Hello beautiful souls and happy new year!

I hope you’re enjoying the beginning of this new year. We’re now 2 weeks in, but have you taken the time to reflect on this past year and set intentions for 2024?

As I was reflecting on 2023 I realized that the prior year brought a delightful twist into my life, which actually started in the fall of 2022. My childhood friend, Gretchen, and I decided it was high time to make spending more time together a top priority. I reside in Southern California, and she's up in Northern California, so we used to meet up just a few times a year. However, during the fall in 2022, we enjoyed an incredible long weekend in Sonoma, CA. We hiked, shopped, dined out, caught a movie, and even indulged in a spa day. It was pure bliss! On our last morning in Sonoma, as we set out for one final hike under the sunny sky, we realized right then and there that we needed to do this more often. Now that our children are older we’ve been granted a newfound freedom, making weekend getaways easier.

We decided to start meeting up monthly, which is a lot more often than we used to see each other; as well as deciding to make the focus of our weekends together to be active. Hiking and running became our go-to activities, helping us stay accountable, motivated, and focused on self-care. Each month, we'd either participate in organized 10k races or enjoy scenic runs in beautiful locations. When Gretchen visits me, we often hike my favorite trails and run along the Malibu beach, and when I visit her we often run with her running group on beautiful eastbay trails. Our favorite races to participate in are the She Is Beautiful runs that take place in Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz.

Let me tell you, this has been a game-changer for me. I’m always looking forward to our next weekend together, knowing they're right around the corner. I leave our weekends feeling fulfilled and inspired. The outside accountability for exercise has worked wonders for me. While I had typically stuck to comfortable activities like hiking, light running, walking, and yoga, committing to four 10k races a year with Gretchen has pushed me to step up my game. This has allowed me to realize that I’m capable of so much more, and it has super charged my daily commitment to staying active.

Running has definitely been my refuge during tough times this past year. The repetitive motion of running has a meditative quality that quiets my mind and soothes my soul. I originally discovered its mood-lifting and therapeutic benefits back in college. And at the time I felt like it was the most effective way to balance my mood (This was before I knew anything about EFT Tapping). But I stopped running while I was battling breast cancer in my early 30s, and switched my focus to yoga. I’ve found yoga to be so grounding and help me be in the moment, but running has a unique impact on my mood, leaving me calm yet energized, with enhanced mental clarity, it’s unlike anything else. Truthfully, it's not always this way, and there are plenty of days when I'd rather skip it, but I remind myself of my upcoming runs with Gretchen, and it gives me the power to get through those tough days. Even on the toughest days, once I hit my stride, it's like hitting the reset button.

As I look ahead to 2024, I'm determined to keep prioritizing my monthly weekends with Gretchen, and we've already signed up for four 10k races!

I'm sharing this with you in hopes to inspire you to make a new commitment in this new year. One that fills you up, keeps you accountable to your goals and leaves you feeling fulfilled.

Now’s a perfect opportunity to reflect on this last year to see if there’s something in your life that you want more of this next year. How can you make it more of a priority, and keep yourself accountable?

Much love and gratitude,

Trina

Here’s some pics from our runs in 2023. What’s been super fun is that my oldest daughter, Maddie, joined us for a few runs, Gretchen’s daughter also joined us for a run, and we also had other friends who joined us on some runs too!

You won't believe what got me through 2023