Farewell 2013.....Looking Forward to 2014

Early in 2013 I stated here that this year I wanted to train better and see what I could accomplish if I gave it my all.  Well I guess I accomplished that goal because I did focus more on my training and I achieved more than I could have ever thought possible.  Instead of a rundown of my year, I'll just list my top five running accomplishments.  And yes, I feel extremely fortunate to have had a year that included even more than five highlights.

#5 Tie - 5k PR and Oregon Trail Series Age Group win

Okay, I  lied and can't keep it to just 5 highlights.   In September, the week before Mountain Lakes 100, I ran a neighborhood 5k and finished in 23:17.  That's a 7:29 pace in case you don't want to do the math.  Whoa!  I really didn't know I had that in me. I'm the gal who usually plods along at a 9-10 minute pace.  And since I didn't feel like I needed to puke for the last mile I'm pretty sure I could have pushed it more and maybe even finished under 23 minutes.

In September I also found out that I won my age group in the Oregon Trail Series.  Technically I was second,  But fortunately for me the overall winner was in my age group.  Nevertheless I'm proud of my result and I won another cool pint glass to add to my collection.

#4 Waldo 100k

I never would have thought that finishing Waldo would NOT be the number one highlight in a year.  But it still makes the top 5. :)  This was a tough day for me, but I still had a pretty strong race and earned my hat.  And now I want to go back and finish sub 16 hours.

#3 Mt Hood Circumnavigation

This was a spur of the moment adventure.  For my 49th birthday I decided I wanted to complete an epic run.  Yassine suggested this one.  I had my doubts whether it was the right time or place, but I'm so glad I took the plunge.  What a wonderful adventure!  Marc joined in the fun and we spent 15 glorious hours circling the 40+ miles around one of the most beautiful mountains in the country.  This is one birthday I'll never forget.

#2 Javelina Jundred

After the disappointment of Mountain Lakes, I'm so glad I was able to move on and finish my first trail 100 down in Arizona.  Some things that made it extra special were my brother pacing me a lap from miles 62 to 77 and finally getting the "first 100" monkey off our backs with good friend Desiree.

#1  Mt Hood 50 mile

Even in a year where I finished Waldo as well as my first trail hundred, I can honestly say that my third running of the Mt Hood 50 miler was my best running moment.  This was a perfectly executed race.  It's the one I'll judge all future races against.  Plus, finishing sub 10 hours, which I never in my wildest dreams thought I could do in a trail 50, was pretty sweet.  My finish pictures pretty much say it all!  And this being the race I fought so hard to even get to the start the first time, is just the cherry on the top.

Looking forward to 2014, I know that 2013 will be tough to top.  I do have a few big goals in the works and hope I can keep riding the wave and eek out two good years in a row.  Whatever happens, I love this sport and it's participants.  I'm forever grateful to be a part of it. Stay tuned!