Happy Thanksgiving, you gorgeous land mermaids, you.
Who is this, you ask? I’m the runner who used to blog in this space but have accidentally been MIA for more than a month now. Surprise! I didn’t die! Even if Nov. 8 brought me precipitously close…
Why have I gone missing, only to resurface on the most delicious and decadent day of the year? Well, you could say I’ve been a little busy since early October.
I bought a house. 
I raced a half marathon. 
I sampled every wine on the north fork and lived to tell the tale. 
And I feel like there was something else competing for my time this month but I just can’t put my (bejeweled) finger on it…
From bridal showers and bachelorette parties to barre classes and Baltimore trips, this season (brought to you by the letter B) has been busy indeed.
I wouldn’t have traded it for anything, but the only way I survived was by finally admitting to myself I couldn’t, in fact, have it all. I could plan a great wedding, but I had to give up the DIY Pinterest fantasy. I could race a 1:51 half marathon my wedding week, but I had to let go of my PR dreams. I could get eight hours of sleep a night all autumn long, but I had to allow this blog to go eerily quiet for quite some time.
Being ok with not having it all is the antithesis of my entire existence, but it was also a useful reminder about what’s important in life: slowing down, choosing battles, prioritizing friends and family, and always saying yes to champagne.
In fact, I even got to put that newly minted lesson to good use at this morning’s local turkey trot. The old “gotta have it all” Anne would have gone out sprinting in an effort to score a new PR, but the new me knew I couldn’t vie for a medal AND spend some quality time on Thanksgiving morning with my mother and brother. So even though I started off strong at a 7:45 pace, when I came upon my friends handing out turkey-day mimosas at mile 2, I did the once unthinkable: I stopped, I hugged everyone, and I waited for my family to round the corner so we could finish the race together.
I expect once my life settles down, I’ll resume blogging with some frequency, but if I don’t, know it’s because I’m off prioritizing other things for the time being, and that’s ok, too. We can’t always have it all — except when we’re talking about Thanksgiving Day pie — in which case, I demand you have it all, or at least a sliver of every option.
See you all when we’re seven pounds heavier. xo
Riled Up Runner 