The Little Things
December 17, 2013

I did a 2012 in Running post, so I thought I’d do another one this year! It was really interesting to be able to go back and read that post, and think about what has changed in both my running and overall fitness (which is a topic for another post) over the past 12 months. So, once again, here it goes:

  1. Best Race Experience. I think that once again, the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon tops this list! While my last mile was rough, the first miles of the race were run at pretty near perfection. The race was really good, and mentally I really felt like my head was in it, even through the tough leg cramps I experienced! IMG_5524
  2. Best Run. I did a “fall kickoff 7 miler” in late September, and I felt like it was the best run that I had done in months (despite the high humidity). Ironically, last year I had a 7 miler listed as one of my best runs of the year too (hmmm- I wonder what to make of that?). I also ran a virtual St. Patricks’ Day 10k race (and then tacked on a little over a mile more for a 7.5 mile run) earlier this year, and that was really great too. So, between this year and last, I’m seeing a trend in really enjoying my 7 milers.
  3. Best new piece of gear. I got my garmin and “the stick” for Christmas last year, but didn’t start using them until 2013. Both of these pieces have been critical components to training and racing this year.
  4. Best piece of running advice receive: Don’t skip out on cross training! I get injured pretty easily, so cross training (specifically pilates and biking) have both been really critical components to my year in racing.
  5. Most Inspirational Runners. There is no way that I can pick just one or two. There are runners who inspire me regularly for so many reasons! Just search #running and #runchat on twitter and you’ll find all sorts of inspiration there.
  6. If you could sum up your running year in a couple of words, what would they be? Not exactly what I was hoping for, but I learned a lot!
  7. Most exciting running moment of 2013? Setting a new PR in the 5k! I had held my previous PR for 2 years, and I hadn’t set out that race to set a new PR, so it was an awesome surprise!

While I had hoped to run more miles in 2013 than I did in 2012, that just didn’t pan out. With the tendinitis that I had for over a third of the year, I cut way back on running, and didn’t hit the mileage I wanted. That’s ok, but I am a little bummed. One thing I’ve learned through running is that it isn’t predictable. There are so many things that come together when we run, and depending on how each of those things play out, our runs can be awesome, painful, or non-existent.

Now it’s your turn to share! What was your favorite running moment from 2013? Was there a specific lesson you learned from running?

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5 responses to “2013 in Running”

  1. ari @ whatarisaid says:
    December 18, 2013 at 4:38 am

    Great job with your running, even if the mileage wasn’t what you wanted! You remind me that I need to work on cross training somehow. I don’t have access to a gym or anything right now tho so I don’t know what i would do. 🙁

    • Caroline says:
      December 18, 2013 at 7:21 am

      You could do pilates and barre at your place? That’d give you a different form of cardio and a strength training/flexibility training workout.

  2. tonee78 says:
    December 19, 2013 at 6:22 pm

    Great year! Running is so unpredictable, I know that for sure. Cross training is key, when I did yoga consistently I had hardly any injuries, it will definitely be a focus in 2014! Hope we both have an injury free year!

  3. misszippy1 says:
    December 20, 2013 at 11:41 am

    So true–running sometimes has other plans for us than what we did for it! Glad you are back to healthy now, though. Thanks for linking in.