My Year of Running 2016

Wow! It's so hard to believe that this is the final week of the year! I've been enjoying reflecting on the year and reading lots of other recaps from other running blogs.

I'm especially excited to see that the Year of Running is still a thing. It started with Amanda at Miss Zippy (no longer blogging) and is now being hosted by Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC.

Without further ado, here is the 2016 edition of My Year of Running.

Best race experience

Definitely the Spring Recycled Run half marathon. It was chilly. It was rainy. We missed the start because we ran to Walmart for long-sleeved shirts, but it was the MOST FUN! I ran this with a co-worker because she had casually mentioned to me at the end of 2015 that she wanted to run a half marathon in 2016. I held her to that! In fact, she ended up running two HMs this year. We trained together for this race and weren't about to let the less-than-ideal running conditions get us down. We simply went out there and laughed our way through the two and half hours.

Best run

It's so hard to decide on one run that was better than all the rest! I had so many great runs while training for the half in April, during the summer RW Run Streak, plus all the other runs.

I'm going to go with this trail run I did in July the day before leaving for 2 1/2 weeks in Costa Rica.

My #camelbak is being prepped for #costarica (we leave tomorrow night), and I didn't want to run out of water this morning, sooooo two handhelds it is! Got kind of annoying after about 4 miles, but definitely glad I had both with me. I'm not bringing any running clothes 😵 with me when I'm in Costa Rica for 2 1/2 weeks, so I knew I had to get in a good #trailrun before my trip. This morning's #run definitely did not disappoint. It was hot (but I wasn't dying), the views were gorgeous (of course!), and I felt great! #trifecta

A photo posted by Clarinda (@enjoyingthecourse) on Jul 16, 2016 at 12:33pm PDT

I felt I could just run and run and run and really had to convince myself to turn around. It just felt so great to be out on the trails all by myself!

Best new piece of running gear

My Aftershokz bluetooth headphones. I got these free as part of a United Relay / Sweat Pink campaign. I was so excited to try them out! I love that they use bone conduction instead of an earbud right in your ear, so that you still get the ambient noise while out there running.

Best running advice you received this year

This is a tough one. I don't think I really received any new advice this year. All-in-all though, I think my best advice is always to HAVE FUN! Push yourself. Challenge yourself. Absolutely! But, don't be so focused that it isn't still fun.

Most inspirational runner

Oh, geez! This one is even tougher than the previous question. I feel terrible not choosing someone, but I find most of my inspiration from within myself.

Favorite picture from a run or a race this year

This is the first one that comes to mind because it's just so silly and fun!

Race experience you would repeat in a heartbeat

I didn't run very many races this year, but I'd love to run Zion Half again. There were some things I didn't like about the race, but the course so gorgeous! I also wouldn't mind a do-over of this race, so that I could do a better job of planning for it and making it more of a vacation weekend - instead of driving the few hours the morning of the race and then heading back to Vegas immediately after I finished.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be?

Relaxed and fun! Since I didn't run many races or set many goals this past year, I just spent most of the time enjoying my runs and just running for the fun of it.
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Past year's Year of Running posts: 2011, 2013, 2014

How was your year of running?

I'm also linking up today with Marcia, Patty, & Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.