Recently I read A Fresh Start for Molly and how her year went in running. She invited other bloggers to do the survey and I thought it would be a good way to see how my year in running went. I ran a few races but it wasn’t always races or fun runs that were important to me.

My 2013 Year in Running:

January – I started off the year on January 10th with my first postpartum workout (5 weeks). I had a lot of thoughts about running since having Baby H and then got the a-okay from my Dr. to run again. I hit the pavement on January 27th…well it was more running on snow in the cold then on pavement. It was so great to be out running again….oh how I missed it!

It’s hard running and nursing a baby. Some days I felt like I was up against all odds to get out and run but some days I just did it anyway.

May – I ran with Baby H in her stroller for the first time and it was against the wind…not fun! I was tired before the run started, plus it warmed up outside and I wasn’t really prepared. At least I got out, right?!?!

July – I signed up for Mud Hero 6K even back in May with some girl friends – all of whom had little children too. I was so nervous about this run because I knew it would have me running UP a ski hill. You’d think I would have been more worried about the obstacles but no, I wasn’t. This had to have been my worst race in my entire life! Oh yeah! It was +34 degrees C, we had a 1:00 pm start time and I was more focused on nursing Hilary before I left the house and didn’t even consider my own nutritional needs for this event!!! If you want to laugh {or cry with me} you can read my Mud Hero Race Recap here! I’m still on the fence about next year’s event!

August – On my birthday last July, I won two free entries to the Run for Women 5/10k Race in Halifax. I hadn’t run since my awful Mud Hero run but went into it just wanting to run and have fun with my friend Meredith. It was by far my slowest time but that wasn’t the point of the run. It was a great little event, my girls got to meet an Olympic athlete and hold a GOLD medal! Win – win!!!

September – In the spring I had signed up for Run or Dye 5k with some friends and my sister-in-law. This run turned out to be a lot of fun, silliness and a good time with friends – I would do it again because it was a lot of fun {though the hosts need to fix their parking challenges}.

In September I was ready to take my running to a new level. I finally broke down and bought myself a Green Garmin a.k.a. new best friend. Note: Never wear you new Green Garmin to a dye run…it’s no longer just green…rookie mistake 😦

October – I was pretty pumped about the Valley Harvest Marathon 5k I had registered for almost last-minute. I felt I had a really good run and finished within my goal but I learned I take terrible race photos 🙂 I also did a satellite run for Miles for Miracles which was to raise funding for TTTS and support my friend.

November – I didn’t participate in any runs but had a challenging run in the all-of-a-sudden-it’s-winter-cold-weather and my legs just didn’t want to run!

December – Another last-minute race I signed up to do turned into one of my favourites. The  Santa 5k Fun Run took place on December 8th and I actually ran with a friend. Four friends were running in it and I partnered up with one of them. I never run with anyone else mainly because I’m not comfortable holding someone else back, I don’t really talk when I run and I don’t want to feel like I can’t keep up with them. However, it was a great run to do, easy, fun and laid-back. I will do this again next year!

December 31st – I am hoping to run the 5k Resolution Run {race recap to follow} and really looking forward to it. I’m just doing it for fun with no set goals other then finishing it 🙂

Favourite run: Run or Dye in September – completely laid back, slight dance party and I wore a tutu…doesn’t get much better then that!

Worst run: Oh man, by far my worst run EVER was the Mud Hero 6k in July. It was fun at times, challenging all the time but more importantly, I was miserable afterwards for what seemed like days! I was a hurtin’ unit!

Best race experience: For this year it would be a tie between the Run for Women’s 5k and the Valley Harvest Marathon 5k. Run for Women because it was small but powerful and the Valley Harvest because I felt like I was just starting to get my running back on track.

Favourite piece of gear: That would be my bestie: Green Garmin 🙂

Proudest running achievement: My first postpartum run was pretty important to me. I had stopped running early July 2012 and struggled for 8 weeks with the decision to not run through the rest of my pregnancy due to pain. I was proud of myself to get back out there after taking so much time off plus having two little ones to look after.

Biggest lesson learned: Pace yourself, hydrate and eat well before, during and after every race.

You can learn more about my running by visiting my “Running Page“.

What was your best run this year?

What was your worst run this year?

Fill out the survey and share it in my comments and on Molly’s page here.