Annual update time…

I thought I posted a blog about my experience finishing the 2022 Chicago Marathon (barely,) but apparently I never actually published it. Not shocking, given my general lack of posting. Since then, I’ve completed the LA Marathon (also, barely) and I start training this week for the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon and the San Diego Rock and Roll Half Marathon later this spring.

My hotel was right on the river and City Winery was on the other side of the river – I took myself out the next day for the finest bubbles I could find for $15…and it really made me miss all the phenomenal local sparkling wines at home.

In hindsight, I probably should have given my body an extra year of recovery and building back up after surgery last year. I really underestimated how long it would take to feel normal. And really, I had mostly stopped running during the pandemic anyway because I was in a lot of pain pre-surgery. I guess figured that because it was a 2 hour outpatient procedure (that should have only been 45 min to an hour) that I’d bounce back as if nothing happened, and, well, that was not the case. I was so hell-bent on running the marathons and I was also bitter because at that point, I had already missed out on 3 races because of the surgery and I didn’t want to miss Chicago or LA again.

I ran a 5k the day before the marathon, and I did it specifically for the medal…as a life-long fan of the Dodgers, it was necessary. And I plan to do both again next year…and add in the Santa Monica Classic 10k in September and Rose Bowl Half in January so that I can add a 4th medal in 2024.

I don’t regret doing the marathons, but if I had to do it all over again, I definitely would have waited until 2024 to do any distance beyond a 10K. Also, I’m just really happy I actually finished. I earned my slowest times ever, but hey, at least I finished. And I have several hundred dollars of race gear to prove it, lol.

But some good came out of it – with the Chicago Marathon looming last fall, I joined a virtual running/coaching group and ended up finding a place where I feel like I belong – truly, this group of women is so incredibly supportive, and I’m not sure I would have finished either marathon without their support/guidance. My ‘worst fears’ (short of a DNF) came true for both races, but I still pushed through and finished. It’s hard to be mad about that, even if I’m not happy about my times. If I hadn’t been in a ‘bad’ place with running, I might not have joined and now I can’t imagine running without them now.

In other news, I passed the one year mark of the surgery last month and I have to say, things aren’t perfect – I still have pain in the area where my ovary had to be separated from my intestines/stomach, and I definitely still get a little uncomfortable around the time I ovulate (with my sad, wonky remaining ovary…and really, it’s hard to tell what’s happening since my ablation was successful and no more bleeding!) but y’all – life is SO much better. I truly didn’t realize just how much pain I was in until I wasn’t. I thought it was normal to go through that. Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women (possibly more)...why isn’t this one of the FIRST things OBGYNs look for? I mean, I KNOW why. But it really sucks #fuckthepatriarchy

Sometimes it’s weird to think that I will never, ever be able to get pregnant (and if I have to explain to someone one more time that no, miracles cannot happen in my situation…UGH…can we PLEASE STOP asking women when/how many babies they are going to have?!) but I know it was the right decision and getting pregnant would have been highly unlikely anyway with scar tissue covering so many organs. I worry about having to disclose this to future partners (though, I guess when you’re in your 40s, it’s a conversation that has to be had anyway.) I’m open to adopting, fostering, or using a surrogate if I meet someone and they want to have children, but I’m also open to living a child-free life as well. I truly believe life can still be great either way.

I wish I didn’t have to waste so much of my 20s and 30s in absolute agony – truly, I feel like I wasted so much time being miserable and canceling plans…endometriosis doesn’t just feel miserable physically, it’s also a beast to deal with mentally. I’ll have to document the whole experience one day, especially since I’m sharing my experience more and more…I’ve had a few people ask me about it and I feel like I overwhelmed them with my answers. If I wrote it all out, they could read as much (or as little) as they wanted and come back to it when they are ready (I hate myself right now…I sound like an influencer ‘hey, guys! I just wanted to hop on here because I’ve been getting a lot of questions about xyz…’)

Best expo site and marathon starting line ever – driving and parking sucked, but it was totally worth it to be at the stadium

In the meantime, I have plenty of time to bounce back this summer before I start training for 2024 LA Marathon later this fall. I really want to focus on getting faster and stronger, which means a lot more time working out and working on fueling and resting properly. I’m also looking at some big life changes in 2024, which brings me to my next item.

After two and a half years of hard work, I FINALLY have a 5-figure emergency fund. It’s enough for me to get by for 6 months without turning to credit cards or pulling money out of retirement funds (the one thing I’ve actually been good at saving.) Granted, it wouldn’t be a fun 6 months – there definitely isn’t room for non-essential items, but that’s ok. An emergency fund isn’t there for funsies. Life is so different when you have a safety net. I spent my entire 20s living on the edge…going weeks in between paychecks with less than $5 in my bank accounts. My early 30s were better…I at least had a little safety net, but it’s amazing how quickly one ’emergency’ can wipe out a $2,000 savings account. Anyway, I feel a lot less stressed now and know that I can weather most financial storms that will come my way.

I will say, since I hit the number I didn’t think was possible, I’ve been a bit stagnant with savings. I need to figure out what’s next. Do I save more in a regular savings account and aim for a 12 month emergency fund? Do I leave ‘good enough’ alone and focus on saving for a move (likely out of state…sigh. I love CA, but it’s not cheap to live here.) Or do I stop ‘saving’ and throw everything above and beyond retirement and into my taxable investment account? AHHHH!!!! I also still have some debt to take care of, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I’ll be just fine. They don’t tell you how much you care about things like insurance and investments as an adult, haha.

I also need to start saving for an impending move so that I don’t have to touch my emergency fund when the time comes. Ultimately, the plan right now is to move out of state – likely to Arizona (Colorado, Nevada, Sacramento and Palm Desert are all on the short list though and the latter two don’t require a move out of state.) I want to rent for a few years to make sure I like living wherever I end up and then hopefully buy a house in the next 5-7 years.

Until next time…