The Year of Awesome

I've had an exceptionally great few years since I got divorced. I wasn't sure I'd be able to top 2009, but let's do a quick run down of what happened in...

2010 - THE YEAR OF AWESOME

RUNNING

I ran a ridiculous amount in 2010. I technically won't post my running stats for another few days, but I beat my goal of running 1000 miles. This was a little intimidating considering I'd never run more than 643 miles in a year! Also a little scary since I spent the first 6 weeks of the year nursing an injury to my left quad (so there is no confusion that was NOT an awesome part of 2010 :D )

I had never run more than about 7.5 miles at one time when 2010 started. I had never raced longer than a 10K. I had never run for longer than 70 minutes.

After entering a few 5Ks at the end of 2009, my older sister convinced me and L to sign up for the Canyonlands half marathon lottery. The lottery results were posted in December, and shortly before I injured my quad, I found out I would be running my VERY FIRST HALF MARATHON. And I was terrified. I had no training plan. I had a good base but I needed something more...

Here are some of my favorite running moments of 2010:

A stretching with me before the Sweetheart Classic

Bright colored outfits, running skirts, knee hi socks!

A's first run with me

A sprinting!!

Not only did I run a lot, I raced a lot... here we go!!

• I ran a total of 29 races in 2010. I set PRs in all distances EXCEPT the 10K... I've got a score to settle with THAT (Compare that with 6 races in 2009 and only 3 in 2008)
• 5Ks - I ran four with a PR of 26:58
• 3.3 Mile Race - Warrior Dash - Dirtiest but most fun in 39:22
• 4 Mile - Ran in 40:56 (First race after recovering from my injury)
• 5 Mile (Mountain/Trail race) - Ran in 54:07
• 9.9K - Ran in 1:03:19 (suffering a hangover)
• 10K - Ran in 1:05:06
• 10 Mile - Ran in 1:49:55
• Half Marathons - I ran 18... yes... 18... with a current PR of 1:58:54!!
• Marathon - Just one (and it was AWESOME) in 4:42:14

Here are some of my favorite race (or race related) pictures:

Me and A before the Sweetheart Classic 2/13/10

L and Me - Snowman Stampede 2/27/10... First double digit run ever!

Team Bee Rad right before starting my FIRST half marathon - Canyonlands in Moab, UT 3/20/10

L and Me before Deadwood Mickelson Trail half marathon - 6/6/10

J, Me and L before Warrior Dash - 8/21/10

Jumping over the fire - Warrior Dash - 8/21/10

Kauai Half Marathon - 9/5/10

L and Me - You Go Girl! half marathon - 9/25/10

Maine Half Marathon - 10/3/10

L and Me in NKOTB shirts for Boston Half Marathon - 10/10/10

L and Me before the Zombie half marathon in Anchorage - 10/23/10

Athens Classic Marathon - Greece - 10/31/10

Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll half marathon - 12/5/10

Thunder Road half marathon 12/11/10

Whew... I could go on and on and on about racing and running, but you all hear that on a regular basis.

A

I have a pretty awesome kiddo. We had a great year! She is now in her last year of preschool and is PSYCHED about starting kindergarten. Here are some of my favorite A pics:

J and A - getting ready for first time skiing

Day on the slopes

Easter

First time bowling

Road trip to South Dakota

Fishing

At the water park

First baseball game

First day of school

First Day of School

At the Circus

3D movie on her 5th birthday

Build-a-Bear

TRAVEL

A lot of my travels were because of racing, but some wasn't... I got to go LOTS of places in 2010. Here are some of my favorite pics:

Road trip with my awesome sisters to Moab, Utah for our first half marathon:

Prom? Yes, please

L and I went on a NKOTB celebrity cruise for my 31st birthday... I am a dork, I know it, but it was SO much fun:

Trip to California to visit my awesome friend at 365 awesome days:

Universal Studios

Disneyland!

Beach

Stopped at Mt. Rushmore on the way back from the Deadwood Mickelson Trail half marathon in South Dakota:

Spent an afternoon in Red Wing, Minnesota:

My second trip to Kaua'i:

Best running path EVER

On the Chocolate Farm

Hiking in New Mexico:

Visiting the Lobster Shack in Portland, Maine (yep, as seen on Man V. Food):

An awesome family trip (with kids and grandparents) for a week in ALASKA!!

A week in Greece!

Visiting the Hall of Flame fire museum near Phoenix, Arizona:

Running in Atlanta, Georgia:

Crazy happenings on the strip in Las Vegas:

All in all, I think I visited about half the states in 2010. Huh. It all seems like a blur.

LIFE IN GENERAL

L and I still did our "concert series" - seeing NKOTB, BSB, Green Day, Third Eye Blind, Daughtry... probably more that I can't remember. We got season passes to Elitch's (used to be Six Flags) and we took the kids there once a week. They LOVED it. I learned how to snowboard... and if you can imagine, my snowboarding outfit/board is as obnoxious as my running gear:

We had a super fun weekend in the mountains for my older sister's birthday. We went skiing/boarding, tubing... SO FUN!! There were gymnastics classes and swimming lessons, birthday parties and trips to the park. Always something going on!

I finally got a new job... sort of by choice, but not really. I had my old job for about 6.5 years when my hours were cut from full time to part time (due to the economy). Not being able to afford to work part time, I gave my notice of about 6 weeks. I was unemployed for about the same amount of time (also not so awesome), but I landed at a job that keeps me super busy, and of course is full time. So that rocks.

J and I have been together about 1.5 years now. He has been super awesome fantastic with helping me out with A when I am out of town for races.

Mother's Day

Camping

At the Broncos game

So... if you have made it to the end of this blog post (I know, I know, I went a bit overboard with pictures) then to sum up 2010... AWESOME.

Life is not a spectator sport. Get off your butt and get moving.

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2011. 

STAY TUNED.