2011: less running, more writing

The obligatory 2010 post:

I’m not going to go into a huge play-by-play of the year. You have the archives for that! But I will say I started out the year at Wade’s house, drinking his home brewed beer (yum!) and hanging out in the hot tub. I imagine I may finish the year the same way …

I ran one marathon, not two, but I feel good about it. I became a triathlete. I realized swimming is not as scary as it seems, and cycling is scarier. My goal in 2011 is to be in the best shape of my life, and not necessarily by running all the time. I want more well-rounded-ness-ish. I saw this as my gym membership expires, so challenge accepted, but I will find a good way to get in that cross training. In fact, I may get my hands on P90x here soon.

I hiked a couple of mountains. Discovered a love of sleeping in a hammock outside. Way better than sleeping on the ground. Need to hike more. I went on my first solo hike. Just a day hike to Crowders, and I took Breanna the dog, so I wasn’t really alone alone. But wow – I felt so accomplished at the end of it.

I didn’t write a novel this year.

I bailed on blogging for a few months. And I’ve been working to get back to it. I really miss it when I’m not doing it, and I really miss hearing your comments and thoughts when I’m not doing it. In 2011, I’ll be better about that, I promise.

I traveled a lot. Florida, Washington DC, Phoenix, Vegas. The more I travel the more I want to travel. Little trips too – Asheville, Athens, Tennessee, Greenville, Lejeune.

I met some really wonderful people this year. Traveling can do that for you sometimes.

I lost things, too. A lot can change in a year’s time, and this year was no exception.

I learned a lot about things I never thought I’d need to know about. I learned about the strength of family and the ability to get through anything together.

I learned the power of the universe to wrap us up in it and land us exactly where we need to be, even if we didn’t know it ourselves. Some call it chance or fate or God’s plan. Maybe it’s all the same?

Hello, 2011. I can’t wait to meet you.

On Athens without Chris

So, whether you read this blog daily or have only read it once, you probably know that I visit Athens quite frequently to visit my best friend Chris. We always have such a great time while I’m in town. He usually works during the week or takes a day off to hang out with me, and [...]

Proof that I’m a dork

Okay, so last week I wrote a post about how much I enjoy spending time in Athens since the city is so walkable. And I mentioned that I would really like to just wear my watch on a night of bar-hopping to see how many calories one would burn. And with some courage from you [...]

How about a threesome?*

The great thing about social networking is that you can meet others that have similar interests to you. Because of that, I have lots of graphic designers who are also runners on my social radar – and it’s awesome! I got to meet one of these designer/runner types yesterday (trust me, there are a lot [...]

On walkable cities

Charlotte is trying. Charlotte’s been converting four-lane roads to two-lane roads with bike lanes and sidewalks. They are doing this in order not to miss out on some government spending. I am happy with this. In doing some research to attempt to find information about this, I came across a blog post about walking to [...]

Bumping and beer pong

Beer club at Pauleys in Athens, Ga:  So, here’s how the beer club works at Pauleys: Drink 100 beers, 35 imports and 65 domestics, and get your picture on the wall with a quote. No time limit. I started my beer card on 11/1/08, right after the bar opened. The bar was so dead, that [...]

Downtown Athens: A different point of shoot

Chris got a new camera and thought it’d be cool if we took some pictures around downtown Athens. I’ve been wanting pictures for his apartment that I’m helping him decorate for a long time, so I was totally down for that idea. He then complained because I took too long on the walk back to his [...]

What’s a little sweat between friends?

Forgive the bad photos on this post. We were in a hurry to go running, the sun was bright, and stuff. To tell this story I first have to tell you about my friend Beth. Beth found my blog several months ago. She was training for the Thunder Road Marathon, and in searching for information [...]

Some friends know just what you need

The only thing cooler than running a half marathon is running a half marathon and then finding this waiting for you after the race: Thanks to my best friend Chris for the kick-ass post-race birthday gift! I’ll be getting my deep-tissue massage tomorrow afternoon. Great excuse to push myself on a hilly run today!

Beer, friends and fun on a Sunday afternoon

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than at Classic City Brewfest? And on top of that, to be invited by one of my favorite friends who loves beer? I’m in! I’ve been to wine tastings but never a beer tasting before. I like beer. I don’t always know what to order when it comes to [...]