Tchau 2013

I'll get the running portion out of the way first...:

1433 Miles ran in 2013. An increase of 15% over 2012's 1245 miles. (An increase of 188 miles.)
2013 was a fantastic year for me! Running Wise it was a great year.This blog usually only highlights the running side of things, which is a tiny sliver of my real life.  I love looking back at my little slice of the internets to see where I've been and where I can improve.
One of the main highlights of 2013 was visiting Brasil for 9 days in January.  I was so happy to meet L's parents finally :)
I also enjoyed eating all the Brasilian foods- like this "Pastel" filled with ham, tomato and cheese from the farmers market post run. I still think about all the wonderful fresh foods I ate while there.
I also ate HALF of the most awesome mortadella sandwich in the world. That sandwich is like a once a year treat. But DAYUM it was delicious with a cold beer in the middle of the market.

Bar do Mane, Sao Paulo.

Along with all the amazingly friendly people I met in Brasil, I found a new "friend" at Parque Ibirapuera on one of my runs.

Galinha d'Angola

I hope to return to Brasil in 2014 to see L's family and our friends again. Just absolutely not during the World Cup or Carnivale.  Until then, I'll just keep cooking Brasilian food and looking at my old photos and posts from the trip.  Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4,  Trofeu Cidade de Sao Paulo. (10k Race)


We did cool things.

Like go to 2 Chicago Bulls games.

Air Benny!

I went to a Chicago Cubs game again with co-workers. It's a yearly tradition.
L and I went to the Chicago Beer fest again and sampled waaay too many delicious beers mainly from the Mid West.

Pretzel necklaces worn like true craft beer geeks. We meant business.

We also brewed beer twice. The first batch (an IPA) came out terrible. Currently our 2nd batch- a Chocolate Maple Porter is in the fermentation stage and will hopefully yield a better result than our lysol IPA.  

One byproduct of the brewing process is the spent grain used in the "mash." Since this does not contain hops or anything else poisonous to dogs, it is completely safe to turn it into dog biscuits. This is the first time I've baked dog treats and was actually fun to make. 

CB knew I was making these for him and kept supervising me the entire time. I've never seen him so focused on one thing for so long. He is very pleased with the finished product and hopes we brew beer again soon.

Just add some peanut butter, eggs, and flour to the grains and BOOM 170+ biscuits!

We also went to cool places this year.

Asides from the trip to Brasil, we went to Las Vegas like we do each year for a conference. I realized this trip that I am "too old" and/or "not old enough" to really enjoy this place anymore.

**Too old because im not into getting shitfaced with the douchebags at the clubs, 

Not old enough because I don't enjoy gambling like the octogenarians. 

We also took a trip to the San Francisco Bay area so L could be a groomsman in his friend's wedding. While there, we went to the world famous Mikkeller Bar in San Francisco, and I was able to take some time before the wedding to go stand up paddle boarding in Monterey Bay where I made some new sea lion friends.

I can't believe the sea lion jumped out in front of me. I still can't believe I captured a photo of it. 

Friends and Family are everything.

We were fortunate to see so many people we love this year.

My Daad, L's God daughter, and some of our close friends among many others.

Oh and the *most significant* happening of 2013 was L and I got engaged!

We did it in the "Brasilian style" because well, L is Brasilian. The custom is quite different from America. There's no OMG TOTES SURPRISE viral showy proposal or diamond ring. Instead, the couple agrees to be engaged and exchanges matching wedding bands which they wear on their right hand. Once they are married, they switch the ring to their left hand.

We got engaged in July. Yes, I purposely didn't share on social media for 7 months, oh the horror!

Yeah, so 2013 was a pretty kick ass year for L and I and CB. So many memories happened here that obviously weren't mentioned- these were just the "highlights."

Tchau, 2103. It's been fun.

Feliz Ano Novo, Happy New Year!

-xaar

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