New Year's Mud Slingin'

It's that time of year again.

The time of year when everybody decides this is their only chance to make an effort to improve themselves.

The time of year when the average person resolves to do something better and gives up after about two weeks. Guess they'll have to wait another 350 days before they can try something like THAT again.

The time of year when I remind my friends and family that it really doesn't work that way, blah blah blah, we can do this all year long, yada yada yada, self improvement, year-round, etc quid pro quo ad finitum ad nauseum affinitas smorgasbord electric purple monkey gorilla.

Or something to that effect. Yes, I am cynical regarding new year's resolutions. Are they a bad idea? Absolutely not. Are they WAY too limiting? YES!!!

Can we just add MORE of these days to our calendar year? Can we get rid of Valentine's Day, Flag Day, and Columbus Day and replace them with "Hey People, Make Some More Resolutions" Day? Heck, I'll even give up my own birthday. From now on, I relinquish all celebratory rights on October 6th so that everyone can take a moment, collect their thoughts, contemplate the person they wished they were, and once again resolve to be that person?

This is also the time of year when Yours Truly reflects on the previous calendar year of his life and considers what he has accomplished, what goals he has aspired to and met/not met. He does this in the most honest and self-reflective way possible and is often especially insistent on pointing out his own shortcomings. Some of you find that refreshing, apparently.

So...2010, what the hell were you all about?

For one, I gained some new titles with which I can now use to refer to myself. Among them are: Ironman, Ultramarathoner, trail runner, nursing school student, 30-something, 4D club member(alive in 4 different decades...80's, 90's, 00's, and 10's) and Bad Uncle. Yes, it has been over a year since I've seen my nephew and nieces.

Hmmm, as far as athletic stats for you numbers people: 1781 total miles covered. Ran 585 miles(200+ on trails), biked 1186 miles, swam 11 miles. Some of you might have noticed that I did an Ironman this year. You may ask how I got away with swimming only 11 miles in the same year I did an Ironman. I have no answer for you. Sorry. For anyone interested, this year I switched to www.dailymile.com to keep track of all this stuff. I recommend it!

Races I completed: a few 5ks, 2 half marathons, a half Ironman, an Olympic tri, a full Ironman, a 50k trail race(my first ultra), a handfull of shorter trail races, and a 30k trail race. I added 8 new finisher medals to my wall. I also participated in the MS Ride(180 miles) after raising over $2000, putting me just barely into the top 50 fundraisers for the year. I'm hoping to do it again next year. http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/dloental2011

More importantly for me are the other people in my life who have followed my lead and taken up sport. My brother ran his first half marathon, his first triathlon, and has recently begun trail running as well. He has plans to complete a half ironman and a full marathon next year. This year my father ran his first 10k and has plans to run his first half marathon next year. Many of my friends, some of which attribute at least part of their inspiration to me, have completed first half and full marathons as well as various distances of triathlon. Many have sought my advice for training and racing as well.

Academically, I continued to achieve success that still manages to boggle the minds of my friends and family, who ponder "Where is Danny and who is this guy that looks like him, yet gets good grades?" I finished up my nursing school prerequisites during spring and summer at Rockhurst University, achieving all A's and one B. The first trimester at Research College of Nursing hit a few weeks later like a ton of bricks. The phrase "drinking from the firehose" was constantly on my mind. The adjustment to the level of work required was a rude awakening, but after our first round of classes I felt I had a grasp on things. Then our workload roughly doubled as we added new classes and clinical rotations to the mix. There was a point where I was dangling over academic oblivion and a few test questions one way or the other would decide between success and failure.

To my knowledge, 6 out of roughly 80 of my classmates were unable to make the cut and have been sent packing. I only mention this because many of us know, in the back of our minds, "That could have been me if I had only missed a few more questions." Gradewise, I ended up with A's in Foundations, Assessment, and Pharmacology(YES!), and B's in Mental Health, Professional Concepts, and Adult Health. Both of my clinical rotations received "Satisfactory" status. So I've got that going for me, which is nice. Interesting factoid: My most stressful month of school was November. My highest monthly running total was 85 miles...in November. Go figure.

Aside from my recent trip to San Francisco to visit my brother, the only traveling I did was for races. I spent a weekend in Galveston for the 1/2 Ironman, and a week in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for the Ironman.

A few of my good friends got married this year, including a girl I once thought I would marry. I was an usher in one wedding, briefly featured entertainment at another(humpty hump) and attending another one provided me closure to a very painful chapter in my own personal life.

Speaking of personal life, I began 2010 in a very difficult spot. It took me several more months to come to some very important realizations and admit to some hard truths. She was happier with him, and I truly was happy for her. Riding the wave of ups and downs training for some very big races defined the majority of my spring and summer, with the obvious climax being crossing the finish line in Coeur d'Alene. An astounding drop in morale followed immediately, but eventually I reached an equilibrium in time to begin school. There were more ups and downs that followed the course of my academic progress, but in November I faced a harsh bout of depression. My own mental health was brought under scrutiny as I debated seeing a therapist and possibly going on meds if things didn't improve. Ultimately, I found that I have some amazing friends in my life who were able to help me dig myself out of that hole. Some of those friends are people who stayed up past their bedtimes to listen to me talk myself stupid. Some of them were my trail running buddies with whom no words whatsoever were exchanged, but they allowed me an outlet from my daily grind. To everyone who helped me...family, friends, classmates, running buddies...I thank you for everything you've done to see me through the tough times, and for your support and congratulations during the amazing times!

So...heading into 2011, what now? I make no resolutions on this particular day, but if I think of any at a later date, I'll just make them then. I will say that I have a modest list of things I'd like to accomplish this year. 50k in February, half marathon with Dad in April, trail marathon later in April, KC Tri in May, Kansas Half Iron in June. In the fall, if I don't get into the NYC Marathon lottery, I'd consider running a 50 miler as my big race for the year. If all goes according to plan, I'll graduate from nursing school in August, and hopefully have a month or so to decompress before I begin my new career. Beyond that, it's all up in the air.

I am excited for the upcoming year, not because it is labeled differently, but because the future always holds promise, whether it is January 1st or Febtober 27th. So many days of the year seem humdrum if you forget that fact. Always look to your own future and realize that You determine the course of events, rather than just being a bystander watching your life unfold.

So that got a little more philosophical than I originally intended. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of editing/rewriting, so you'll just have to deal with it.

I wish the best to all of you in the upcoming trip around the sun.

"2011: It will have characteristics of something that rhymes with eleven!"

DRL