A wicked end to 2024 and starting my yoga journey
85 days since the Chicago Marathon
What is this feeling? (It’s excitement for a new year!)
Happy New Year, everyone!
I hope you all had a cozy and joy-filled end to 2024. I spent time with friends and family, read some great books, made and ate yummy food and saw Wicked (twice) in theaters.
I want to thank you all again for your support leading up to the Chicago Marathon in October. I can’t believe it’s been a year since I began training for the marathon, and a year since my first blog post. And, two years since I signed up for my first 10K! Two years ago, running 6 miles felt like a huge feat. Today, I’m a marathoner.
It’s been fun to hear from other friends who got into running in the last year or so, too. I’m cheering for all of you and want to hear about your training and race days, your highs and lows and everything in between. You got this!
I feel like I am happier, healthier and more sure of myself than ever before as we settle into this new year. Running has helped me get to this point, and I’m so grateful.
You all know I love goals and lists, so of course I make resolutions this time of year. This time around, though, I have a softer approach. I am making space for rest and fun resolutions alongside some more ambitious goals. Here’s a few things I wrote down for 2025:
Make pasta from scratch.
Run 1,000 miles.
Finish watching The Sopranos.
Read 50 books.
Run or walk in all of Cincinnati’s parks.
Go to the beach.
Host a dinner party.
Watch all of this year’s Oscar-nominated films.
I’m also doing dry January again, and I started yoga teacher training over the weekend. The other students in my cohort are so kind and thoughtful, and I’m lucky to be learning alongside them.
Embarking on my yoga journey: ‘Why is nobody breathing?!’
Speaking of yoga teacher training, one of my first assignments was an essay about what yoga means to me and why I practice. I thought I’d share a condensed version of what I wrote here:
When I was in college, studying theatre, my acting professor introduced us to basic yoga movements. We started each class moving through sun salutations together, and over the course of a semester each of us had to lead at least one practice.
I didn’t think much about yoga as a form of self-care at that time. It was something I was required to do for class. Like many college students, I was self-conscious about my body at times and fixated on the things I couldn’t do well. I wasn’t very flexible, for instance, and it didn’t take much for me to lose my balance. I remember my professor remarking about the tension I held in my hips and how all of us, not just me, needed to work on our breath. During an acting exercise, my classmates and I will never forget her pausing everything to yell, “Why is nobody breathing?!”
After I graduated and started working in breaking news, yoga became a time to settle my racing thoughts, stretch out muscles tight and sore from hours of sitting in front of my computer and just breathe.
I still didn’t feel like I was “good” at yoga. I didn’t feel much more flexible or balanced than I had in college. But I loved it. And as I grew to incorporate it into my weekly and then nearly daily routine, it didn’t matter at all if I was “good” at yoga or not. I came to understand that there’s no such thing as being “good” at yoga anyways. My younger sister, who teaches yoga in Illinois, reminds me of this often.
When I practice yoga today, it feels sacred. I am able to strip myself bare of all insecurities and frustrations and look inwards. Through breath and movement, I find the pieces of myself that need extra love and care. I practice so that I can see myself fully — all of the imperfections, anxieties and complicated emotions that come with life — and love myself anyways.
Runner’s log
I ran one time last week: 2 miles on New Year’s Day. I’ve had a cold since then and it’s been snowy and frigid in 2025 so far. Hoping for better weather so I can lace up and run again soon — hopefully with my new running buddies!
I ran with some new groups post-marathon and loved getting to chat with friends new and old while hitting the pavement.
Oliver and I also ran the Egg Nog Jog in Mount Adams with my friend Katie, back in December. I love this event and the silly costumes people wear. Races like this make it so much easier to stay active in chilly weather!
What are you reading?
I’ve made “read 50 books” a resolution for several years now. I’ve never hit 50, but I’ve read some amazing books. I definitely appreciate quality over quantity when it comes to this goal, but I do hope that one of these years I get to 50!
Two of my favorite reads in 2024 — and, probably in my top 10 favorite books of all time — came at the end of the year:
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney.
What about you? What were your favorite page turners from 2024? Please let me know! And have a joyful start to your 2025.
Sending love and light to you all.
xoxo,
mad mitch