2013: We Started Makin’ Some Changes

It’s been one year since we decided to throw caution to the wind and move to sunny San Diego. It’s been one year since we started watching the entire West Wing series on Netflix (we finished the final five episodes last night … sigh). One year since we made mutual fitness goals that fueled our desires to run farther, run faster and intensify our goal of staying fit for life. But in between and among all of those things, we made some incredible memories:

In April we packed everything we owned in a POD and said goodbye to it so we could make the move from Des Moines to San Diego free from worry: no moving truck, no hauling a vehicle, none of that. We wanted to make it in 5 days, and we did, despite driving through a blizzard from Denver to Albuquerque on Day 2. We spent an entire day hiking 18 miles in the Grand Canyon – an experience we each rate as our favorite day of 2013. Standing nine miles down in the Grand Canyon makes you and your problems (I don’t care who you are) seem so incredibly insignificant.

In May we were so lucky to find a condo for rent just one mile from the Pacific Ocean – we still aren’t sure what we did for stars to align on that one. It’s small, but it works for us right now and allows us to be near everything we love to do. We also ran our second marathon together – the O.C. Marathon: our first race in California.

June and July were filled with work ups and downs: We both took jobs that sounded good initially, but ended up not working out for either of us. Everything happens for a reason because we are ending the year happy and confident with the new jobs we found! We ran a lot, went to the San Diego County Fair and had a ton of fun at our first horse race at the Del Mar Racetrack. We are REALLY looking forward to attending more of them next summer.

August included running the America’s Finest Cities half marathon (our first San Diego race), as well as joining a local Crossfit box. Though Crossfit probably won’t play a major role in our training in 2014, it was a fantastic endurance builder that translated into our running, and for that we are thankful.

In September, G made the decision to train for the San Diego 50 Mile Ultramarathon (scheduled for Jan. 18, 2014). He spent a lot of time running throughout the fall and into winter, and with just a couple of weeks left, he’s getting pretty excited! We also spent a long weekend in Boston with G’s parents that included a Boston Red Sox game, Fenway Park tour, walking the entire Freedom Trail and lots of other special moments.

October and November kind of blew by, but we raced in Long Beach and enjoyed the start of fall with less-crowded beaches, gorgeous sunset walks and lots of patio time. We also ran the Silver Strand half marathon from Coronado to Imperial Beach, giving us a chance to see part of the city we rarely visit.

December has been full of reflection and gratefulness. We celebrated our first anniversary, G ran his first ultra – the OTHTC 50K in Ridgecrest –, and we were able to spend Christmas week with friends and family. Overall, it was an incredible year for both of us and we’re looking forward to sharing our 2014 goals with you in the coming days.

Happy New Year!

GnC

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 How about you? What is the thing you are most grateful for that happened in 2013?