The end of 2013, the begining of the recap posts!

I love year end recaps! I enjoy writing my own to relive the year's fun moments (from back in the days when the world was not coated in ice- bleeerch!) I also like to read everyone else's recaps, I like to see what other crazy people have been getting in trouble doing.
It's also amusing to remember the worst, stupidest races of the year too so rest assured I'm going to do that too. 

I think I might do a few of these in a similar manner to last year. I'm so cool, I have multiple year end posts whooooo!!!

Okie Dokie. On to the good stuff.

Best Race.
Oh man... How I want to say Boston! That was supposed to be the race that sticks out in my memory like a shining beacon of amazing athletic accomplishment! I wanted it to be my perfect race so badly, and as fantastic as it turned out (my personal race, not anything else clearly) it isn't at the top of the list. Boston wins for other things though so stay tuned.

OK so REAL best race. It's an effing tie. Between a race that counted for a lot and one that totally did not.
Smuttynose (October-Marathon, 3:25:45)
And... The run leg of the Rev3 OOB team I was on (I know, random...?) (August-13.1, 1:37:10)

It was perfect and amazing (and VERY much worked for) for things to be perfect at Smuttynose. I had never had a marathon like that before and I know they don't play out that way every time. I went in determined to BQ with a time that would enable me to sign up earlier than this year- NO more squeaking in for me! Despite the crapola weather my race went exactly to plan. Every mile flew by, I did everything right, I left it all out there and was not 100% happy in the leg department for a few weeks.... And it was amazing. Whenever I need to remember why I do marathons I just remember that and I'm like "oh right..."

Smuttynose.... The last 400 hurts like a bitch. Woof.

As for Rev3 that was a complete surprise, and I don't get many of those since I pretty much know how my legs are going to react. It just happened that I was at the exact point in my marathon training, on a course that played to my strengths, on a day where the humidity finally broke (somewhat) and I was able to crank it up and run fast and badass. I had encountered a couple 13.1's this year that left my confidence shaken slightly- mostly just wondering if I had lost quite a bit of speed with ultra training. This took care of that nonsense and reminded me how much I like the Half Distance.

Rev3 OOB.... If I can show boat like this I'm clearly not pushing hard enough!

 

Best race because you only get one first time, and DUH I got engaged...
Well Boston Obviously. (and I did run a PR that day which I then killed at Smuttynose)
Other fun facts from this race: I did not have a great first half but then felt better and better, I certainly was tired at the end but maintained pretty well after I made it over the pesky hills. This was a huge confidence boost since my previous marathons had been a struggle for the final 10K.
I'm really excited to be qualified again this year. I have a feeling that I am going to enjoy myself even more since I know what to anticipate. I also expect the aftermath to be requiring fewer swat teams.... I'm not sure how Eric is going to top 2013 but he has 4 months to think about it (kidding Eric, kidding...)

Yay! A happy post race moment!!!

Worst stupidest biggest waste of time races.
UGH Effing Old Port Half. On the merits of sheer stupidity. I will never ever do this race again because it was terrible on so many levels and I don't make repeat mistakes. Like signing up for races that are awful more than once.

Stupid Old Port Half.

Also.... I just hate the Derry 16 miler. It's a well run race! They do a nice job running a decent sized race, in the dead of winter, in a pretty tiny town. What I hate about this race is nobody's fault- it's a race that leaves me questioning everything and 98% dead. So yeah, no thanks.
(and for 1st time Boston runners who do this race for the "prep" quality of it- the hills here do NOT accurately represent what you will see in Boston. Boston has hills. Derry has mountains. So actually, if you want Boston to feel easy do this ASAP!!!!)

Race that I ran on a whim to get an aided training run, which had a bad reputation and I ended up really enjoying.
Bands On The Run in Lewiston.
Who knows why I enjoyed this. Maybe because all I had heard was that it was a shit show in 2012 so my expectations were low. Reaaaaaaaaly low.
Now honestly, the majority of the course is nothing to get excited about. But it is fairly challenging without being brutal, has a section of trail that is entertaining if you aren't going at a blazing speed, and they did a good job this year with plenty of water stops and bathrooms. So, all in all not a bad race. I would consider going back in 2014 and I'd suggest it to friends as well.

Races that will be perennial favorites of mine, forever.
Mount Desert Island, Full or Half
Now that I have run both I can honestly say that the full is one of my favorite courses to run on, hands down. It is not an easy course or one that would be ideal for a guaranteed PR or BQ (although it is doable!) I really missed doing the whole course this year- although it would have god damned killed me.
As far as the half goes same deal. Challenging course for sure, but I expect that it will draw some very fast people in the upcoming years ending my reign as a podium finisher. There are a few wrinkles to work out after this year but nothing major or worrying. It was definitely "MDI lite" in 2013- a little messy at the start (and much less exciting! the start of the Marathon is legendary) and it would be nice to have a little pomp and circumstance for future podium finishers (*ahem* *use the podium* *ahem*) But those minor silly things aside, I'd definitely force my friends to get up to MDI and run this. Yearly.

MDI is even pretty in the rain! (good thing...)

My favorite picture.
Because why not? It's my blog and if I want to post all the pictures of myself I can!
This is the winner, from GCI back in July when it was warm and not snowy out.

It looks like I am winning.
I'm not.
I am, however, leading the peloton...
(before I bombed at mile 19 and they all caught me! Hah!)

 

So that is it for today's recap post. Much more to come since I like to string these things out for as long as possible!