As I'm currently in the middle of writing my comps (aka Comprehensive Exams) so that I can finally call myself "a doctoral candidate" and be ABD, it may seem an insane time to resurrect this blog, and it probably is. But so was planning a wedding, living simultaneously in three different places, and working two jobs while writing my Master's Thesis; this is just par for the course. This blog started as, and still is, a place for me. You are all welcome to follow along and join in my adventures, but this is my place to write down my stories, race reports, and random thoughts; mostly so that they can live somewhere other than my already overly-cluttered brain. This practice leaves a clear space for the tough writing...of which there will be much to come.
The other purpose for this blog was to publicly share my goals as a means to keep myself accountable. For the whole of 2014, this blog was non-existent. It's not that I didn't achieve things. I did. Lots of amazing things. However, working a job that required 60+ hours in an office plus being on-call 24/7 (including weekends and holidays), then sitting in class 6 and a half hours every other Tuesday, left little time or energy for blogging. Consequently, not having this space to write, left a head filled with too many disjointed thoughts, and lots of lost memories. So for the purpose of my sanity, I'm blogging again.
As is customary for the first post of the new year, I've got some goals to share, BIG ones. There's an internet quote that floats around that says, "If you're dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough." Well, it's safe to say that 2015 is nothing short of terrifying. This is less a list of goals than it is a list of to-dos. These things are going to happen, I just need to believe and execute. Since amazingly, I can't determine if racing Iron-distance triathlon or finishing my doctorate means more to me (yes, I'm serious), these are listed chronologically.
So big scary 2015, here's what we're doing:
1. Finishing written comps
2. Successfully defending oral comps
3. Skiing out west
4. Going for a Boston Qualifier during the Poconos Marathon on May 17
5. Going to lots of weddings of wonderful friends and family (invite list at 8 so far)
6. Racing USAT Olympic-distance Nationals in Milwaukee on August 9
7. Getting a top AG finish at Ironman Maryland
8. Finishing my dissertation
9. Successfully defending my dissertation
10. Having one hell of a party to celebrate
2015 has been pretty good so far: I have a wonderful new job that requires 40 hours in an office plus some out-of-office time, but nothing that involves calling a student's parent at 3am. I commute now, which has left time for catching up on podcasts that I love, mostly triathlon and endurance sports related, but also those related to higher education and my current job. I spent the second week of the year at a tri-camp in Ft. Myers, Florida where I ran faster on a track than I ever have, "won" the swim workout, and went out of my comfort zone on the bike, all of which will be beneficial as this year goes on. I've rediscovered my love of skiing, something that I'd only had the chance to do once in the previous 6 years, after being a weekend warrior most of my teens and 20s. And most recently, work took me to the fabulous city of Barcelona, Spain, where I better understood what my role is in my new company and was able to see and eat my way around a fabulous part of the world.
Stay scared friends.
