#YearOfRunning2013

2013 had a lot of ups and downs for me. While things in my personal life may have been less than stellar, I did have one heck of a year when it came to running [and triathlon]. I've been spending a lot of time recently reflecting on what went right for me this year and where I can improve. I thought it would be fun to participate in Miss Zippy's link up to do a quick recap of how things went this year.

Best race experience: The New York City Marathon. This was so much more than a race for me, and now after losing my dad it means even more. I have never been so miserable but still had so much fun in the same race. This was one of those races that makes you fall in love with your life. A close second was finishing second female at the Keystone State Sprint Triathlon. This is probably the race I am the most proud of. I really went for it and didn't hold back, and saw a glimpse of what I am capable of in the future.

Best run: My 18 mile long run. I ran some of it by myself but was accompanied by my dad on his bike for most of it. I ran at marathon goal pace and felt strong the entire way. Not only was it a run that I am incredibly proud of but it was the last long run I did with my dad. Even though he was biking, he was the perfect long run buddy. He knew how to motivate me when I was struggling in a way that no one else could. 

Best new piece of gear: It may not be running gear but hands down my road bike. I got it last November but didn't take it outside until this year. I was never a big fan of biking and frequently skipped rides until I got this bike. Biking is freeing and exhilarating in a way that running is not. I went from cursing every hill I had to climb to seeking out the hilliest rides I could find in my area. One of the things I'm most excited about for 2014 is spending more time riding.

Best piece of running advice you received: Whenever I would get nervous before races or before a hard workout my dad would always tell me something about relaxing, not thinking, and just doing what I trained to do. I tend to get in my own head and worry about silly things I can't control. Learning to turn my brain off and just race was hands down the best thing I learned this year.

Most inspirational runner: I'm going to have to go with the lovely Robyn Humphrey. Robyn is a super fast runner but more than that she has such a positive outlook on life that is contagious. Robyn is supportive of every runner no matter their speed and is the perfect run club leader.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? Meaningful. I know I'm in a different frame of mind because of losing my dad but everything I did this past year means so much more to me now. Everything this year had a purpose, whether it was setting a new PR, pushing out of my comfort zone, or  running a race I had long dreamed of doing. Looking back, having my dad at every race cheering me on when I least expected it means the world to me. [Once he showed up in the middle of the woods during a trail race and completely scared the shit out of me]

Training Update

Since the semester ended and I came home for the summer I've been making the switch to triathlon training. I was a little hesitant about jumping right back into training and even more hesitant about this whole triathlon thing. I tried to get myself excited about it but it just wasn't happening. Not to mention my running for a few weeks was pretty nonexistent and when I did run it was just terrible. Although I swam competitively for 10 years, I don't always love swimming now and then there's biking. Oh, biking. Biking does not come naturally for me at all. I've always known how to ride a bike but besides the basics I have very limited knowledge. Couple all this together and you get one uncoordinated and unmotivated triathlete.

Things have been starting to get better during the last week or so. I was riding and swimming consistently and even started strength training again. Running was still the problem though. Friday night I needed to get a run in and decided to head to a local park to do some trail running. Trail running = no pressure to go fast. This was not an easy run but I felt pretty good. There were a few times I had to walk because the trail got too technical but in general I felt much better than I had been feeling during runs. And I more than made up for the lack of hills I've been running. I'm pretty sure I ran straight uphill for the last half of my run.

Saturday marked another turning point for me. I finally took my road bike outside for a ride. I've ridden it plenty of times on the trainer and had been riding my hybrid until I could bring my road bike back home. HOLYOMG what a difference! I wanted to take the bike out for the first time with my boyfriend since he bikes pretty regularly and would be able to help/answer the millions of questions I had. We drove up to Pinchot State Park, about 25 minutes away, to ride somewhere I felt comfortable. Although there are some decent hills, there are generally not many cars and a wide shoulder making me feel a lot safer.

I should've probably mentioned that biking kind of scares the crap out of me. I have no idea why but it does. Once we got there we rode around the parking lot for a few minutes and then headed out. I couldn't believe how much faster I was going. Especially on the downhills, which still terrified me. And the uphills, which normally would destroy me were not nearly as bad. By the end of the ride (which was only a short 10 miles) I actually felt comfortable on the bike. Now all I want to do is ride! As my boyfriend says, I got bit by the biking bug.

Back when I got my bike. I'm pretty much 

obsessed with it now

I am around 4 weeks out from my first race of the season and am really excited to get to work and see what I can do. I'm still not entirely sure which races I'm doing this summer but I've definitely decided on the York YWCA Women's Sprint Triathlon on June 30. I will most likely do the Culpepper International on August 3 but am not completely sold yet. I also just discovered a small sprint triathlon about 20 minutes away the weekend before the Women's Sprint. I might do both but do the first one as more of practice. The water will be 67-69 and I don't have a wetsuit so that could be a deciding factor.