Let’s chat about this year of running!

Ok, how is it possible that we are almost at the end of 2016? I’ve swam, run, and biked my way through the new year and am ready to reflect on all of the adventures. I am linking up with Courtney from Eat, Pray Run DC to share my year of running with you! If you aren’t already reading Courtney’s blog you should take a look! I got to meet Courtney at ZOOMA Annapolis this past year and she is truly an inspiration!

Now without further ado let’s dive into the nitty gritty and fun of running in 2016!

Year of Running 2016

Best Race Experience

It’s so hard to choose for this one because I love racing and all of the people that I have gotten to meet and celebrate running with along the way. My best race experience this year was actually the Eastern States 20 Miler which I ran in preparation for the Boston Marathon 2016. This race experience was great for many reasons one of which was that I got to hang out with and get to know better my running/blogging friend Sarah Canney from Run Far Girl. Sarah, a fellow New Hampshirite/New Hamspter? like me is a die hard runner and loves a challenge (we would later both run the Jay Peak 25K to the dismay of our quads). I went down to the coast of New Hampshire to stay with Sarah the night before the race. It was such fun to have a girls night out even if we were planning to run 20 miles the next day. The morning of the race was crisp but beautiful. Perfect running weather and right on the beautiful New Hampshire Coast. This race is run really well and most runners are racing in prep for the Boston Marathon or in prep for their upcoming spring marathon and Boston Qualifying Attempts. Sarah and I started the morning with a lot of laughs and I felt relaxed and ready to run! When the race started my body felt relaxed and my legs were full of go power. This was to be the run that I should have had at the Boston Marathon 3 weeks later. Early in the race I paired up with Chris, a runner for Team Hoyt and a podcaster from RunRunLive (listen to my episode HERE). We would run most of the race together and the miles just ticked by. This race was one of those magical runs where the paces just came easy. Finally at the finish, medal in hand I knew that I was ready for Boston.

Best Run

Last January Organic Runner Dad and I headed out to California for a work trip and vacation. Part of our trip included time in Big Sur. Somehow I magically convinced Jesse to run with me during the vacation. The coastline is so breathtaking in Big Sur that its hard not to have a good run. We got up early and headed to a state park that would lead us on a winding path out to the ocean. There we found a footpath that wound its way along the beach. It was spectacular and I wanted to run forever! I hope we get to go back there again someday!

Best New Piece of Running Gear

Since dealing with Peroneal Tendonitis and a back injury a few years ago along with the advice from my Physical Therapist I made the running shoe switch. I had been running in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS for years but the added footbridge of this support shoe and the thousands of miles that I had run finally told my body to stop. So I ended up trying a variety of different running shoes until I discovered Hoka One One. It is hard to pick just one style of shoe from Hoka One One to share with you because I have several favorites but the latest running shoe love in my life is the Hoka One One Clayton which carried me through the Timberman Half Ironman and the NYC Marathon and all of the training that was involved. You can read my review of the Hoka One One Clayton and find out more about this fantastic running shoe!

Best Running Advice You Received this Year

This is actually advice that I received last year from Dean Karnazes at the North Face Endurance Challenge Trail Marathon in Park City Utah. Karnazes a famed Ultra Runner and North Face Athlete said that when the going gets tough in a race which it always can that you need to just tell yourself to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He said that forward motion is always motion in the right direction. Even if you have to focus on one footstep at a time you will get there. I have used this advice as a mantra, “Put One Foot in Front of the Other” which has greatly helped me through many dark places during a race.

Favorite Picture from a Run or Race this Year

My favorite picture is of me and my friend Olivia (also Fellow Smashfest Queen Triathlon Teammate) after completing our second Timberman Half Ironmans this summer. Olivia is an inspiration to me with here determination in life and in competition (she even recently published a book-Know your Worth, Get your Worth. Salary Coaching for Women) I am so very proud of my accomplishments in Triathlon in the past couple of years. There is definitely so much more room to improve. I am stoked for more Triathlon racing this summer and for more races with Olivia!

Race experience you would repeat in a heartbeat

This would definitely be the Leaf Peepers Half Marathon in Waterbury, Vermont. This race was more about the whole weekend of celebrating running, strong women, and health at the second annual Rise. Run. Retreat (read more about the retreat here). The race was the icing on the cake of an amazing weekend with bloggers who I now call my friends. The race itself was challenging and to call it hill would be putting it mildly. I loved being able to run this race with so many of my friends and to be able to see them all working so hard out on the race course each trying to meet their own personal goals. I hope to do more racing with friends in the upcoming years!

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words what would the be?

My year was challenging (in a good way as I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone especially in the realm of triathlon), empowering, and extremely enjoyable! I am lucky to be able to have all of the incredible experiences with running that I have had!

What was your best run of 2016?