Year of Running 2014

Last year, I participated in Miss Zippy’s Year of Running linkup! I had so much fun looking back over the course of a year and re-living a lot of fun memories, I decided to participate again!
If you’d like to participate too, write a blog post of your own filled with your year of memories (all of the same questions below apply), then head over to Miss Zippy’s site and linkup on her page! It’s a lot of fun, hope to see you there!



Best race experience

Hands down, the Princess Half Marathon Weekend where I completed the 5K and the Glass Slipper Challenge. My parents and husband were with me and we went on a Disney Cruise following the race weekend where my mom and I participated in the Castaway Cay 5K! Four races, Five medals….we had so much fun!!

I also really enjoyed Rock N Roll NOLA and my solo Full Marathon for the year. Despite the terrible weather, I had a great time because I was able to run with Nicole (a friend of mine who was running her very first Full Marathon). It was fun to experience the distance with her along the way!

Best run
 
The Cowboy Gallop 10K that I ran in November. We don’t have many 10K’s in the area, so I’ve only run a handful in my time of running. I’m not sure what got into me that morning, but I had a great race, pushed myself hard, and received a really nice PR in the end! The weather was great, too…that makes all the difference!

Best new piece of gear 

Oh my goodness I LOVE my Flipbelt! I first saw them at the Rock N Roll NOLA Expo, but they were out of stock. Thankfully, they were also at the Princess Half Marathon Expo and I was able to snag one there. The Flipbelt accompanies me on every run and I absolutely love it – I started using it right away and haven’t looked back!

Best piece of running advice you received
 
Don’t ever take yourself seriously. Running is an enjoyable sport and when you begin to stress too much, it takes all of the fun away! Sit back and enjoy the ride! “Life’s a climb, but the view is great!”

Most inspirational runner
 
There’s so many inspirational runners out there, but if I had to choose one, I would say Kara Goucher! She is a hard worker and doesn’t give up on her dreams. I love following her adventures!

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be?
 
Exciting, fun-filled, and adventurous…with a few bumps in the road! :)


Race tally for the year:

• 1 Challenge (Glass Slipper)
• 1 Full Marathon
• 2 Half Marathons
• 2 10K’s
• 1 4-Miler
• 7 5K’s
• Assisted/Lead in the planning of 2 local 5K’s
• A PR in the 5K and 10K distance!
• AG placement in three 5K’s

2014 brought a lot of fun events, races, PR’s, and traveling to visit friends. I enjoyed so many things about 2014 and can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store! Have a safe and wonderful New Year! See ya next year…literally! :D

What’s your favorite race memory of 2014? Any NYE plans?

My Year of Running 2013

What a year 2013 has been! It’s had its ups and downs, but overall it was a great year – I can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store.

I’ll be the first to admit - I don’t actually “do” New Years Resolutions. (GASP!) On the flipside, I DO plan ahead for my races each year (so I guess you could call that a “goal”) and I’m the kind of person who sticks with my goals. If I say I’m going to do something, you can rest assured I’ll do everything in my power to complete that task or goal.



SO, instead of sharing my “New Years Resolutions” with you today, I decided instead to recap on 2013 and My Year of Running, thanks to Miss Zippy!

• Best race experience? 
  This one’s tough as I had several GREAT races this year. I really enjoyed running Goofy’s Challenge and Dumbo Double Dare – runDisney races are always top of my list.
  
  I’m going to cheat and list two:
  -My best Full Marathon experience was Rock n Roll NOLA as I finally broke 5 hours (4 hours, 44 minutes to be exact)
  -My best Half Marathon experience was the Disneyland Half Marathon – it was a first for me and a truly memorable race experience!
• Best run? 
  The Running Trails through Disney’s EPCOT Resorts – I ran through this area back in October during a quick weekend trip to WDW and had so much fun running the New Balance trails with a friend! I especially enjoyed these trails as they brought back memories of past WDW Full Marathon races.
• Best new piece of gear? 
  I know it’s cliché to list these again, but I received several new favorites for Christmas this year (Raw Threads and Mizuno). Another favorite discovery of mine this year was Balega socks. I love all of these things!
• Best piece of running advice you received? 
  Don’t take yourself too seriously! If you overthink things, you’ll only stress yourself out. Running is supposed to be fun, relax and enjoy the ride!
• Most inspirational runner?
  There are so many, way too many to name! I do have to say, I was really inspired by the St. Jude runners who fundraised, trained, and were unable to run this year’s race due to cancellation – not a negative word was said by any of the ones I interact with on a regular basis. They remained upbeat, positive, and were happy for the opportunity to help the unfortunate children of St. Jude’s. I can’t say that I would have had the same attitude. I was definitely inspired to look at the “other” side of things, even if our plans don’t always work out the way we think they should. There’s always a reason behind every situation.  
• If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? 
  2013 was a great year - despite loss (here and here), I learned to make the most of the time I have with family and friends. I also worked hard at slowing down, enjoying, and   cherishing every moment.

Race tally for the year:

• Three Challenges Complete: Goofy’s Challenge , Dumbo Double Dare, and Disney's Coast 2 Coast Challenge
• 2 Full Marathons
• 4 Half Marathons
• 2 10K’s
• A handful of 5K’s

I’d say I had a pretty great year! What about you? What are your favorite moments from 2013?