2013 in Review

I've grown to cherish my adventure photos more than most of my other possessions. One glance at the walls in my home and you'll agree, nearly all of them are from a beautiful place. Despite the obvious beauty of each one, they evoke memories hidden deep within the pixels.  Each Christmas, Matt and I pour over our year's photos and create a calendar for our families and share a glimpse of our travels with them.  Since I have new and different readers each year, I thought I'd once again, give you the highlights of another year gone by.

 January

I'm a planner. I feel best prepared when I make lists and do my research. I like to make the most of Matt's vacation time. Sometimes a weekend sneaks up on me and I have no plan. Two of these came up this month. One we ended up running an impromptu 50K in the Bay Area and the other, we went skiing near Mt. Shasta. Here's a photo from the latter. No jackets? What is this sorcery?
Races: Crystal Springs 50K, Patrick's Point 10K.

February

We returned to Fairbanks for the first time since we moved away, enjoying a week long ski trip to remote cabins, visits in town with friends and a soak at Chena Hot Springs. Despite the cold, -15F to -40F the whole trip, it ended up being one of my favorites. There's something beautiful about subzero landscapes that tugs at my heart in an unusual way.
 Races: None!

March

This month was the beginning of marathon training and local adventures. Good thing we have so much local beauty or this month would have been dull. We had some gorgeous trail runs along the California-Oregon border including this one near Brookings.
Races: Foggy Bottom Milk Run 10 Mi, Redwood Wild River Run 15K.

April

This is one of my favorites for the whole year, both the trip and the photo. A couple of our college friends visited from Michigan and they wanted a pretty backpack trip. The Lost Coast didn't disappoint. I love how such rugged wilderness is so nearby, it's definitely not the norm in California. Matt and I directed a trail race in April too. I wheeled the course for accuracy early in the week and made awards for the winners.  I never would have guessed I'd get to keep the award, but I won!! Hills really are my forte, I guess.
Races: Arcata Forest 5.5 Mile Race.

May

May was the month of the marathon. After a sinus infection derailed my first of the month, I decided to run a second two weeks later since I wasn't totally wrecked. My first race was at Green Bay ten years ago, it feels like my hometown course even if I live over 2,000 miles away now. It was awesome to celebrate my 10th running anniversary with marathon #10 at Green Bay. I also cheered my mom on in her first 5K. It was the best little girls' weekend. Someone told me that two marathons in two weeks makes me eligible for Marathon Maniacs, so I guess that's cool?

Races: Avenue of the Giants Marathon, Atalanta's Victory Run 5 Mi, Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.

June

June was the month of watching others run. First, we crewed for Danny at the Newport Marathon and then watched world class track athletes at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. So much runner nerd for one weekend. It was the best.

Races: Dow's Prairie 6.1 Mile Run.

July

Tour of Mont Blanc, the 104 mile hiking trail through the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps. This was the best idea ever. We slept in mountain refuges and ate pastry for ten days straight. America needs to set up treks like this. Pictured is Rifugio Bonatti, one of the refuges in Italy. My mom also came to visit and we took a lot of fun day trips together. It was nice to hang out together, it is rarely just the two of us.

Races: Fortuna Rodeo 5K. 

August

Matt and I returned to the U.P. to see my family and to Wisconsin to visit with his. Sometimes I miss having a real summertime that includes wearing shorts, but these short visits are enough to get my fill. I managed to shred my legs during a fall at the Marquette Trail 50K and come close to a DNF. As a result, the rest of the month was a little slow. No lasting damage to my knees, thankfully.

Races: Marquette Trail 50K, Sand Dollar Shuffle 5 Miler.

September

Just as my knees healed, I got salmonella. Apparently a month of resting does the body good because I ran a new half marathon PR.  We followed that race up with a trip to Utah to check out pretty red rocks and the beautiful Wasatch Mountains.

Races: The Rogue Run Half Marathon.

October

Fall marathon training took off in October. This month was mostly about running with friends. We shared wonderful trail runs with Danny, Paul, Tracy, Lanore, and two visiting friends from Alaska, Mike and Erik. I can't remember a month where we had this many running dates. This is when we took Mike and Erik to the Headwaters trail. My allergies flared up horribly for most of this month leaving my racing ability weak, but because of that I had some breakthroughs in my mental racing game.

Races: Turtle Bay Three Bridges Half Marathon, Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon.

November

November held many commitments at home. We raised our own meat chickens and with the exception of a few day trips, we stayed put. This month was exceptionally sunny and warm and without coastal stratus, we were treated to many fantastic sunsets like this one.
Races: Arcata Bottoms 8 Miler, Turkey Trot 5K.

December

The highlight of this month was the California International Marathon. After two years of challenging marathons, either due to the weather or my allergies/asthma, almost all the pieces came together on this one and brought back the confidence in my marathon racing. The rest of the month was spent experimenting with my bread recipes, caroling with the saxophone quartet, and achieving kitty cat PRs.

Races: California International Marathon. 

Despite a few setbacks, this was a fantastic year. It was a wonderful blend of all of my favorite things. As far as running, I continue to see my consistency and hard work pay off. For the second year in a row, I won my age group in the club circuit, achieving first place at every race except one. I ran a PR at every distance other than 50K, that is pretty awesome.

Any suggestions for 2014? Should I try a 50 Miler? Got a pretty place I shouldn't miss for a trail run or hike?