Farewell 2013, On to the Next One!

Good evening dear Friends,

It's about 9:00pm on the last night of the year. Looking back on 2013, it's been a good year. It's been my most active year to date, between the gym and my races, I'd say I was actively easily 75% of the year. I started going to the gym in the mornings in March, and it was the best thing I'd ever done. I've never been a morning person, but this just WORKS for me. Plus the morning ladies are AWESOME. I've been getting a pretty virulent case of tonsillitis, so it's been almost a week since I've been to the gym, and I MISS my ladies! I'm super excited to get back in there tomorrow for our New Year's celebration!

In April I did my first 10k, and it was great! Beautiful day, beautiful course, and just an amazing experience. The last mile was a doozy, but I got through it and I was so proud of myself for finishing. The best part was finding out one of my best friends had waited around after she finished to watch me cross the finish line!

A couple weeks later I did my second Ashland Railroad Run 5k. Another great day, this course is so pretty, out in a scenic portion of Ashland. I PR'd the course, taking five minutes off of my 5k time! Great day! I did the race with Elizabeth and her son, even though they are much more experienced runners, so they finished way ahead, it's great to have someone to go to these events with.

The top two are from last year and this year's race. The bottom is my 10k bib!

I did a little two-miler called Moovin' and Groovin' with some ladies at the gym. The summer was pretty quiet. Mom and I did take a girls' long weekend to Nag's Head, our third annual trip and had tons of fun! I'm so lucky that I can have that kind of relationship with my mom.

 I pulled a hip flexor, so I missed The Color Run in September. We lost our kitty in October, that was pretty rough. Then we ended up rescuing a a 14-week old kitten. We named him Jean-Luc. At this point he's five months old and 10 pounds of fun!

Sue

Jean-Luc

In November I last minute signed up for the 8k portion of the Richmond Marathon. This race ended my streak of nice race weather. It was cold and wet, so I was more proud of finishing this race than I was the 10k- even though it's a mile shorter! Elizabeth did her second half-marathon, so I hung out until she finished, it was a great day!

And finally, in December, we did the Tack Light Run. Once again, cold and wet, but it was still fun! And oh yeah, I was Richard Simmons for Halloween!

\I'm really looking forward to what next year has to bring. I've registered for the next 10k already, and even the half-marathon in November! I've got 11 months and 15 days to get my butt in gear! Wish me luck and thanks for all your support!