Let it go...

Goodbye 2011!  Let It Go!

Good morning and Happy New Year's Eve!  This is one of my favorite days of the year as I, and you too, get to wrap up one year and start new again.  I've thought a great deal about this final blog post for 2011 and had a draft written yesterday.  Yet, the draft did not convey a message I really wanted to carry forward into 2012.  Today on my last run of the year, a 4.25 mile run in downtown Indianapolis, it finally hit me that I should write about what running teaches me daily:  “let it go.”
You see, when you run you have good days and bad days and if you hold onto the bad days then you end up not being able to reach your full potential.  Likewise, if you celebrate your successes too much then you become complacent and once again become unable to reach your full potential.  The real key in running is to take stock of the good and the bad, learn from both, and then let it go and move forward.  As I think about 2011 and what will be important for 2012 the phrase "let it go" seems most appropriate.

Overall, 2011 was a fantastic year.  I ran 1775 miles and have now run 10,013 miles since January 1, 2006 and I've run 23,852 miles since 1994.  I'm so blessed to be able to run.  I ran a 35:55 10K, which was my fastest since 2007.  At home, Sarah and I had a wonderful year, maybe the best we've had in Indianapolis.  We get along so well, enjoy each other’s company, and really support each other in pursuit of our goals.  Of course, we love our little Myles and he's such a wonderful part of our life.  And...the Hoosiers are looking great once again and after three years of rebuilding by Coach Crean, this team looks poised for a NCAA appearance in March.  At work, the 50 or so staff members I'm responsible for leading are doing a great job, and my co-workers in HRL bonded together and kept the ship moving forward through transitional waters.  It was a great year.
Yet, not everything went well.  While training for the marathon in November, three dogs chased me and I pulled my calf trying to get away and ended up not being able to run the Monumental Marathon.  Indiana had a rough Big 10 season last spring.  And...those transitional waters at work had some rather large icebergs that hit our ship a few times.  There have been points recently where it's been easier to focus on the not so great parts of 2011 rather than the 90% good parts of 2011.  I've been struggling with hanging on to some of those negative things and it clouded my ability to set goals for 2012.  On my run this morning, though, it became very clear that the first goal of 2012 has to be to "let go" of 2011.  In order to set some running goals, some personal goals, and to reach my full potential, I first have to learn from 2011 and then let it go.  It's amazingly simple and so fitting that the answer to my dilemma of what goals to set for 2012 emerged while running.  It's a bit embarrassing too, though, since the title of my blog is "What I Learned While Running."  For me, the answers always come on my daily runs and for that I'm so thankful.

My hope for you is that you have a wonderful last day of the year.  Let go of 2011 so that you can reach your full potential in 2012.  If you like sports, then root like heck for the Hoosiers today as they battle Ohio State.  To all the UK and UL fans, good luck today and be good to each other.  To everyone else, Happy New Year and happy running to you...