Two Very Special Anniveraries!

Aside from the swimming, biking, running, and eating this weekend- I will also be celebrating two very special anniversaries. August 1st (I know that is Monday but I am celebrating early!) is my one year blog-iversary as well as me and Phil's 3 year date-iversary. Two aspects of my life that I love very, very much :)

1 Year Blog-aversary: A year in review

When I started this blog one year ago, my first post told the world (or the only two people that read it back then- my parents!) that I was signing up for a half Ironman. I had never done a triathlon before, I didn't know how to swim, and I just bought my first road bike.

Since that first post a year ago I...

• Joined a triathlon team
• Ran my first half marathon
• Completed my first sprint triathlon
• Signed up for a full Ironman
• Trained for the Shamrock Marathon
• Bought a pink tri bike
• Overcame an ankle injury that prevented me from running the marathon
• Raised money for breast cancer research
• Barely survived my first Olympic tri
• Boosted my swim confidence
• Trained for my first 70.3
• PRed my 10 miler time at the Broad Street Run
• Crossed the finish line of my first 70.3
• Bought my own domain name
• PRed my Oly time at Rock Hall
• Balanced training, work, and studying
• Started training for a full Ironman

I would say it has been a successful year with lots of accomplishments and struggles to blog about and reflect on. But what has surprised and touched me the most about this past year of blogging is the friendships I have formed with other bloggers. They have celebrated my accomplishments with me, and have given me motivation when I needed it. They have made me a stronger athlete both physically and mentally. Not to mention, they are really fun to hang out with!

When I started this blog, I wanted to show my family and friends how much work goes in to reaching your athletic goals. I never expected anyone other than people I already knew to read this blog. Slowly, people began to comment on my blog posts, giving me advice and offering motivation. Over time I began to meet other area bloggers and by the end of my first year blogging I am so happy to say that I have a slew of great friends that I can call to go on bike rides, runs, or grab margaritas! I also have people around the country that I have never met before that I would have no problem emailing if I were going to be in their neck of the woods to meet up. 

I had no idea when I started this baby blog a year ago that it would wind up being so much more than just my little corner of the Internet where I write about my training.

I love all these ladies :) (and we have tons of pictures when we hang out- bonus of hanging out with other bloggers!)

3 year Date-aversary:

There is no hiding how amazing Phil is. Not only is he a rockstar triathlete but he is the most wonderful boyfriend I could have ever wished for! If you have read this blog for any amount of time you have read about how supportive he is- from cheering me on at every race (after he finishes of course),  making sure I am comfortable on my bike, walking the dog when I want to grab margaritas with the ladies mentioned above, and so much more than anyone could ever imagine and much more than what I write on here. We are obviously perfect for each other- he is the only other person I know that can finish a gallon of milk in a day. I look forward to many more years of triathlons, adventures, and millions of gallons of milk with him by my side. Love you, babe! 

If you think the snow picture above is all cute and romantic....you're wrong...Phil was just roping me in to do this...

and that about sums up our relationship. :)