Sarah MacKay, Mac, Mrs. Robinson.... one and the same: the marketing director of Oiselle. She could have used the help of all her personas to live her adventures of 2012...but just like this third person introduction Mac does all her own stunts.
It's difficult to wrap up a year like 2012. I recently tried to wrap up 3 months of it on Running Starfish, and lost at least half of my 4 person readership. Holy indulgent, batman. So I'll keep it quick and tidy for you.
1. Olympic Trials
Not only did I get to watch 4 days of track and field Olympic Trials action AND walk the #TotallyTrials runway show in buns and sports bra...I also was luckily enough to kick off my 2012 right with a trip to Houston Texas to watch the Olympic Trials marathon!
I also got to meet Joan Benoit Samuelson, a lifelong hero of mine, AND recent hero of mine, Desi Davila. As seen in these photos, I'm a smidge out of my mind excited to meet these runners. Note: crazy eyes.
Of course the Trials in Eugene were unreal. Un.real. I'll let you peruse the blogs of July 2012 to find all those tidbits.
2. Eugene Half Marathon
For me this was a great race. It felt like a big stepping stone in my racing. It was the first time I entered a race as an elite member of Oiselle by doing so it the first time I stepped up and claimed the goals I have for the future.
3. I got married!
One week after the Totally Trials party I got married in a field in Vermont to my long time lovah, Owen. It was a great week of friends, family and festivities leading up to the day. And even included the only part of my wedding I'd ever envisioned as a youngen: a 5k with my family. My sister, brother and I all raced the Williston Firecracker 5k like we used to in our early years. The competition was as hot as always, but my sis and I finished the race holding hands. She is the only person on earth I would finish a race like that with, and ditto for her. MacKays are fighters. Our cousins even joined in the fun this year:
4. NYCM
We arrived days after Sandy left New York and the surrounding areas reeling. We came for a marathon that wasn't and we came with only the news that arrived as photos of a place across the vast country. We weren't prepared for a trip like this. The situation was enormous and we were teeny, tiny bystanders. It was a memorable trip and a defining moment. When you travel with someone in a bad situation you find out a lot about each other. What I'm happy to have found is my travelmates were as quality as I've always suspected. We all made the best of what we could while trying to help where we could.
I got to know Kate Grace and am still sad to know she's all the way across the country. But happy to get to see her often thanks to the wild world of Oiselle.
I also got a chance to meet other Oiselle teammates from far and wide there in NYC and throughout the year (in Houston, Eugene, NYC, Seattle, Portland, Tacoma). Which is what I loved about this year and look forward to next year. This last Sunday I ran with Runnerista (Stacy) and Allison Maxson and they both kept saying how exciting it had been to find the community of Oiselle. I agree! Where once I was alone in this crazy runner's dream, I now have all these sisters and friends and encouragers. The team keeps me inspired and motivated and I can't wait to see what's next in #Lucky13!
