I took a break from blogging for a bit. To catch you up on what I’ve been up to here’s my top 10 list of where Sara’s been:

1. I got married on Friday the 13th of April.

2. I decided to change my last name from Dalton to Sawochka. I didn’t want any bad memories linked to my former last name.

3. I’ve been competing in triathlons. I’ve done four so far—three sprint distances and one Olympic distance.

4. I went on my honeymoon to Colorado with my new husband.

5. I’ve signed up and started training for the Disney marathon with Pete. We are up to 4.5 miles on the long runs. The longest run we do together will be 28 miles. We are planning to run past the marathon distance so that psychologically we know we can do the 26.2 miles on race day.

6. I’ve been working my vegan ways on Pete. I make a smoothie every morning with cocoa powder, ice, berries, bananas, chia seeds and coconut milk and offer him some and he always takes me up on it. We’ve also been able to agree on a cooked meal every week—stir fries have been awesome for us. Pete has a hand-hammered cast iron wok that has been setting around collecting dust so I’ve decided to put it to good use. We use tofu instead of chicken or beef and lots of veggies with some kind of noodle and we have dinner for two for the week. Two out of three meals for Pete are vegan. I’m so happy with that!

7. I’m still a mouthy vegan. People tell me how sorry they are that I’m a vegan and I’ll tell them that it’s their loss, not mine.

8. I’ve convinced someone else to do triathlons next season! Pete has decided to join me in Sprint distances next season. He has been to all four of my races taking pictures and can tell you everything you want to know about triathlons even though he hasn’t done one yet. It just goes to show you can learn a lot from watching and also gain a lot of desire to want to pursue something too by watching it too.

9. I’ve discovered that I really like racing! Last year I spent all summer training and did one race. This year I’ve done 4 triathlons so far and 1 trail running race and have decided that I like including the racing as part of my training. When I train for my first half Ironman next year I plan to include several sprint and Olympic distance races along the way. Just training is flat out boring. It’s fun to be where the action is.

10. I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I’m not happy at my current job and I’m trying to figure out what a good career path would be. Foreclosing on people’s homes in a petty office environment just isn’t where I want to be anymore. I’m ready to grow and move on.

I’ve done a lot of growing and learning and changing in the last few months. I’ve had some exciting times (like my wedding and honeymoon) and also some humbling experiences (like finishing nearly last at Leon’s Olympic Distance triathlon) but I’m still here and I’m still going and trying and at the end of the day I know I did my best and have given it all I’ve got. And that’s what really matters most!

Sara