2013- a fantastic year of running.

2013 was a hell of a year running wise for me. I PR'd in every distance, made a ton of friends, and most important: stayed injury free. I got to run in exotic places, and run with extraordinary people.

2013 Running

14 races ran:
•5k's -4
•8k- 1
•10k's- 2
•10 miler- 1
•1/2 marathons- 3
•Marathons- 3

5 of the races I ran with friends.


2013 PRs:

21:30 5k- Pumpkins in the Park 22:18 Previous

36:59 8k- Shamrock Shuffle. 39:57 Previous

50:03 10k- Trofeu Cidade. (Beaten unofficially in longer races)

1:16 10 miler- Soldier Field 10 1:22 Previous

1:46:09 Women's Half 1:46.15 Previous

3:35.12 Fox Valley Marathon 3:40 Previous


The remaining 9 races I ran alone- although I either knew others running or spectating so I really wasn't "alone."

Running Outside of Chicago

I was very fortunate to run in 2 places outside of Chicagoland this year.

Parque Ibirapuera in São Paulo Brasil was just amazing. Between coconut water vendors, interesting wildlife (galinha d'angola), and beautiful scenery for the loop- I fell in love with this park and cannot wait to return.



The Los Gatos Creek trail will always be close to my heart. I was fortunate to do a long run there while on vacation during the summer and instantly remembered why I missed the trail so much since moving to Chicago 3 years ago. The friendly runners, the hills and beautiful scenery make this place one of my all time favorites.


Favorite runs:



I cannot really pick a favorite run. Sometimes a run by myself in freshly fallen snow puts the biggest smile on my face.


Running with L is always a treat.


I even got to run with Shawn Johnson for a 10k!


Running with friends is something I don't do often, but always makes the miles fly by.


Only friends can get me to run 14 miles during a crazy snow storm with psycho snow plow drivers and 6"+ of unplowed snow.


Running with CB is something I always look forward to because seeing my little man happy melts my heart.


Overall I'm thankful for all the amazing memories Ive made this year through running. There were some moments of pure bliss, as well as some of stinging disappointment. I've learned a lot about myself this year and how tough I truly am. I'm looking forward to 2014 with open arms.

- xaar

Thoughts {1}

•The "agony" of choosing a spring marathon. Who ever thought it would be so "difficult" to choose a goal race? (Haha) 1st world problem for sure. Things I'm considering/concerned about:
-Weather

-Course Profile

-Whether or not I'm healthy 4-5 months in the future. My knee has a bruise (presumably) from the turnstile incident 2 months ago and gives me minor discomfort on longer runs. The bruise showed up a week ago.

Front runners include the Knoxville marathon (hilly) and the Wisconsin Marathon. (Along with a few others) I just can't pull the trigger on a race just yet.


So I continue to base build and enjoy snowy runs.

•Food and running and the holidays and stuff. I don't get the "free pass" mentality of stuffing your face with all the things during the holidays, and marathon training and just because. I say that- yet I struggle with food (eating too much) and am not sure why. Could it be our cultural emphasis on food as a reward, or motivation?

So for December I've made a very conscious effort to eat reasonable portion sizes, not snack (feeling a little hungry is OKAY), and continue to eat more whole foods. And 3 weeks in I'm feeling the best I have in a while.

Last night we made pizza- just heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and some Parmesan. Noms with a bottle of good wine.


This also ties into the potential spring marathon because I want to be in better shape going into training. "You can't out train a bad diet." Cliche I know, but "garbage in, garbage out.Ok I'll stop. But seriously, I plan to improve my running for as long as my body allows- (and I want to continue to look and feel "better.")


•CB is no fan of Christmas either. We are just over the materiality of this season and the fakeness that goes along with it. Be a good person all year long, yo!


- xaar

Winter Bucket List

After almost 3 years of living in Chicago I feel like I haven't done much during the winter asides from run a bit and go to the bars.  It's just too damn cold most of the time to enjoy being outside for any period of time when the wind chill is negative bazillion. So in lieu of yet another "holiday gift guide" i'm making a list of activities i'd like to experience before old man winter releases his grip on Chicagoland. Because experiences > trinkets for me.

• Run outside in the snow. The path is so peaceful when it's snowing. Tomorrow I should be able to check this one off my list.

• Explore the city more. I had to go to another building for work this week and decided to stop by The Bean on my walk home for some night time skyline photos. Best. Decision. Ever. Few people were around, and it was so magical seeing the reflection of the buildings.

• Walk around the Christkindl Market. I went last year and it was too crowded for me, but it was still a cool experience to see all the different gift vendors from around the world and wide variety of food selections (hello potato pancakes!) I'll have to do this on my lunch break one "slightly warmer" day.

ROAR!

• Sled down "Sledding Hill." I've been wanting to do this ever since I first saw the hill out on one of my runs. After some snow fell,  I was super envious of the kids flying down the hill  having a blast. (I almost asked a family last year if I could have one trip down with their sled but chickened out) All I need to do is buy one of those cheap plastic sleds. 

Michigan Ave. This morning.

Go ice skating by the Bean. Haven't been ice skating in FOREVER and never outside (only in the shopping malls of Florida), I think this would be really fun for an hour as long as I dont bust my ass and hurt myself.

The Bean & the Ice Skating Rink

• Build an honest to god snowman. I've never built one. Ever.  I'm pretty sure I have built a sand castle for Christmas at some point.   I bought a "snowman kit" from a co-worker's kid for a fundraiser 2 years ago. The past 2 winters have been on the "mild" side snow wise, and I never was able to build one because the snow wasn't wet enough, and it wasn't around on the weekends. (I didn't want to build one in the dark after work)

Snowman fail.

I broke out the kit today to practice on a small patch of snow that is on my balcony from last week's snow. So I could be ready in case we get enough snow this weekend.
I had no idea how to place the pieces...

I googled the kit and tried again on my little patch of snow.

BOOM! Now it looks a little more legit.

Now i'm going to have to google how to build a snowman. I've heard from my native Midwestern coworkers that you have to make a snowball first, and then roll it around on the ground to pickup more snow. I'll have to test it out this weekend if the conditions are optimal for snowman construction. I just can't envision how I could create 3 large snowballs to make a 3-4' tall snowman...


-xaar