Greetings from Taiwan, and Happy (belated) New Year! I’ve been here for about 11 days already, but I haven’t had much time to blog until now. I hope everyone’s 2018 has been off to a good start so far.
Even though this past year has been quite lackluster on the blog posting front, I thought I’d stick to my annual tradition of doing a year-end summary. Here are the wrap-ups from 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Best Race Experience:
I didn’t bag any PRs in 2017, but I did manage to successfully execute my race strategy at several races. Performance-wise, I’d say that the Alameda Holiday Kick Off 5K was the most successful. I surprised myself by finishing first in my age group. Woot!
Best Run:
I think this has to be the 13 mile Marin trail run back in April. We had such beautiful weather and the company was fantastic. 
Best Piece of New Gear:
Technically, I bought my first pair of Lululemon Speed Shorts in 2016, but they’ve been my go-to shorts for long runs. They’re super lightweight, breathable, and cute (if I do say so myself)!
Pacing at Summer Breeze in August in my speed shorts
Most Inspirational Runner:
This may sound cheesy and generic, but I’m more inspired by my (real and virtual) friends than pro-athletes. Everyday people who are able to balance family and work on top of training get serious kudos from me.
If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be?
Just run, even if life gets in the way. It doesn’t have to be fast/pretty. 😉
**
And now for the numbers:
Miles: 831 (Garmin Connect) — beating out 2012’s total by one mile!
Races: 10, in reverse chronological order
- Alameda Holiday Kick Off 5K
- Tiburon Half Marathon (pacing)
- Alameda Half Marathon
- Race to the End of Summer 10K
- Summer Breeze Half Marathon (pacing)
- Lake Chabot Trail Challenge
- Cinderella Trail Half Marathon
- Livermore Half Marathon (pacing)
- Brazen Badger Cove Half Marathon
- Kaiser Permanente SF Half Marathon
PRs: zero
Age Group Awards: One – Alameda Holiday Kick Off 5K (1st out of 26)
Reflections: 2017 was the first time in the past 5 years when I didn’t run more than 1000 miles. On one hand, it’s disappointing — I would’ve liked to keep the streak going. On the other hand, 831 miles isn’t bad considering that 2017 was also the first year where I haven’t trained for a marathon (since 2012). There were also some major life obstacles that took priority, such as anniversary party planning (July) and interviewing for/starting a new job (Sept-Oct). I’m actually proud of myself for being fairly consistent without an overarching goal. I hope to get back into training for something in 2018 — more on that in a future post!
This was somehow one of the most memorable but also one of the most miserable runs I’ve ever done. Loved the company, but I was chilled to the bone for hours afterwards!
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 
Nice year!
Happy New Year and Happy Miles to you for 2018!
Congrats on a solid year, and I’m happy we finally got to meet!
Thanks! It was great to meet you finally! Hope we get to see each other again in 2018 😀
Love your blog! Probably don’t say it enough. You ran a hell lot more than I did in 2017 even though I ran 3 marathons. Probably means I should run more, lol. Here’s to a fantastic running year!
Thanks, Angelica! At this point, it’s probably more beneficial to run less so we can run longer. I have a feeling you’ll be running/active well into your 70s! 😀