2015 in Review

New Year’s is almost upon us and with it the end of a memorable 2015. We thought we’d take a look back and highlight some great memories.

Our year began with a headline, literally:

Canton-Potsdam Hospital welcomes 2015’s first baby

POTSDAM — It’s becoming somewhat of a tradition for Travis and Jennifer to welcome a new addition to their family around the turn of the New Year.

Jennifer gave birth to St. Lawrence County’s first baby at 8:29 a.m. Friday at Canton-Potsdam Hospital, after all of the other area hospitals’ delivery rooms were quiet on New Year’s Day.

Peyton Leigh has an older brother, Parker, who was a New Year’s Day baby back in 2012. Parker was the third baby born in St. Lawrence County in 2012.

Our wealth in life is not measured by the money in our bank account but with the people we have in our lives. Jen and I are blessed with amazing, smart, loving and caring children who truly make our lives complete. Although we know in our hearts we are done having children, I’m sure we will miss beginning our year in the hospital.

In March, a few short weeks before starting our blog, the better half and I traveled across the state to watch a once in a lifetime musical act – Garth Brooks. We are both fans of country music and Garth epitomizes the best of the genre. He did not disappoint and any future acts we see will have a lot to live up to.

April brought the start of Tale of 2 Halfs and it has been a learning experience along the way. What do we share, what stays private, how do we get people interested and keep them entertained? These are all questions we faced and are still working on answers to. Suggestions are appreciated.

May is a wonderful time of the year in the Northeast when the weather gets warmer as the days get longer. It’s also the start of racing “season” – although many wonderful races happen before this point in the year. We traveled to Buffalo and participated in the half marathon over Memorial weekend and were able to meet an absolute icon in the running community, Mr. Bart Yasso. June arrived swiftly and ushered in marathon training. With the start of training for the Chicago Marathon for Travis, it essentially ended the running year for Jen. My wife sacrificed almost a whole year to allow me to pursue a dream. Her full support and encouragement made the accomplishment even more unforgettable.

July was a very busy month as Jen and I held our inaugural Piece by Piece 5K benefiting Team Up with Autism Speaks. We had a great turnout and are actually already planning next year’s event. We also traveled to our home state of Michigan and ran the Canal Run half marathon in our hometown area. Parker was even able to get another race under his belt as he ran the kids dash.

August was an intense month of training for me (Travis) and culminated with the 18.12 Challenge at the end of the month. A top 10 finish and a 7:00 min/mile pace proved my training was paying off for the Chicago Marathon. Meanwhile Jen was still a ‘marathon training widow.’

September saw the end of summer and brought cooler, shorter days. It also was the start to our sons first year in school. Parker broke our hearts when he walked into school like a champ and never showed any nerves or hesitation. He’s doing great and has learned so much in the first few months.

October was the culmination of 18 weeks of training and fundraising with a family trip to Chicago. With a goal time of 3:15:00, I ultimately fell two and half minutes short, but still finished with a personal best time by taking over 18 minutes off my previous best. This race was everything I had hoped for and it was made more special by having family there cheering me on. I look forward to returning next year as Jen runs her first marathon.

On the 1st of November, I completed my running season at the New York City Marathon. It was now time to recover and give my wife a much needed vacation. Jen would travel to Hilton Head, South Carolina for a girl’s weekend of sightseeing, relaxation and good food. This trip was her first time being away from the kids overnight. She would later say it felt like she was missing a body part for the first few days while she adjusted to this new sense of freedom.

And finally, December brought a new training cycle to our house, this time for Jen. She is beginning to get back into running form as she prepares for a big year. She’s excited to be a brand ambassador for the first time for NUUN and is looking forward to running her first marathon (I think). In other news, I also just learned that I will get to be apart of Team SLS3 for 2016.

2015 sure gave us plenty to be grateful for. We sometimes get caught up in life and loose sight of what is important. Our individual accomplishments are great, but mean more when celebrated with family. That’s what we hoped you gained by reading the Tale of 2 Halfs this year. Hopefully, you stay with us in 2016.

We hope you have a blessed new year.