The year, in running

Another December morning, another run in shorts.

Not that I'm complaining.

It was a short outing - just 4 miles - rather than 6 or 7 that I had initially planned. Alas, Miles is sick again and Mark and I decided that the wee one needed to go to urgent care this morning. Another fever, another damn ear infection. Plus croup.

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Miss Zippy recently posted a year in review on her blog, and she was kind enough to invite other bloggers to play along. It was a lot of fun to read about her experiences as well as some of the other runners I follow so I thought I'd do the same.

Best race experience. I'm definitely a quality over quantity racer. You won't find me running every local 5K just for giggles; it's cumbersome and expensive. That said, the races in which I do participate are often great experiences in their own right.

I loved the Fanny Freezer 5K because it was a great way to test speed, and it was a race I did with a bunch of friends. I got to do RnR NOLA with my best friend and enjoy a girls weekend in the city of my birth. I loved the Martian Invasion half-marathon - it had a beautiful course, fun medal and I ran dangerously close to a sub-2.

But, I guess, my best race was the Columbus Marathon. Nothing beats the pride of finishing 26.2 miles.

Best run. I'm on course to run 1,100 miles this year, and it's hard to remember runs. The miles all seem to blur together outside of race experiences. I did enjoy the few times that Mark was able to join me on the bike while Miles hung out with Nana and Papa.

Best new piece of gear. My Spibelt. I've always held onto my fuel, keys and other goods (or thrown them in the stroller) but marathon long runs required something different. The Spibelt was comfortable, deceptively roomy and oh so cute with all its polka dots.

Best piece of running advice. "Enjoy it and smile" was what Bobbi told me ahead of the marathon. I really took those words to heart and thought of them often in the first part of Cbus. It helped me to soak in the experience, and it's probably why I remember so much of the course.

Most inspirational runner. I am not going to pick one person but one group: the mother runners. Everyone is in different places - location-wise, pace-wise, training-wise, parenting-wise - but they all face the same challenges and struggles. Seeing how they are able to overcome those things helps me to see that I can as well.

Sum up your year in a couple of words. Comeback. Epic. Precursor.

How was your year in running? Did you take Miss Zippy's lead? Be sure to share links.