I have been dragging my heels on this post because the pessimist in me really wants to call 2014 the year of stall. Then I wrote a great version of this in my head one night trying to fall asleep. Unfortunately I remembered nothing in the morning.
The Shiny-
So once I momentarily got over my cynical nature I was able to reminisce on all the good things I accomplished this year. But how did I do on those goals I set for this year?
Run 14 races in 2014- CHECK!
Run 750 miles- CHECK!
I completed race number 14 in November and also cleared 750 miles at some point in November. 🙂 One of my races was a virtual race and I am on the fence about how much those count. I received a shirt for it though, so I am counting it! I had the chance to be an ambassador for the SLO Marathon and it was awesome. I loved that race, I didn’t do as well as I would have liked but it was a great experience.
This year I ran 7 5k’s, 3 10k’s and 4 half marathons. I ran road races, a trail race or 2 and 2 races on the beach. I age grouped placed in 3 of those 14 races. And a benefit of running small, local races- I was first female finisher at my 5k in July. I set a PR, finished strong even with my stomach and did it all while hearing Miley Cyrus sing Wrecking Ball for 27 minutes. Stupid iPhone.
5K PR- 27:48 –Wild Run 5k
10K PR- 55:40– Heart & Soles
Best Bling- 
It’s a toss-up, I love the SLO medal because I had been wanting to run the race for the previous 2 years. Plus running it as an ambassador was pretty sweet! As for the abalone medal- that thing is huge! The race was rough, ocean = humidity, but it was on my birthday and I got to run it with a friend. 
Strongest race-
Wine Country 13.1– Before I got sick, only slight asthma issues, finished at 2:07:08 for a 7 minute course record for me.
The Dull-
Goals-
Break 27 in 5K- FAIL
Break 2 hours- 13.1- FAIL
No lies, 95% of my races this year were rough in some form or another. After years of nothing my asthma reared its ugly head and it took more than a few races for me to figure out that cold and humidity were big triggers for me. My 10K PR was set under duress of an odd but severe bout of pain in my right Achilles. I went into 2 half marathons on heavy-duty antibiotics. My stomach, which had been fairly level for the last year or so, went psycho in June and has yet to level out. While I was able to maintain my mileage somewhat, I came to the conclusion that a faster pace was not in the cards. It made me cranky, it pissed me off and I wondered what the point was most of the time.
I went into Ventura, cranky, ill and medicated, knowing I should have deferred. When it turned from running to walking 6 miles in, I had 7 miles to think and get my head on straight. The rest of the year was spent backing off a bit and slowing down. Getting back to basics and loving running again. I’m not loving the time change but I am loving running. 🙂
Roughest Race (s)-
HOB Fun Run– the 10K & 5K where people thought I was going to pass out. Yeah, possibly not my best moments.
So why Shiny vs Dull? Shiny is fairly obvious, and a Firefly shout out, but dull? Dull things can be cleaned, buffed, fixed- given a little TLC, a something dull can be made shiny. And that is part of my focus for 2015 but more on that later.
Thanks for joining me in my drama- issues- silliness- laziness- of 2014, I hope you stick around and see what happens in 2015. 🙂
What was your shiny/ dull for 2014?
Slacker Runner 
Love the Shiny/Dull theme!!! And I am most impressed you ran a race listening to Wrecking Ball the whole time! LOL
I hope 2015 is the year you get your asthma and stomach figured back out again! 🙂
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Haha, I briefly considered trying to figure out the music issue that day but if I had I wouldn’t have hit that PR. But then maybe it inspired me to run faster just so I could turn it off!
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for both of those things, heck even just one!
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Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball” for 27 minutes hahaha ohhhhh the inhumanity but if its going to happen or is humanly possible its going to happen to Fallon 😉 14 races!!! That’s some serious racing right there and you racked up some serious bling-age and age awards chica nice work!!! 5-6 race in a year is a heavy year for me lol. I only race 4 times in a year at best. I really didn’t race much in 2014 until the end of the year but my highlight is my November 5K PR of 21:00 🙂
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Right?! I kind of felt like I was being punked. 14 may have been a little much, I need to think about next year a little more. The age group awards are helped by the fact that I run a lot of small races. Like 100 people or less. 🙂 Your PR is amazing! Great highlight to your year!
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punked haha! You think … lol 😉
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Ha!! I totally forgot about the Wrecking Ball race. I still love that story, and am really tempted to try it to see if it drives me crazy enough to PR! 😉 In all honesty though, this was an awesome year! Congrats on the PRs and on placing in more than one race – well done!! Here’s hoping your asthma and stomach will behave themselves next year so you can have an even more kickass year!
My shiny? Hmm. Probably completing 2 10Ks and a half marathon – new distances to me this year! And my dull – too many injuries 😦
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Why couldn’t it have been some totally awesome motivational song?! Thanks! I am keeping my fingers crossed for next year. 🙂
2 10K’s and a half marathon are awesome! Congrats! Not so fun are the injuries- hopefully you will have an amazing 2015!
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I also love the Shiny/Dull theme, and am glad I found your blog this year 🙂 Definitely a challenging year for you, but also loads to be proud of. I look forward to what you can do in 2015! 🙂
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Thank you!! I am glad I found yours as well, always such great posts. 🙂 Here’s to 2015 being a good one for us both!
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Dull would be my stupid foot injury, shiny would be my 23 minute PR in the half marathon distance! Woo! Here’s hoping that 2015 is a year of good health and awesome running for all of us!
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23 minutes is amazing!!! Sorry about the foot, hopefully 2015 will be a great one!
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I didn’t have any super strong races this year, but at least I got to run a race in Ireland! I was also hoping to break two hours in the half this year… hopefully it happens in 2015!
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I think Ireland pretty wins for epic race! We can do it, we will break 2!
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Great job! Love the bling! Especially the sand dollar one. My goals this year after running Dopey was to get faster. And I have a Fall full of PR’s to show for it! Love it. On to 2015!
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You have had some amazing PR’s- congrats!! I am sure 2015 will rock too!
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Your theme is brilliant! I love that concept of being able to polish out the rough spots and shine up real nice and pretty 🙂 I deem 2015 the year of the shine!
Btw, you should not be disappointed in any of your fabulous accomplishments this past year. I can’t wait to see what the future brings for you!
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The year of shine- that’s awesome! Writing this post helped put things in a different light, I may not have gotten any faster but I did some pretty cool things I don’t think I would have years previously. Looking forward to 2015!
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14 races is a GREAT year!! You will break 2 hours, I promise! It’s been fun keeping up with your adventures, can’t wait to see what is coming next year! 🙂
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Thank you! I am going to keep trying until I get it done! 🙂
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The shiny moments are that much more shiny when you compare them to the dull moments. I think you did great this year and can’t wait to see what you do next year! And I had forgotten about the Miley incident. That made me LOL all over again.
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True! Thanks, I am looking forward to 2015. I’ve tried to forget the Miley race but hey, it’s a good story to tell!
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