In 2013, my running goals were “to continue to run strong and to have fun with it.” It was a big success! In 2014, I wanted to stay injury free and keep having fun. There was a lot of running and funning and no big injuries! This year, I did run the farthest but not the fastest and I had a blast. I ran almost 2,300 miles this year including 2 marathons, a 6 hour run (33 miles) and 9 half marathons so far this year and I have one more on December 28th in San Diego, CA. See my quarterly reviews for race summaries and products I loved. (Q1, Q2, Q3)
Here is my 2014 running year in review:
# of Miles Run – 2287 (and counting)
# of Races Run– 28 – will be 29 by 12/31 that is 3 less than last year! I did run a progressive race and timed run/ultra (6 hours on a one mile loop) this year for the first time. I also ran a back to back 5K/10K at the Ridge Run with 30 minutes in between. Most of the results are on Athlinks if you are interested.
# of Miles Run in Races – 260.6 (will be 273.7) – 41 miles less raced than last year.
Races Run– 28 (will be 29) – marathons (2), half marathons (9 – will be 10), 10 milers (1), 10K (5 – 5 more than last year and best time since 2005), 5.4 mile trail (1), 8k (2), 5k (6), a “progressive race” – 12 miles in 5 segments and a 6 hour timed ultra run (1 – 33 miles)
# of Age Group Awards-17! One more than last year, though I would have guessed less. My times were better last year for the most part. I guess I chose better this year 🙂
Fun Race Destinations– NYC (2), Houston, Cincinnati and San Diego (on 12/28)
Coolest Non-Race Runs: – Dominican Republic, NJ at By Pond Farm, Central Park
Best Race– I had a few good times/good strategy runs this year. The “best” has to be NYC marathon, though. Despite very high winds and cold temps, I had a solid performance and finished with a smile on my face! And now, I am guaranteed entry FOR LIFE since it was my 15th! I was proud of my pacing at the Schaumburg Half Marathon, a strong finish at the Chicago Half Marathon and a strong 10K (and 3rd place female finish) at Run10Feed10.
Worst Race– None. I was grateful for all of them again this year. That said, the heat/my poor pacing in the Zooma Women’s Half and the heat/humidity in the Magnificent Mile Half the following Sunday made me wonder about the rest of the year’s races. [I did fine for the rest of the year.]
Star Sightings: In July, I met Rita Jeptoo and took a selfie with her. In August, a bunch of us went to a Fleet Feet Chicago event and met Lauren Fleshman and, yes, she is as cool and down to earth as she seems in Runner’s World! In September, I saw Deena Kastor on the Chicago Lakefront Trail twice. I congratulated her on her kick ass 1/2 in Philly and she turned, said “Thank you” and waved. Molly and I went to a Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me fundraiser run with Peter Sagal. Soon after, I met Bart Yasso and got his autograph!
Ambassadorships: Zooma Women’s Run Half Marathon, Esprit de She Chicago and Christmas in July 6 Hour Run. Zooma has AWESOME swag and great post race. I would love to check out one of their other cities! Esprit de She has a great post run festival (wine and lots of it!) and good spirit. Christmas in July was my toe dip in the water for ultras. The other runners were so nice and supportive. It was quite an experience!
Bonus: Register for Esprit de She Chicago 5K/10K or any national Esprit de She event before Dec. 31 and you’ll get a limited edition MPG top and more. Please use promo code EDS012 so they know I sent you.
Personal Records (PRs)- 0. Should have run that 12K – LOL!
Number of Sidelining Injuries– 0. Yay! Thank you Pilates, body weight strength training, cross training and rest-and a little bit of luck.
Best Running Advice I Received This Year: Eat real food.
Best New Running Product I Tried: This is SO tough – like picking a favorite child, friend or pet. The list is long and I recommend you check out all of the awesome products I checked out this year! Go to giveaways and review. I may do a whole separate post on this!
Popular Running Posts:
- All of my runner blog hop giveaways with Runaway Bridal Planner
- I’m a Streaker! NYC Marathon Report #InForLife
- Leaving my Running Comfort Zone Again – pre and post
- How it Went in Houston + more
- Defying Gravity and Meeting a Champion
- Unexpected Inspiration
- Something new from CEP Compression + Giveaway
- (Chicago) Marathon Spectator Tips
- Marathon Coming and PureFit Giveaway
- 3rd year in a row! Chicago Area Runners Association Discounts – Who Knew?
- Look (and Feel) Good on the Run without Breaking the Bank! This post is updated from a guest post I wrote this summer for Eat, Drink and be Mary.
- Recycled Running Gear from Atayne
- Get All the Good Stuff from RacePak
- Tried It Tuesday: Running fun from Strava, BANDI andBottlebark
For a blogging runner, that’s a lot of running blogging! My goals for 2015 are to stay injury free, keep having fun and try for some time goals that I have in mind!
What running stuff would you like to see here in 2015? How was your year in running??