26 is more than just the amount of miles in the race distance I am specialized in. This year 26 is my age, which means I have been working for my dad’s software company for 10 years and I have also been a marathon runner for ten years.

Those numbers must mean something profound that I am not thinking of yet! In those ten years I have hopped around the technical writing computer languages, mathy smart people things, putting my mutli-lingual skills to use with specific clients which is fun, and the communications end to the business end, and fallen into being a certain way with a versatile title, which is cool. It’s like I have done rotations in different areas of my field over the past ten years, so I know what I am good at, likes and dislikes, and what I really want out of the next ten years. The running career is sort of the same as the software company career, I know what is my strong suit, likes and dislikes, the races where I feel comfortable in my skin and the obtainable goals. Overall, nothing is a shock to my system and I cannot afford the paycut to switch industries at this stage of life, math and software and business it is. 🙊🙉🙈

My obtainable goal in running this year is a half-marathon and a full-marathon, by the end of the calendar year. I just received two new pairs of sneakers in the mail to keep my feet and persona happy during the training about to go down. For me, alternating between a few pairs of sneakers is always best, and then buying new ones after 400ish miles is a must. Having time to get to know yourself and exactly what you want is very important and the new vision board that I made attests to knowing exactly what I want. I’m being funny!! Today, was really nice outside and I ran five miles around my block at my parent’s house and loved every second of it. Whilst running, I listened to classical covers of pop songs played by a cellist and violinist. Those songs made me order some compression gloves to practice my violin more often for my Four Seasons project this year. Almost like fingerless dress gloves which could be in style! Maybe it will be a thing to have fingerless dress gloves for classical music, all the rage, everyone will have them. 😂

I feel really in control and like I know what I want after running a strong five miles around my hilly block in pretty dazzling brand new sneakers. Afterwards, I treated myself to some Evian water and my dazzling new Chanel lipstick for the spring, COCO CLUB. 💄😘

For running in the sun, I also bought new UV protection arm sleeves in beige and black and white. They feel nice, I love all my sleeves, they are sleek for covering up. 😍

On that run, I also thought about the time I could have gone skiing with my boyfriend instead of on a mission trip, and picked mission trip. Did I make the right choice? Sometimes I feel like it would have been more responsible to be with the boy instead of trying to make the world a better place on a mission trip, especially after this year. Take my honest advice and just go on the fun ski trip with your boyfriend instead of the mission trip, knit a hat for them and one to donate to be a good person. I could win a marathon, have a million prestigious degrees and every shade of lipstick I want and I will always regret not spending that time together when we could, which is kind of funny and dramatic. Someone did not want me to have my grad degrees, date or run my world major marathons, but that’s exactly the person to work around. What else am I supposed to have exactly?!😂 My parent’s dogs? Well whomever that weird person is will be significantly dissappinted spending quality time with my parent’s dogs will most certaintly not be lasting until September, perhaps their parents have dogs and they need a sabbatical instead of me… It’s all about balance. This year was all about me suffering for not choosing skiing with my boyfriend, which is ironic. Even though they were never a mission trip person, they felt spirituality through skiing, which gave me the idea for a spirituality and running themed public speaking event on a retreat I organized back in the day. Nevertheless, if you can go to Mont Blanc go to Mont Blanc, just do it, in Italy and France. This year made me seriously regret throwing that ski trip away that year, if only I had gone skiing with my boyfriend instead. Everyone go get your earrings while you can, wear them to breakfast and in front of everyone and their brother, drive their car in front of everyone and their brother too!!😼