Looking over my shoulder at 2011..


Another year behind us, and too many blessings to list. Seems like 2011 was filled with travel, training, lasting family memories and firsts of all sorts in our family.
As I think back about what was really, truly good about this past year, I have to include Heartland. Since attending that church in Rockford beginning in early 2010, Ann and I have been able to put our spiritual lives back on track and start the kids on their own as well. I can only speak for myself, but 2011 was what you might call a breakout year. There was Men's Fraternity and also our small group meetings in Roscoe early Friday mornings, and culminating with my baptism in October with several hundred other people. Recommitting myself to following His path has been refreshing, challenging and I know will ultimately be life changing. I've learned that you just can't flip a switch and starting walking down that path without any trouble, but declaring my intent to be more like Him provides the strength to stay at it. Anyway, that's something that has been really important to me this past year.
Our girls continue to amaze us - Addie is quickly catching up to Clare on the height chart, and is growing nicely into her own personality behind big sister. They both continue to excel in school and we are blessed with a great elementary school district with fantastic teachers. Clare, of course, keeps surpassing everyone's expectations and wows every teacher she meets. Addie mastered her bike last summer, so now we're ready for real family bike rides! They truly are both the loves of my life.
Ann's work has thrown all sorts of change ups her way this year, and she keeps coming out the other side of each one stronger and better prepared for the next. It's tough when there's not much a husband can do to fix things at work for his wife. Good thing she's so good at what she does - and I think her talents are really paying dividends in this new era at the Y. 
Now that her sister Sara has been bitten by the running bug, the two of them have a new favorite pastime - planning combo weekends that involve half and full marathons along with wine tasting and sightseeing. Not a bad gig, huh? I suppose after you tally up what Racine ultimately cost me, I shouldn't talk. Speaking of Racine, it was also a year of setting big goals and knocking them down. What seemed at this time last year as a monumental task full of opportunities for failure turned into what is perhaps the proudest moment in my life. After signing up to race in the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Racine, WI, I filled my late spring and early summer with training rides, runs and laps in the pool. And as July 17th creeped closer on the calendar, it started to seem like I was spending every minute of my free time either actually training, or just THINKING about training. Time certainly dims the memory of just how much it occupied my life - and I remember telling people that although the training was tough or exhausting at times, the hardest part was just spending the TIME to do it all. With the daunting distances I signed up for, I wasn't about to roll into Racine unprepared. Throughout the training I was hoping for just one thing to be on my side that day - light winds. I did NOT want to head out into 2-3 foot waves on Lake Michigan for the 1.2-mile swim to start the day. The thought of swimming in that kind of weather truly scared me. Lo and behold, it was sunny and the big lake was flat as a pancake on race day. Among the other things I'm truly grateful for that day are having my friends Steve and Gary to race with. Being able to start the day and even race alongside Gary on the run was more motivation than you can imagine. A quick fist bump on the beach as we prepared to swim was awesome. And making up the 10-minute deficit from the swim leg over the course of the bike portion was a big boost too. But I will never, ever forget those last few miles of the run. My leg strength came back, I had managed to stay hydrated and fueled despite the 95-degree heat, and I had a chance to reflect on all the training time, solo runs around Roscoe, early-morning swims, all that time I spent quietly dreading race day. Now I was just a few short miles from completing it. Strong. It was a euphoria I can't describe. I suppose that's why people keep coming back to endurance events like that. Knowing my family was waiting alongside the finishing chute, hearing that music and names being called out over the PA system. It was just unreal. I could have jumped out of my skin I was so happy. Even six months after, I still get a wide grin just thinking about it. 
Some of you may be familiar with the story of how I hit only one home run in little league baseball when I was a kid, and how my parents (who attended nearly every other game) weren't there that day to see it. On the morning of July 17th this year, as I was putting my gear in order at the transition area along the beach at sunrise, I got a text message from my mom back at our hotel room before they made their way down to the race course. "this is one home run we're NOT going to miss :) HE is sure shining through you today! Enjoy and Godspeed! love you chris!" (that's a direct quote, I still have the text)
It was a great day from beginning to end, even with all the suffering in between. During a ride back in June with the Jeff and Susan Johnson in Door County, Sue asked me what it was that made me want to try and do something like that. It was a question I hadn't thought much about, but have thought A LOT about since then. What was it, exactly? My initial response to her was that I have always been impressed by others who had done similar things, and I wanted to add something like that to my list of life accomplishments. But I have wondered since then, was that really it? I still don't have it nailed down, but I suppose it has a lot to do with my limitations as a kid due to asthma. Maybe just doing something nobody expected Chris Hankins to do. Maybe this whole part of the blog post seems more self promotion than anything else. You know what? I guess I don't really care. Maybe what really drove me was knowing that roughly 99% of the rest of the world would never even try it. Whatever the inner motivation was, I guess I'm just taking one more chance to look back and smile at what the experience did for me. Maybe you really CAN do anything you set your mind to.
A new challenge for 2012? I haven't quite figured that out yet. Gary wants to do another 70.3. I'm not sure about that - perhaps a full marathon. At least that would only require training in ONE sport! Plus, my new favorite hobby of brewing my own beer looks to take some time on some weekends this year.
So I'm thankful for my family - both near and far. I'm thankful for my health, for a God that forgives and extends grace and compassion, and for the clarity about what really matters in life.
Now, how about a shorter commute in 2012? 
Happy New Year everyone.