Year of Running 2014

This is a first time thing for me, But, I thought it would be fun to follow along with Misszippy and do a Year of Running post.  Join in on her page.

Best Race Experience:  That would have to be the Mustang 50th Anniversary Half Marathon.  I had a great training cycle, and I feel that I executed this race perfectly.  I ran a negative split half marathon and I also placed in the top three women overall, It was a large race, so I was pretty stoked.  The only bummer, was that there was no podium, and the organizers didn't really care about the overall winners of the race.  They didn't receive the awards in enough time, so I got my plaque in the mail about a month after the race. Womp Womp.,,  Also no swag either. No gift card to the local running store, no free GU, nada, nothing, bubkus..Wait this was supposed to be the best race experience right... The Tech T shirt and finishers medal were very nice...

Best Run:  Hmmmm... It's hard to chose-  I went for a run on a Friday evening in October-  I did the evening run to practice training for Rock n Roll Las Vegas, I didn't wear a watch or a radio, I was just running for fun.  I was kind of sad though,  I lost a dear friend to suicide in October of 2012, and we were getting close to the anniversary of his passing.   I was running in my favorite area to run, a hilly section that provides sweet views of the valley and when I got  to the top of the overlook, I was treated to a beautiful sunset.   I honestly felt like my friend was saying "hello" to me, and telling me to not be sad, that there is still so much beauty here on this earth.

Best new piece of gear:  HEED Energy Gel.  I'm not a big fan of GU, I like that HEED is made of natural ingredients and is easy to digest.  I had to learn how to eat on the run this year.

Best piece of running advice you received:  I've been kind of a lone wolf this year,

 I miss running with a buddy and or club....  So I'm going with Hal Higdon's advice that it's really important to stretch and warm up before doing speed work.  Earlier this year, I had a minnor groin strain from doing speed work without warming up / cooling down properly.

Most Inspirational Runner: The obvious answers for me were Meb Keflezighi/Deena Kastor, becuase they make me look forward to becoming a Master's runner.  They make getting older look phenomenal.   But, when I really think about it, There is one guy who I admire, and I don't know his name.  He's the every day runner that is out running like the post man every day at 5:30pm.   He lives in my old neighborhood-and he wears a cotton T-shirt in the summer, a cotton sweatshirt in the winter, basket ball shorts, and basic running shoes. I've never seen a radio, or Garmin, or any other fancy gear.  But,  I can tell that running brings him peace.  I hadn't seen him in a year or two after I moved out of the neighborhood.  But recently I have been changing up my commute and I pass though that area, I'm always happy when I see him pounding the pavement. I"m jealous that he is enjoying his run in the purest form..

ETA: I forgot to add the last question
If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? :  Nothing beats the feeling of the sun on my face and the wind in my hair as the miles tick by.