start a new one. I hustled out the door without my belt pack and consequently no phone or ear buds either. It felt pure to just run without a few of the typical accoutrements.
Precisely 55 minutes later I made it back to the house and the typical morning routine could commence.
In many ways 2025 felt like a long extension of some of the progress that happened in 2024, but in another sense, the story took twists and turns I couldn't have rightly predicted. Unexpected accidents and injuries on the not so fun side and extensive sailing and putting personal bests under my belt in the 10k and half-marathon distances on the more positive side. There's a level of density to my life that makes it difficult to keep up with.
As I approach 2026, I'm pretty excited to have something of an outline for my fitness/running/racing goals. It feels good to be chasing that big goal still (Boston Qualifying and Chicago Marathon guarantee entry), but I am aiming to loosen up and take things a touch less seriously with some fun races, St. Patty's day in March and Volkslaufe in July. Even with the serious goal set for the Detroit Free Press Marathon, I want to make my approach with a little more light heartedness. I've already come so far in so short a period of time, I want to have the presence of mind to stay loose no matter where things go from here.
Onward!
2150 miles
295 hours
292 Runs
5 states
7 degrees - 80 degrees