Goodbye 2017 – Looking Back at My Top Moments

Before you know it, that big ball is going to drop in Times Square and it will be 2018. This is my last blog post for 2017 and my last post on the blog with it’s current look. It all goes according to plan, this blog will have a new look on New Year’s Day 2018. Before heading into the new year, I wanted to look back at my top 5 moments of 2017.

Coming in at number 5 is running and finishing the 2017 Disneyland Half Marathon. It was a far from perfect performance. However, it ranks this high simply because it was a race where I was probably crazy to have started in the first place. When it’s 82 degrees at 3am, smart, rational people would have stayed home. I didn’t. I thought…it’s can’t really be that hot this early in the morning. Right? My phone must be mistaken. Well, my phone was correct. By the time I arrived at the Mickey and Friends parking structure, it was still 82 degrees. I sat in my car and debated whether I’d actually run this race. I can’t remember what got me out of the car. But, as I stood, sweating bullets, in the corral waiting to go, I thought about whether or not I should run. What got me across the start line was the desire to run through the theme parks. I figured I’d be okay through 4 miles. Right? That was okay, so, I decided to continue through the first 10K. That was okay as well. So, I decided I could make it through Angel Stadium and mile 10. Then, I walked the last 5K to get my Toy Story medal. It was 91 degrees when I finished. But, I ran a smart race and had no problems with the heat. After all, I walked when I needed to.

At number 4, is finishing the 2017 Star Wars Rebel Challenge. This was my first, and thus far, only runDisney challenge I’ve run as a dad. However, the whole weekend was amazing!

I finally got that pic with BB-8 in the Star Wars 10K…

My boy “ran” his first race at the Star Wars diaper dash…

And I showed that I can still do a 19.3 mile runDisney challenge. As I was making my way through the last mile or two, it was pretty emotional for me. All I could think about is that I can STILL do really hard things!

At number 3 is backing up Adina Menzel and Kristen Bell for the Disney’s Magical Holiday Celebration. I mean, this was a seriously cool thing to be apart of. I loved watching these two ladies work.

Ranking number 2 on my list is finishing the 2017 TCS NYC Marathon! This was a race that was almost 2 years in the making. I got into the race for 2016. However, three weeks after getting that email, I found out that we would be chosen to adopt our little guy. So, I had to bow out of the 2016 race. I did so with the understanding that I would run in this race in 2017. Of all the races and experiences of this year, the marathon was what I was working towards. The race was every bit as magical as advertised. I learned first hand that all my friends who had run this race were not lying when they said how amazing it is! I’m also really proud of my performance on this race. I didn’t train well enough to PR the race. So, I had zero time expectations. Why I’m proud of this marathon is that I was able to do my run/walk intervals in miles 22 – the start of mile 26! I’ve never done that in a marathon before! Considering how much I wanted to quit, it’s even more amazing to me that I was able to get back in a groove so late into the race. This one is a race I’ll never forget.

In most years, the NYC Marathon would be the most memorable event of the year. However, this is no ordinary year. On January 27th, the adoption of our boy was finalized! This date will always be a day to celebrate for the rest of our lives. I got on this running journey as a way of getting through the wait of domestic infant adoption. In March 2016, we were chosen to be Colton’s adoptive parents. On January 27th, we crossed the finish line of our wait to be a family of three!

A year ago, I had some lofty expectations like PR’s and running both the Los Angeles Marathon and the NYC Marathon in the same year. That didn’t happen. As I read through my year end post of 2016, I was accurate in predicting that I wouldn’t run as many races. I started off 2017 in style with 11 miles! However, there were ups and downs in my training. I ended the year with 416.30 miles. How does that compare? Here’s my running totals by year…

2013 – 636 miles

2014 – 583 miles

2015 – 780 miles

2016 – 380 miles

2017 – 416 mles

The good news? I ran more than I did in 2016! However, not by much. As I strip things down in 2018, it will be interesting to see how many miles I log for the year.

I want to close off this last post of 2017 with some good news on my Disney career. On January 1st, I will officially be a Paralegal in Copyrights at Disney! I got the news of the promotion on the Monday after Candlelight. It’s been a long road to get here. But, I’m thrilled that my hard work and patience has paid off. I love the group I work for and am thrilled that I get to continue on in this group. I’m not sure yet, but sometime (hopefully) soon, I’ll be leaving my cubicle behind and moving into an office!