A Quick 2011 Recap

Happy New Year! It's been a while since I've written, mostly because I've been on vacation visiting family in Texas. I have been very inspired reading my favorite bloggers recap their year; while I don't want to go into great details, I would like to do the same.

For the most part, 2011 was a great year for me and my family. The one awful part was my daughter being in the hospital for 10 days. She had gone in to get her stoma closed (the hole in her neck where her tracheostomy, or breathing tube, used to be) but had horrible complications in the recovery room when her lung collapsed. She was put in a medicated coma, and was on a ventilator for over a week; she was even in ICU during her 5th birthday. However, she pulled through, and is doing great. So, boo for the unexpected, extended hospital stay, but yay for her finally being able to swim and take a bubble bath for the first time! That horrible chapter of her life was finally put to a close.

Overall, everything else in 2011 was great!

• I completed 4 triathlons (the Super Seal Sprint, the Spring Sprint, the Mission Bay Sprint, and my first-ever Olympic-distance triathlon, the San Diego Classic).
  
• I completed 6 half marathons (Carlsbad, Safari Park, Rock 'n' Roll San Diego, Long Beach, Silver Strand and Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas).
• I proved to myself just how much of an endurance athlete I am by pushing my body further than I ever had before.
  
• I qualified for the Half Fanatics by doing 3 half marathons in 57 days! #1642 here!
• I covered about 1684 miles. 600 miles running, 682 miles biking, 73 miles swimming, 30 miles walking (walking the dog), 42 miles on the elliptical, 257 on the spin bike.
• We got our first dog, Padfoot!
• My daughter, A, is thriving in kindergarten! She finally potty trained and is now reading!
• My son, D, is doing great in 2nd grade. One highlight with him this year has been reading him the Harry Potter series out loud. We started with book 1 in February, and are now in the middle of book 7. He also ran his first 5k with me!
• Last year I started an educational foundation at D's elementary school. This past year we raised over $35,00. I am very proud of that.
• I got to run in some neat places, like Boston, Portland, San Francisco, Houston and Dallas (aside from the races I did).

I look forward to 2012; it should be a great year. I will most likely write a goals post about 2012 soon. I hope it's as fulfilling to me as last year was!