One year ago yesterday, I woke up and decided to redeem a free birthday class at Uplift, a studio I’d heard a ton about but never tried, despite it being just a short walk from my apartment.

I walked out of class and just had that feeling that day wouldn’t be like every other…and I was right.

I received bad news that day. I met my mom for lunch at the Meatball Shop, and spent the rest of the evening shuttling between different groups of friends seeking solace…and wine. 

I knew things would get better, but it was hard to see then.

I saw this post from Bex today, and it was so true. Once I embraced this sort of thinking last summer, things turned around fairly quickly.

One year later, I have to pinch myself for how much my life has changed for the better. 

I learned who in my life was truly wonderful, and made and rekindled all kinds of connections through that harrowing job search. 

And good lord, I don’t take a single thing for granted now. I’ve never worked for a company where I truly, truly believed in the company and its success the way I do now. I interviewed for a similar job at a similar startup last summer, and while I liked the job description and the people I met, something just didn’t click, and if you don’t fully sip the Kool-Aid at a start-up, you’ll have a really hard time there.

Uplift and I worked out a two-month partnership for me to review my experience here, and I got much more than some free endorphin highs out of it. I got new friends and another Cheers spot! (Dear reader who came up to me to say hi: I was feeling sick all day, so apologies for being weird.) I’ve also since purchased many, many more classes and training sessions than I ever got for free.

I’m wondering what my next challenge will be in the near future. I have a bigger challenge I’m eyeing in the fall, but for now, I do need to get back to some running and cardio. I have a bunch of races coming up, and while I’m not gunning for PRs, I would like to not die. I don’t know if I’ll do unlimited classes again as the weather’s starting to get warmer, but it will be pretty hard for me to stay away from Uplift.

Either way, I’m really happy now, and things are only getting better: my Junior League Winter Ball is next weekend and then I’m going to LA the following weekend for my Propel photo shoot! 

What’s awesome in your life right now? How have things changed from where you were a year ago? Oh, and super random question: my favorite probiotic, New Chapter Organic All-Flora are apparently delayed in production, and my stomach is not HAPPY. Do any of y’all have a fave probiotic??

I met Heather from Relentless Forward Commotion at the Runner’s World Half. I admired her toughness and her passion for running.

But even more, I admired her blog name, and what it implied. Just. move. forward.

In life, and in fitness, so much of success comes from just pushing through and getting yourself to the other side.

Because you have no other choice.

It’s this daily commitment to chipping away at your goals, one day at a time, until you’ve knocked a huge block off.

This strength challenge hasn’t been easy for me. I’ve been busting my ass at Uplift, taking several classes a week, picking up heavier weights, pushing myself harder.

I wasn’t seeing results, and I was frustrated. I talked to Michelle, began looking at the situation objectively, and started moving forward. It was all I could do.

In class yesterday, Kat said something about us being almost done with the challenge, that she could see the weariness on our faces.

But I’m just hitting my stride. I kept moving forward, and something finally clicked.

BRB, time to go to sleep so I can keep getting stronger. This feels like the part of every marathon training cycle when it goes from being really hard to being really satisfying. This is when the fun happens. When I’m zeroed in on my goal, and all I can think of is the reasons I can, not the reasons I can’t.

Am I the only weirdo who feels this shift – when you really go big and zero in on your goals?