2020 is going to be a big year for in our house for a few reasons:

1. Our oldest will be 18 and graduating high school

2. 10 years since the worst year EVER of my life and I feel like I have finally healed.

3. I’ll be turning 40.

I remember being in high school and we were all talking about turning 40 in the year 2020 and back in 1998, that seemed a bajillion years away. And yet…here we are! It’s insane how much has changed and in some ways, how many things have stayed the same.

I recently came across a couple of bags and one album from the super early years with my 2 oldest kiddos. I look at those pictures and it instantly takes me back to that time, and in all honesty, doesn’t seem like it was as long ago as it was.

My Dad passed away suddenly and tragically in 2010. At the time, I never thought life would be good again. How could it. That year continued to go down the crapper and we ended up losing friends and more loved ones before the year was over. Looking back over the last 10 years, most of it is a blur of grief and misery, but the last couple of years were when things started to look up again and I am equal parts excited and slightly terrified about what this next decade will bring.

Growing up my nickname has and continues to be Bird. There is a backstory, but it’s a name that has stuck around and in honor of my birthday this year, my sister came up with the hashtag #birdturns40. One thing I have always wanted to do is run a half marathon. I have decided that the 2020 Bayshore is the one I’m doing.

Registration opens this Sunday and the race is at the end of May- giving me 25 weeks of training time. I can not run for very far and not fast, so I’m starting the training now. My only goal is to finish.  Thankfully my sister is flying in from CA for this race and I am SO excited to be running this with her! She is my biggest supporter, motivator and always there when I need to vent and don’t need the situation “fixed.”

Today was my first training run with a training run of 1.5 miles. I did more walking than running and it took me just under 28 minutes to finish. It’s going to be a long road! But, here we go…I’m excited and nervous about what the next 25 weeks will hold!!