2025 and the big five-O

What a year! As I sit here and reflect, I can only be thankful that I'm ending the year with zero injuries, feeling in great aerobic shape and filled with happy memories of all of the travel and adventures I squeezed into the year I turned 50. My joints are a bit achy, but other than that, I can't complain.

It was a rare cold winter- cold enough that in January, our local pond froze over and it was so much fun to walk around on the ice and take my daughter ice skating. I challenged myself to learn how to snowboard and was able to get down the bunny hill. It was so cool to watch my daughter get good enough to get some runs in, and I ultimately switched back to skis so that I could keep up with her.

In February, I successfully became a coffee Q grader and actually really loved the coffee and food in Houston where I took my exams. The Vietnamese food there was the best I've ever had and all of the coffees at Luce Coffee Roasters I had during the practice and exams were truly unique. Running in Houston humidity and heat was good heat-training.

In March, happy made its Natural Products West debut. This is a huge trade show and I worked the booth pretty much the entire time I was there. With Jin as my guide, I also got to run at Griffith Park and get a fun view from behind the "Hollywood" sign. Really fun to check that off as a bucket list run. I also flashed my first 11 b/c at Rockville.

In April, I went on my first coffee origin trip to Colombia and it's a trip that I'll never forget. The landscape was breathtaking, the farmers were so friendly and hard-working and it was amazing to spend time with work friends taking in the local culture, coffee and cuisine. Limonada de coco is now my new favorite summer-time drink.

Throughout the spring, my middle son and I learned how to throw pottery. It was really great to be able to spend a few hours in class with him and then chat over lunch after class. Ultimately, I ended up with a nice matcha whisking bowl and another bowl that I rarely use. My mug mysteriously disappeared. Presumably, it exploded in the kiln. Charlie ended up with two little cups. We both decided that pottery isn't our thing, but it was still something fun to learn and try.

Having the Grand Canyon R2 as a birthday adventure looming in May, training looked very different for the first few months of the year. I did a lot more hiking and spent a lot of time on the stadium stairs. Training paid off and Chris and I successfully completed the journey from the South Rim to the North Rim during my birthday month. In that same week, I added enough miles to make it a 50 mile week to celebrate my birthday with local friends, running loops at Mountain Lakes.

I had many proud Mom moments, but one in particular stood out. My oldest son got an internship in Illinois and in June, I dropped him off at the airport and watched him go through security on his own. This was his first time traveling without us. I got a little sad, knowing I wouldn't see him for the entire summer, but was so proud of him for landing a very competitive material sciences internship and for living on his own for the summer.

Also in June, my Mom and sisters treated me to a fun belated birthday in Manhattan. We had omakase sushi, did the Summit One Vanderbilt experience and dinner and dessert in Koreatown.

In July, we had our family vacation to Costa Rica (minus my oldest son), which was a fabulous trip. Wildlife, delicious food, coffee, chocolate, wild zip-lining, fun tubing and awesome landscapes. We all really loved that trip. Minus the sketchy driving on unpaved roads, I would say it was one of my most favorite trips of all time.

In August, my middle son and I went to Brooklyn for his 16th birthday. We spent a few luxurious days exploring the botanical garden and walking the neighborhoods. I was able to experience Summer Streets- running across the Brooklyn Bridge past Grand Central Station and doing a mini coffee tour. I also checked out the Brooklyn Mile and my son and I had fun in DUMBO, walking through the Brooklyn Flea and walking along the piers, stopping at the Timeout Market for lunch. Just one week after this trip, Chris and I went to the Brooklyn Paramount to see one of my favorite bands, Death Cab for Cutie- playing the entirety of their album "Plans". It was during this trip that I was able to partake in some of the best coffee on the planet in Bushwick with visits to SEY and Dayglow. Later in August during a work trip, I was able to check out the coffee scene in Chicago. The highlight was definitely making my own pour over at the Rockford Roasting Co. and enjoying it with the most delicious vegan sundried tomato and spinach scone.

September brought another belated birthday celebration. My sister treated me to a trip to Boulder, CO. We experienced high altitude hiking in Nederland, hiked the Walker Ranch loop, climbed the Third Flatiron and climbed a classic multi-pitch route in Eldorado Canyon. Loved the food and the air of Boulder. Would definitely like to go back and spend more time climbing and running/hiking trails.

October brought me to a trade show in Vegas and got to spend a day climbing in Red Rock. Couldn't really ask for a better day. Weather was perfect and had a blast climbing a multi-pitch classic. Super unique. Running in the desert is always a favorite.

Fall training went really well. I got in tons of gym-climbing and leveled up my endurance. I did a 12 week build with the intention of running a 50 miler, but in the end ran between 33-34 miles instead at the NYC Trail Mix race. I feel like I should try to figure out the 50 mile distance, but at the moment, the thought of running 20+ mile training runs is daunting.

At the moment, training feels good. I'm enjoying maintaining aerobic fitness, building some power with hill work, getting stronger on the bike trainer and leading a winter running club that I started with another Mom at my daughter's school. For 2026, I don't have any goals in mind yet, but I've been looking into trail running adventures- perhaps jumping in solo for a week long trip where the group runs 10ish miles a day somewhere beautiful. I'd of course love to run in the Dolomites, or Iceland, or Patagonia. Too many choices! A climbing friend of ours has raved about the Great Range Traverse in the Adirondacks, so that might be a fun summer hiking adventure to work towards. As far as family trips go, we are thinking about Paris in summer and maybe Taiwan next winter if my parents are there. Going back to Boulder next summer or fall and doing some easy lead-climbing would be great as well and I'll probably have the opportunity to climb in Red Rock again next October. Finally, I'd love to run the NYC Marathon- hoping one of our work partners can get myself and some work running friends in. That would be fun to train for.

This aging body is definitely still hungry for more adventures, but I'm also trying to cherish these years while my teenagers are still in the house. That means slowing down, being around in case they want to talk to me and collectively oooing and awwing at how cute our two cats are. I once again achieved the goal of doing something active every day this year. I actually ramped down the number of days I run each week, but I think I might actually be fitter as a result. At this point in life, longevity is the goal. I still think I can get stronger. I might never be faster, but I'm good with that.

Final stats for the year according to Strava (as of 12/28/2025):

• ran 1091 miles

• hiked 436 miles

• climbed 139h 52m

• biked 476 miles

• strength/mobility training 30h 19m

• 140,862 ft total elevation