It’s that time of year again- time for the Slacker’s recap of the Shiny and the Dull for the year.

Let’s get the dull out of the way so we can move on to shinier things.  We all need shiny right?  So without further adieu, the Dull of 2016-

• I lost both grandmother’s this year.   While one was kind of expected, the other was a total blind side.   Either way, both sucked.   I don’t handle loss well.  I don’t adult well in that way.
• My identity was stolen.   That was fun.
• 3 debit cards were hacked.  All at different times. Separate issue from above.
• My credit card was also hacked.   And who the hell spends that much money at Whole Foods??!!?!
• I added 10 pounds to the 10 pounds from 2015 I needed to lose.  Probably from a combination of my litany of meds and my reliance on chips and pizza as comfort food.  Like I said, I don’t adult well.
• I officially DNS’ed my first 2 races-  Rock n Roll LA and Spooner’s Cove Trail Run.  Grrr.

Ok, ok, enough Dull.  Bring on the Shiny!!!!!!!

I started 2016 by kicking goals to the curb.  I do not regret that decision.   As far as I am concerned goals can get taken out with the trash.  They work for some people but they do not work for me.  I did not miss them this year and I will not miss them in 2017 but, oops, spoilers.  😛  So why did my goal free year work for me?

I ran 12 races this year.  6 half marathons, 1 8 mile race, 2 10k’s, 2 5k’s and a little something else😉😉.    Fewer races than previous years but I tried to approach this year differently.

As of the time this post goes up, I have run 850 miles in 2016.   100 more than my highest previous year.     Woo hoo!  Do I wish it was higher?  Sure.   Had I not had such a lackluster November and December I might have come close to that ever elusive (for me) 1000 mile mark.   One day I will get there, until then I can dream right?

I had the opportunity to join Bibrave.   Join a group of  runners where we can talk about running and races all the time??? Sweet!  I’ve also been able to meet some of them in real life except I’m fired because I now realize I’ve never taken pictures.  Boo.  I’ve had the opportunity to try some really great products too.    Which is awesome because I use a lotof them on a daily basis now.

I road tripped to 3 races- Huntington Beach for one and San Francisco for two.  I went to Disneyland twice.   This from the person who used to never go anywhere.  Woah there!

And that little something else race?

I TRAINED for and RAN a freakin’ marathon!!  This from the Slacker who said she would never run a marathon.  Not only was the distance daunting but I couldn’t imagine that I would ever stick to the training.  I am not the type to voluntarily get up early and run 20 miles on my own.  And yet I did and I was smiling at the end.  Ok, smirking.

Even more surprising was the marathon itself.  If you followed along during training, you know I was a hot mess in July leading up to San Francisco.  When I left for race weekend, I was seriously considering dropping to the half, I was still thinking that when I picked up my bib.   Then race morning dawned and I was cool as a cucumber.  I had no doubt I was going to finish… and I did.  Without hitting a wall.  Who am I????  Granted I was slower than I wanted to be and went over 5 hours but you guys I ran a marathon!   And somehow looked like that after 25+ miles.

2016 had a mix of the shiny and dull.  I let myself get mired in the dull a little too often.  It’s something I need to work on.  Overall, there were some really Shiny moments in there though.  As for 2017?  More on that to come.

How was your 2016?

Name your Shiny?

Name your Dull?