I Swam In A Lake!

What are your highlights of 2018?

How do you decide what makes one situation or experience the most significant moment of any day, week, month or year?

Sometimes it's about a leap of faith, being out of your comfort zone, doing something you've never done before and might never do again. Occasionally it's something that is months in the planning and absolutely lives up to all expectations; or it can be a spur of the moment, catch a train at 6am and see what happens kind of moment. There are also those days where nothing really happens, but you're with special people who make you laugh and the rosy glow lasts far longer. It can be about personal fulfilment for an achievement all of your own doing or the special satisfaction that comes from team work or seeing special things happen in the lives of friends and family. It can be a book you read, a meal you eat, a place you visit, a film you see, a game you play or music you hear. It can be taking five minutes on a hectic day to take-in a beautiful view or a spectacular sunset. It can be learning a new skill or creating something out of nothing. It can be finding a bar with an open fire and 2-for-1 cocktails. And sometimes, it's just about getting through a difficult time with your head held high and a renewed sense of purpose.

Looking back over the last 12 months, I can reflect on lots of highlights covering all those categories and more...

• A trip Berlin 15 months in the planning which included Sunday Brunch high above the city in the rotating restaurant at the Fernsehturm, walking across the Glienicke Bridge in the footsteps of spies and learning about some of the most significant moments of recent history.
• Days and nights out with friends who make me smile and keep me sane - a race weekend to Anglesey, cocktails in the snow in Manchester, winning big at the bingo, a day-trip to London, a walk around Rudyard Lake and a farewell trip to Liverpool
• Completing 5 laps in 24 hours at Thunder Run - in a year where injury and illness has dramatically curbed my running, this gives me a real sense of achievement.
• G&T Afternoon tea at Tea Junction in Douglas... a trip to the Isle of Man booked on a Tuesday, flying out on the following Thursday, home again on Saturday.
• Dancing like no one was watching to the amazing Black Sheiks at the parkrun Ambassadors Conference - also a perfect excuse for fancy dress.
• Nostalgia and more nostalgia with gigs by A-ha in Berlin, OMD and A-ha in Doncaster, OMD again in Liverpool and Deacon Blue in Cardiff, plus the spine-tingling singing of Calon Lan at the Principality Stadium (and Wales won).
• A hotel room with a seaview and amazing coffee machine in Trieste.
• 31 parkruns completed, including my fastest time since 2014, taking us from Berlin to the Isle of Man and incorporating a special 100th celebration for George at Gedling (lots of hills).
• Watching the bottle kilns.
• Early starts, late nights, paperwork and lots of meetings - supporting 4 teams of amazing volunteers to launch new parkrun events and then watching them flourish.
• Swimming in the lake at Boundary Water Park... I don't really like swimming, I'm not very good at it and I generally get scared in open water and I was only supposed to be meeting Kaye for coffee and a catch-up when I woke up that morning. Completely out of my comfort zone, thanks to Kirsten and Jen for the encouragement and support; I swam in a lake!
• Getting home for Christmas and spending hours and hours playing UNO, trying on silly shoes and making a mess with false nails and finally getting a cuddly Kermit.

2018 in pictures

So that was my 2018... some brave moments, some quiet moments, some spectacular moments and some special moments. But something has been missing... I love writing but I somehow forgot to write. No travel stories, creative conversations or running adventures shared all year.

So whatever highlights are to come in 2019, I'm going to do my best to write about them. I've procrastinated in my perfectionism and worried about good enough for too long. It's time to move.

I've challenged myself to post at least once every week for throughout 2019. There will be posts about running, crafting, travelling, random facts, Gin, parkrun, coaching, volunteering... in fact, about everything I love doing. And I'll try and keep them brief!

Here's to 2019.