2014 Year of Running

Nearly everywhere you look, you're seeing wrap-ups of the year.  And why not? It's kind of fun to look back on what has transpired over the past 365 odd days.  Was it a good year? A bad year?  My husband and I talked about this very topic last weekend and, like many of you, decided that it was a mixture of both.  Maybe it's just my personality, but my year contained some low low's and high high's.  As to not beat a dead horse, I'm just gonna focus on what was awesome this year.

Best Race Experience- This was a tough one because a lot of things went well this year.  But I would have to say the Lincoln Half this past May was the best.  After working really hard last spring amidst lots of other issues, I shattered my expectations of what I thought I could do at that distance.  Plus, my husband and sister also ran personal records which was really cool.


Best Run- 2014 was a good training year as I found a cross-training balance that really worked for me.  A lot of workouts went really well and I was able to push through some barriers mentally and physically.  Historically, one of my biggest issues as a distance runner is the completion of long runs during marathon training.  I am not a fan of running 15+ miles.  In the past, I have signed up for "practice marathons" before my "real" race where I'd suffer through 26.2 in order to avoid training runs.  I know, this makes zero sense.   But this year, with the help of my husband, I actually made it through my 20 miler!! This allowed Philip and I to finish the Twin Cities Marathon exactly on the nose of our goal time.  Will I run another full in 2015? I don't know.  I have run at least one every year since 2003 (missing only 2006), so it's tempting.  But the older I get I'm just not really enjoying the distance.


Best new piece of gear- This is a toughie.  2014 was definitely a minimalist year when it comes to running gadgets and gear.  I didn't really listen to music or use my GPS.  I didn't use any fancy apps to track my workouts.  I would say our treadmill, but we purchased that in 2013.  Soo....maybe my handheld water bottle?? Or my new compression socks.  I LOVE compression socks.


Best piece of running advice-  The smartest thing I did year this was ditch my running watch, along with preconceived notions of what I thought I was capable of.  Appropriate pacing is extremely important during training and workouts, but races? That's when it's time to push it.  And not let a watch tell me what I can or cannot do.



Most inspirational runner- Although he does not consider himself a runner, I definitely have to say my husband.  Last summer, he couldn't even swim for 10 minutes and this year, Philip finished a half-ironman.  He started out the year by winning the Bryan Health Indoor Tri.  He also PR'ed in the half-marathon with a time of 1:41 and finished his first (and self-proclaimed LAST) full marathon comfortably in 4:10.  He is the epitome that hard work pays off in ways that you probably can't even fathom.


2014 has been a good one on the running front.  I'm working on what I hope will be a great 2015.