Just 5 more days left in 2013, so I thought I’d finally jump on the blogging bandwagon started by Miss Zippy and recap my year of running. 
- Best race experience? This is a tough one, since this year was such a mixed bag. I ran a lot of fun races where I wasn’t running for time, and not-so-fun races that turned out okay because I got to run them with friends. However, in terms of best overall experience, I’d have to say it was the Summer Breeze 10K. PR’ing by almost 4 minutes was big, but the thing I was most proud of was successfully executing my pacing strategy. Coming in 3rd in my age group didn’t hurt either. 😉
At the Brazen Summer Breeze 10K
- Best run? Easy – running in the Marin Headlands with Cathryn. A fabulous run from all angles.
- Best new piece of gear? Oiselle long rogas shorts (see photo above)! These shorts are comfy, flattering, and have THREE pockets (2 with zippers). I don’t know how I lived without them. Also, they made me into a Oiselle junkie — I now own many other Oiselle items, and I love them all. Runners-up: Altra Superior trail shoes and UltrAspire hydration pack.
- Best piece of running advice you received? “Be Present.” I just came upon this recently in a Runner’s World article, and while I had heard of this mantra for meditation, I had never thought of applying it to running. I have a tendency to dissociate when things get rough instead of focusing and pushing through the hurt. I’ll start thinking ahead to the finish line, and sometimes I’ll start analyzing the race even before it’s over. At the Zoom Pt. Pinole Half, I had used a similar mantra of “This Mile,” but for whatever reason, it hasn’t worked for me in situations since that race. In contrast, I’ve been using “Be Present” during my recent workouts and it has helped me to engage in the moment, focus on the discomfort, and realize that the “pain” I’m feeling isn’t actually painful at all.
- Most inspirational runner? This might be a cheesy cop-out, but it would have to be all of my running friends, both online and IRL. Seeing everyone’s dedication, struggles, and triumphs all inspire me to go out and try my best. Here are a few photos of those who inspire me:
- If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? Experimenting with new things to see what works best for me – whether it was training plans, gear, fuel, trails, distances, etc. Not all of it worked or was successful, but you never know until you try it!
Runner-up: Running happy is the key to everything. If you don’t have that, what else have you got?
- Stay tuned for part 2, where I’ll revisit my 2013 Goals to see how I did and wrap-up my 2013 running stats!
Howdy! My name is Jen and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I like to eat, run, and blog, but not usually at the same time.
Running Tangents 
Huge year for you mentally and physically! Congrats Jen!
Thanks Dominick! You’re definitely on my list of inspiring runners too (I was just too lazy to link all of the blogger peeps).
You had a great year…and you definitely win ‘arm warmers of the year’ 🙂
Heh, thanks! That reminds me, I still have an extra pair of socks for that DIY arm warmer blog post… which means: blog resolution for 2014?
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