Why hello, and Happy New Year! I haven’t shared an update on Run with No Regrets since February 2024, which means that I’ve been away for almost 2 years?! If you remember me, you know that I ALWAYS have a lot to talk about LOL, so I’m going to take advantage of Deborah and Coco’s Ultimate Coffee Date to catch you up on as much as possible!
Ultimate Coffee Date – January 2026
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…that I feel like I’m taking a real leap by getting back into blogging. At the end of 2024, I decided to step away from social media, especially Instagram, and have limited sharing information on Facebook. To be honest, the running influencer world was getting to be too much for me and my mental health with the never-ending content and constant need to “perform”. I ended my longtime relationship with BibRave, unfollowed a lot of people, and made my IG page private. And yet, over the past few months, I’ve really missed what I’ve been able to create on this site, the blogging friends I’ve made (so happy to see so many of you are still doing this!!), and having a creative outlet. So I’m back, and I hope to get back to some reasonable consistency with posting!
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…that I’m so happy for a new year to be here. 2025, in so many ways, was VERY rough. I won’t dwell on the details (I’m sure you could guess), but I will say that I’m grateful to have January as a reset. I’ve always been a big fan of starting fresh, but I also know that I can get a little carried away, so I’m still working on establishing my plan for the year and trying not to make too many major changes at once. Do you have any goals for the year? Consistency is going to be one of my biggest themes for 2026.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…that things are going great on the fitness front! After some annoying injuries the past couple of years (minor stress fracture in summer 2024, ongoing Runner’s knee), I changed my footwear to more supportive shoes (Asics Gel Kayano…me in Asics? Who knew?!) and slowly built up to running, working with the fantastic Coach Laura who has always served me so well. I am running 2x/week around 30 minutes at a time and strength training 2x/week, and I’m really pleased with my progress. I’ve been able to focus on increasing my cadence which has really made me feel more efficient on my runs (170s vs. 150s), and doing lots more squats, lunges, and deadlifts to build lower body strength. Part of stepping away from the blog was feeling like I didn’t have much running to talk about, but I’m eager to share this phase of my training, especially as I approach my 15 year running anniversary!
If we were having coffee, I would tell you…the family is doing well. E is enjoying Kindergarten, which is unbelievable, right? We had trips to New Orleans and Jamaica last year and we had a great time. We’re looking forward to a fun year of travel in 2026, but one thing we do need to get back to is more family hikes on weekends! It was a lot easier when she would just ride on Bret’s back, haha!
What would you share over coffee? Happy New Year!
Welcome back!!! You should join the Weekly Rundown linkup (hosted every Sunday by Deborah and Kim). Lots of people join, and some of them don’t run at all- everyone is doing their own thing and it’s always interesting to read about. I think a lot of people would be interested in your journey back from injury.
How did you go about increasing your cadence? I’ve tried to do that a few times, and I always end up giving up on it. I think if I could do it, it would really help my form.
Your daughter is in kindergarten!!! She looks beautiful, and I love the family photo- you all look so happy.
Thank you, Jenny! I definitely plan to join the Weekly Rundown as often as I can! I always enjoy hearing what everyone is up to. Honestly with the cadence, I just forced myself to move my legs quicker and just really focus on it while running vs. zoning out like I sometimes do LOL.
ohhhh so so glad to see you again!! I totally get why you stepped back; I also am way less active on social media and having all the issues I’ve had over the last few years have also found it very hard to deal with the influencer thing that we are surrounded by. It’s hard to not be affected by it! 2025 was basically horrible for me mainly because my dad died and while the grief won’t be over in 2026, I’ve had two foot surgeries and am now hopeful to start running again this year!
I’m glad things are going well for you and E is already in kindergarten???? crazy!! you just had her LOL!!
So great to see you too! I’m so sorry for your loss, losing a parent is indescribable as an experience. I’m glad to hear you’ll be getting back to running soon!
Nice to see you back! Your daughter has gotten so big! That is a fun age. Glad you are feeling good and strong. Look forward to connecting agan
Thanks, Deborah! I’m glad to be back and be able to share updates again.
If we were having coffee… I’d order hot chocolate with caramel and whipped cream. I’d tell you 2025 was tough and I’m terribly excited for 2026! I believe we’re meant to return to our creative roots this year and pursue our passion projects. No more dreams deferred, our souls need nurturing. We have a cold winter to endure, but love will thaw. May hope spring eternal and wonders never cease!
Hi Chris, I’m really excited for this year too and yes, let’s embrace our creative gifts in the new year! Hoping all is well with you!
If we were having coffee…I would share :
-It was a nice surprise to see an email and post from you. Glad you and the family are doing well.
-I completely understand the step away….I was in no way on your level and felt the same pressures to keep up and quietly exited as I entered the blogging community
-I do not miss blogging
-I retired from playing flag football and miss it terribly. I am loving the expansion of the sport for young girls and looking for an opportunity to be involved in some way just dont know how yet.
-I have a high school Freshman and Senior and in awe of them every day!
Thanks for sharing a life update and coffee.
Happy New Year!!
Tamieka, so nice to hear from you and glad to hear that you’re doing well! That’s great that flag football is expanding for girls – you would be an awesome coach/mentor!
Ah, it’s great to see your post! Happy New Year!
I stepped away from the “commercial” side of blogging and pretty much stopped posting on IG. I’ve tried to keep following people on IG but the algorithm doesn’t show me much. I think they broke it.
I can’t believe E is 5 already! That is such a fun photo.
I was such a whiny kid when my Mom took me hiking — who knew I would grow to love it. 😉
Happy New Year! I’m so glad to be back and just getting back in the swing of things. This is the part of blogging I enjoy the most so I really appreciate this linkup 🙂
I hope E will appreciate all the hiking when she’s older lol! She definitely enjoys hiking play dates so we should probably do more of those.
It’s nice to have you back! It’s good to hear that you’re running again, and lifting to complement that running.
That’s such a nice family picture from your trip to Jamaica – your daughter is getting so big!
Thanks a lot, glad to be back! I know, I can’t believe how fast she’s growing!
Oh my goodness! Welcome back! It’s sooo good to see you!
I’m glad you took a break to care for your mental health, and I hope we get to see more of you!
Thanks a lot, Jenn! I’m glad to be back and it’s great to catch up with you too!
I miss what the blogging community felt like back in the 2010’s (same with social media too)! It’s changed so much since then that I don’t post all that often anymore. :[
I’m glad things are going well on the fitness front for you! Where will you be traveling this year?
It was a really fun – at least we have the memories…and we’re still here! We are going to Puerto and a few stops in Scandinavia this year!