17 has always been my favorite number. You can ask Laura, my childhood best friend. Her’s is something fancy like 352 or 324- right Lucy? I am quite excited about the year ahead and what it will bring.

I can’t believe I’m running two marathons- NJ and Chicago. No marathons in 2015, 1 in 2016, and 2 in 2017! I began training for NJ this past week. Since I was injured at the beginning of NYC training, this experience has been quite different already. I’m doing some speed work, which I actually really enjoy, and strength training 3 times a week! I’m attempting to use my gym membership more for their strength training classes, and unfortunately I’m sure I’ll have to use their treadmills at some point. Oh the joys of training for a spring marathon. I’ve never actually done that before, but so far so good. I enjoyed that today I went for my long run at 11am. No more of having to beat the heat and get our the door by 7am. Fingers crossed for as little snow and ice as possible this winter!

My best nine. This is a pretty good summary of the year! Lots of running and a puppy!!! We’ve had Willett for just over 6 months now (he’s 9 months old) and I never imagined I would love him as much as I do. He is endlessly hilarious. I now see it’s so true what people say about dogs- he loves us unconditionally. It’s unreal.

5 of the pictures are from the NYC Marathon. I still can’t put into words how amazing that whole experience was. It showed me what can happen when you challenge yourself and put in all the hard work. I’ve been thinking lately about how much I hated running when I was younger, and how I never thought of myself as athletic. I’m not someone who has a defining life changing moment. At some point in college I decided I enjoyed running and that was it. I will say that being surrounded by the impressively fit community here in NYC has been inspiring and it’s encouraged me to push myself beyond my limits. Fortunately, this has also allowed me to inspire others. I am still so proud of Misha and Matt for their marathon debuts!

My other brother and his wife are pictured here with mom and me at the Thanksgiving 5K in Atlanta. This was another highlight of my year- being home for Thanksgiving for the first time since 2010! It was delightful, and I loved starting the day running with the family. Ben and MJ are training now for the NYC Half- yay!

The photo in the middle is one of the most beautiful pictures I’ve ever taken. It’s from 9/11/16. 15 years. I can’t believe it’s been that long. This was one of my favorite runs of 2016- with Gregg, Kelly, Terence, and others. It was peaceful and inspiring.

And lastly, I love peanut butter!

Cheers to 2017. May you all continue to pursue your goals and dreams!